King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, June 02, 2024
Chapters: SONG OF SOLOMON 5-8
Message: Christ’s Undefiled One
Hello My Friend,
Today is one of those days when I feel lost, not as though I have lost my faith in God, but as though I have lost my purpose. Every direction I turn is closed, and sometimes there is a crack in the door, but as soon as I try to get in it gets closed shut. Have you ever felt that way? I suppose the best way to describe it is, [Job 23:8-12 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. 12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.]
You know, even the strongest Christian, while their feet do not move from their faith, messes up a time or two, or maybe a few more times than that, but it is their faith that sustains them, [1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.]
King Solomon, had a thousand wives and probably false gods to go with them, but near the end of his life finally understood that the best relationship to be in was with God. The best description of Christ being the propitiation of our sins is actually found in Song of Solomon. As we come to the end of the reading of Song of Solomon we learn that the bride’s beloved is knocking on her door, but she delays in answering.
[Song of Solomon 5:1-4 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. 2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. 3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? 4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.]
[eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly,] It is actually Jesus who gave His life for every soul, and He invites all to come and enjoy His feast, but unless one opens their heart to Him He will walk away, [Luke 13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:]
[I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?] The bride is actually having one of those moments where she feels lost, she is half awake, and not prepared for her beloved to come and get her. So when she hears the knock at the door and finally figures out what is going on it is too late, he had already left.
[Song of Solomon 5:6-9,16 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. 8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. 9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? 16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.]
[the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.] Not only did they hit her they took her veil away, which was the biggest insult that any bride could receive. Taking away her veil shamed her and made her look like she was defiled. When we come to Christ we come to Him in our defiled state as we are covered in a filth of sin, but He with one drop of His blood, cleaned us up and presented us to God as though we never sinned, [Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.]
[that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.] When I was planning my wedding last year, I did not want a veil to cover my face, only a lace head covering. I did buy one and when I tried it on I knew that it was what completed the dress. A brides veil is revealing to her beloved her purity, innocence, and modesty and is the most humbled state that she can be in. Now, the veil did not prove my innocence, but it did prove that I was ready to transition from my old life as a maiden to my new life as a wife. This is how we are to be as soon as we accept Christ as our Saviour, [Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.]
Those who do not open their hearts to Christ beyond their salvation and continue to live as though they are not His, will lose His protection until they repent. So as the bride discovered her error, and continues to search for her beloved she finds him and discovers something amazing, even though he has hundreds of wives, he loves her as though she were his only bride.
[Song of Solomon 6:1-4,8-9 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. 2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. 4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. 8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. 9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.]
[My dove, my undefiled is but one;] There may be millions that come to Christ, but each and every one of us is unique and serves a special purpose for Him. Once accepted we pure by the cleansing of His blood, chosen by Jesus Christ Himself, [1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:]
Now, once we receive Christ as our Saviour our souls are one with Him for eternity and that means that each one of us, while all individual members, are one with Christ. His desire toward us is only that we love Him as He loves us. As the song continues, watch how the Bridegroom describes his beloved and how much he delights in her, [Song of Solomon 7:1-6 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. 2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies. 3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. 4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. 5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. 6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!]
[How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter!] This is a reminder that all save, born again Christians are to be preaching the Gospel to the lost, [Romans 10:13-15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!]
[How fair and how pleasant art thou,] Yes, Jesus delights in His bride, even though we mess up a thousand times over and that means all of us. We are His beloved and His desire is that we live our best lives through Him, [Song of Solomon 7:9-12 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. 10 I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me. 11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. 12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.]
[the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly,] Jesus, only wants the best for us, He gave His life for us, He shed His blood, that we may be able to live eternally with Him. Jesus, did not save us so that we can live a sinful life, He saved us so that we can live an abundant life. If we choose to love something else more than Him then He will get jealous and give more attention to His faithful. However, that is what gets our attention as we see the bride getting jealous when she sees other women around her beloved.
[Song of Solomon 8:1-5 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. 2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. 3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. 4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. 5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.]
[Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,] God, is a jealous God, and will not share Himself with anything else that takes up our time. If we love something more than Him then He will feel neglected and afflict us until He becomes our first love again. Amazingly, Christ’s love for His bride never diminishes, He loves us just as much when we are unfaithful to Him, which is why His love constrains us as our love for Him grows, [2 Corinthians 5:13-15 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.]
When we see one of our own getting blessed who has sin in their lives, while we suffer, it can make us jealous. God, deals with each of us as He sees fit for our sin, and no sin goes without consequence. Christians, we are in no way sinless, in fact, we are all just sinners saved by the grace of God through our faith in the Gospel of Christ. However, our obedience to Christ makes us more than just a name in a book, it makes us testimonies of Christ who turned our lives around, even though we are sinners we are still His. In this odd illustration, those who are obedient teach the new Christians how they are to present themselves to their groom.
[Song of Solomon 8:6-7,11,13-14 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. 11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. 13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. 14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.]
[Set me as a seal upon thine heart,] Jesus seals our soul with His blood, we are forever settled in the arms of our Saviour. God does not want to take away all our joy in life, but He does want us to seal our heart with love as He loves, that means putting Him first and at the center of all that we do, [2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.]
[give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.] [Contemned; Despised; scorned; slighted; neglected, or rejected.] Nothing compares to the love of Christ, God is a jealous God, if we love something else more than Him then He will feel neglected and afflict us until He becomes our first love again. Amazingly, Christ’s love for His bride never diminishes, He loves us just as much when we are unfaithful to Him, which is why His love constrains us as our love for Him grows, [2 Corinthians 5:13-15 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Song of Solomon 5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. Song of Solomon 6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. Song of Solomon 7:10 I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me. Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You showed us that we are beloved by You by sacrificing Your life on the cross for us, and offering eternal life to all who believe in and receive You. No matter how much we resist, no matter how many times we back away from You, You are right there, patiently waiting for us to come to You with all that we are going through. You want to comfort us, guide us, and give us hope through all the circumstances we face. Lord, open our ears and hearts, help us to get past our circumstances and turn to You for all things, I know it is only by coming to You that I can truly know I am beloved and that You are beloved by me. In Your name Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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