Chapter 2:3-4
“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my
beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” "He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love."
The bride says here that Christ is more of a secure source of
protection (shade from the sun) and more delightful than all of the other choices
available in the world which she could rely on. She is able to rest in him and
enjoy him. (his nature, the fruit of the Holy Spirit)
A great picture of this
place of sitting down under the Bridegroom’s shade is given to us in psalm 91:
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most
High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid
of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11 For He will give His
angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14 “Because he has loved
Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”
It is he who has brought her to his banquet hall, (house of wine as it is said to be in the Hebrew) and she is able to sit down under his shade and simply enjoy him. This is a relationship of enjoyment, not of performance. His banner (a banner signified the identity and purpose of a military division) is love. Her job is merely to be loved and to love. Her job is to rest in him.
We are already complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10) We can "sit down" and rest in what he has already done, the reality he has already brought us into based on what he did for us on the cross, not based on our outward performance or our present outward condition. We are to simply enjoy him in his resting place, under his shade. This is abiding in him. There is a world of difference between "pressing in" and "abiding in." Some of us have been taught that we need to "press ourselves in" to the things of God. We could never press into the kingdom of God, only he can qualify us, only he can make us righteous and able to enter the kingdom to experience all the wonderful things he has for us, and he HAS pressed us in when he went to the cross. He pressed himself into us, and the job is already done. If we feel that we need to earn our own way in, or to qualify to get in somehow, this is going to lead to a life of frustration. We are going to feel unfulfilled in our relationship with God and always on the outside because we don't believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross and are still trying to do it ourselves. We are going to struggle as a result. Our job instead, is to "abide in" this rest of faith, believing in what he has already done and allowing that inward reality to soak into our outward lives. We can enjoy our completion in him right now, and outward transformation will be the result of this confident rest. We are complete in Him.
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”
It is he who has brought her to his banquet hall, (house of wine as it is said to be in the Hebrew) and she is able to sit down under his shade and simply enjoy him. This is a relationship of enjoyment, not of performance. His banner (a banner signified the identity and purpose of a military division) is love. Her job is merely to be loved and to love. Her job is to rest in him.
We are already complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10) We can "sit down" and rest in what he has already done, the reality he has already brought us into based on what he did for us on the cross, not based on our outward performance or our present outward condition. We are to simply enjoy him in his resting place, under his shade. This is abiding in him. There is a world of difference between "pressing in" and "abiding in." Some of us have been taught that we need to "press ourselves in" to the things of God. We could never press into the kingdom of God, only he can qualify us, only he can make us righteous and able to enter the kingdom to experience all the wonderful things he has for us, and he HAS pressed us in when he went to the cross. He pressed himself into us, and the job is already done. If we feel that we need to earn our own way in, or to qualify to get in somehow, this is going to lead to a life of frustration. We are going to feel unfulfilled in our relationship with God and always on the outside because we don't believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross and are still trying to do it ourselves. We are going to struggle as a result. Our job instead, is to "abide in" this rest of faith, believing in what he has already done and allowing that inward reality to soak into our outward lives. We can enjoy our completion in him right now, and outward transformation will be the result of this confident rest. We are complete in Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment