...............chapter 2
ch2v1 'a rose of sharon' – there's no general consensus on what flower is meant here; whatever it is, God has cultivated us for his son to be his inheritance.
'a lily of the valleys' – lilies symbolise purity, while valleys are symbolic of the dark, fallen places of the world (as opposed to mountain tops, see Ps 23). She's pure even though she's going through the valley.
v2 'a lily among thorns' – thorns represent sin & temptation (see Gen 3v18, Heb 6v8). She's pure in a world of sin.
v3 'apple tree' – trees often symbolise humanity, and apples are refreshing – Jesus is the most refreshing person in the world.
'I delight to sit in his shade' – she's not striving, but sitting in the finished work of the cross & the rest that he gives her (Heb 4v9,10). She loves the fact that he enjoys her without her having to do anything to earn it. One time I was sat under an apple tree in my parents garden, wondering what it could tell me about God, and I noticed there was fruit in easy reach, and that it felt intimate and safe sitting there as the branches were low down.
'his fruit is sweet' – in ch1v7 she asked him where he fed his flock; she's now starting to feed on him. His freely given fruit tastes sweet, not bitter like religious legalism.
v4 'he has taken me to the banquet hall' – the revelation of his love for her and what he's done for her is like a massive feast, a place of celebration. It's his job to bring her there (Luke 15v5), he's provided everything (Ps23v5).
'his banner over me is love' – armies would march under banners that defined who they were and who they belonged to; she isn't defined by failure, rejection or sin, but love.
v5 'sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples' – she's wanting more of God, to be dependant on him. Raisins are a form of grapes, which are used to make wine, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
'faint with love' – The Hebrew for 'faint' implies being weak, wounded or made sick. She's so desperate for God it hurts, like when there's something you really want but can't have it yet.
v6 'his left arm is under my head' – arms/hands are to do with actions. This arm is under her head so is out of sight, so is about the things that God does in her life that she can't see.
'his right arm embraces me' – this is the things he does that can be seen and felt, and make her feel loved and protected.
v7 God's got her in an important season of being strengthened` and healed of her bad experiences in ch1v6, and he charges other people not to disturb her by getting her to do loads of work. Gazelles and does can be easily scared off. She needs to be treated with sensitivity as she's still too immature and would get distracted/burdened easily, and miss out on some of the feeding/strengthening that God wants to do in this season.
v8 'Listen! My lover!' - after charging others not to awaken her in verse 7, he now starts to by calling her.
'leaping over mountains, bounding over hills' – mountains and hills are natural or demonic obstacles and difficulties that may vary in size but are still seemingly immovable (Mark 11v43), but he easily overcomes them and they don't slow him down.
v9 'a gazelle or a young stag' – these animals were quick and agile, and are easily able to run up mountains.
'he stands' – usually in the bible, God is depicted as sitting in a place of rest. Him standing means he's ready for action.
'behind our wall' – together they built a wall of safety and protection. She's only ever known him on the inside with her, so thinks he's on the wrong side of it, but actually it's her that's behind the wall, as it's now stopping her from stepping out in faith.
'gazing though the windows' – he built windows into the wall so she could see out to the world, to stop her getting too self focused. He gazes at her with love in order to encourage her to come out.
v10 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me' – he calls her out of the comfort zone to work with him and run in ministry (ch1v4). He calls her with words of love – he doesn't say 'you're a crap sinner, now obey me or you'll be punished', but instead calls her beautiful. He loves us as we mature, not just when we mature.
v11 'winter is past' – he encourages her by reminding her of his faithfulness in getting her through the trials of winter together. Remembering how he was faithful in the past helps us to trust that he'll be faithful in the future.
v12,13 – God speaks prophetically about the coming harvest, and encourages her to not waste any time and to start following him now (John 4v35). Flowers appear on the vine just before the fruit comes; there is singing to celebrate the end of winter and the coming fruit; when turtledoves sang in Israel, it meant it was nearly harvest time. (in Israel, the harvests would begin in February/March, not the Autumn like in England); figs produce two crops, the first of which appears in the spring and has grown over the winter season.
'Arise, come, my darling' – Jesus doesn't want her sitting around thinking maybe she'll get up tomorrow, he wants her to act now. He repeats how he feels about her – he sees her as beautiful, he's passionate about her, even though she hasn't even started following him yet.
v14 'My dove' – he affirms again her purity and loyalty (see note on ch1v15).
'the cleft of the rock' – The wounds of Jesus (the rock -1Cor 10v4). Moses was hidden in a cleft in a rock when God's glory passed him by (Ex 33v22). She's hidden in Christ, and protected by his death.
'a lily of the valleys' – lilies symbolise purity, while valleys are symbolic of the dark, fallen places of the world (as opposed to mountain tops, see Ps 23). She's pure even though she's going through the valley.
v2 'a lily among thorns' – thorns represent sin & temptation (see Gen 3v18, Heb 6v8). She's pure in a world of sin.
v3 'apple tree' – trees often symbolise humanity, and apples are refreshing – Jesus is the most refreshing person in the world.
'I delight to sit in his shade' – she's not striving, but sitting in the finished work of the cross & the rest that he gives her (Heb 4v9,10). She loves the fact that he enjoys her without her having to do anything to earn it. One time I was sat under an apple tree in my parents garden, wondering what it could tell me about God, and I noticed there was fruit in easy reach, and that it felt intimate and safe sitting there as the branches were low down.
'his fruit is sweet' – in ch1v7 she asked him where he fed his flock; she's now starting to feed on him. His freely given fruit tastes sweet, not bitter like religious legalism.
v4 'he has taken me to the banquet hall' – the revelation of his love for her and what he's done for her is like a massive feast, a place of celebration. It's his job to bring her there (Luke 15v5), he's provided everything (Ps23v5).
'his banner over me is love' – armies would march under banners that defined who they were and who they belonged to; she isn't defined by failure, rejection or sin, but love.
v5 'sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples' – she's wanting more of God, to be dependant on him. Raisins are a form of grapes, which are used to make wine, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
'faint with love' – The Hebrew for 'faint' implies being weak, wounded or made sick. She's so desperate for God it hurts, like when there's something you really want but can't have it yet.
v6 'his left arm is under my head' – arms/hands are to do with actions. This arm is under her head so is out of sight, so is about the things that God does in her life that she can't see.
'his right arm embraces me' – this is the things he does that can be seen and felt, and make her feel loved and protected.
v7 God's got her in an important season of being strengthened` and healed of her bad experiences in ch1v6, and he charges other people not to disturb her by getting her to do loads of work. Gazelles and does can be easily scared off. She needs to be treated with sensitivity as she's still too immature and would get distracted/burdened easily, and miss out on some of the feeding/strengthening that God wants to do in this season.
v8 'Listen! My lover!' - after charging others not to awaken her in verse 7, he now starts to by calling her.
'leaping over mountains, bounding over hills' – mountains and hills are natural or demonic obstacles and difficulties that may vary in size but are still seemingly immovable (Mark 11v43), but he easily overcomes them and they don't slow him down.
v9 'a gazelle or a young stag' – these animals were quick and agile, and are easily able to run up mountains.
'he stands' – usually in the bible, God is depicted as sitting in a place of rest. Him standing means he's ready for action.
'behind our wall' – together they built a wall of safety and protection. She's only ever known him on the inside with her, so thinks he's on the wrong side of it, but actually it's her that's behind the wall, as it's now stopping her from stepping out in faith.
'gazing though the windows' – he built windows into the wall so she could see out to the world, to stop her getting too self focused. He gazes at her with love in order to encourage her to come out.
v10 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me' – he calls her out of the comfort zone to work with him and run in ministry (ch1v4). He calls her with words of love – he doesn't say 'you're a crap sinner, now obey me or you'll be punished', but instead calls her beautiful. He loves us as we mature, not just when we mature.
v11 'winter is past' – he encourages her by reminding her of his faithfulness in getting her through the trials of winter together. Remembering how he was faithful in the past helps us to trust that he'll be faithful in the future.
v12,13 – God speaks prophetically about the coming harvest, and encourages her to not waste any time and to start following him now (John 4v35). Flowers appear on the vine just before the fruit comes; there is singing to celebrate the end of winter and the coming fruit; when turtledoves sang in Israel, it meant it was nearly harvest time. (in Israel, the harvests would begin in February/March, not the Autumn like in England); figs produce two crops, the first of which appears in the spring and has grown over the winter season.
'Arise, come, my darling' – Jesus doesn't want her sitting around thinking maybe she'll get up tomorrow, he wants her to act now. He repeats how he feels about her – he sees her as beautiful, he's passionate about her, even though she hasn't even started following him yet.
v14 'My dove' – he affirms again her purity and loyalty (see note on ch1v15).
'the cleft of the rock' – The wounds of Jesus (the rock -1Cor 10v4). Moses was hidden in a cleft in a rock when God's glory passed him by (Ex 33v22). She's hidden in Christ, and protected by his death.
Wow. Awesome insights. Feel really encouraged. cheers matey.
Posted by
JoeyD |
12:48 pm
much as i'd love to take the credit, it's all mike bickle's work. (well obviously it's all God's, but you know what i mean)
Posted by
dan |
11:16 am
ahh, humble man for admitting that it's mostly mike's work. Alright then, well done for agreeing with him.
Posted by
JoeyD |
12:30 pm