While the world is besotted by the ‘loud and proud’ the Dark Horse will come from behind and scoop the pool (so to speak). Our Creator has uniquely knitted us together with our manifold propensities. He then orchestrates the myriad of predicaments in which we find ourselves immersed to mould us into shape fulfilling our destiny which He has ordained. Our place at the Banquet and on the Battlefront is the culmination of both nature and nurture in the Hands of our Heavenly Father without impinging on our ‘free will’.
The needy ones who are beaten and bruised by the world learn to lean into and find refuge in the Lord. They are the ones He picks up, dusts off and elevates beyond those expected to shine. The self-proficient glory in their own prowess but those He promotes are chosen to be trophies of His Grace where ‘His power is made perfect in their weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9b). A seat at the Wedding Banquet is at the Lord’s discretion (Matthew 22:14).
In the Song of Songs the Shulammite (shepherdess) is likened to a mare harnessed to one of pharaoh’s chariots. She admits to being ‘dark’; darkened by complying with the demands of worldly expectation. A ‘dark horse’ indeed. However, unbeknown to her, she is being perfected to don white robes of righteousness and gallop home victoriously behind the Rider on the white horse (Revelation 19:14).
The Song of Songs (SS) of late, has been grossly misinterpreted. The reason may well be due to the impoverished spiritual state of the current Age. Our ‘experiential knowledge’ of Sanctification is infantile possibly because of our impatience; demanding instant gratification. Sitting at the feet of Jesus to learn and wait on Him is now considered an indulgence of the past of which we have no appetite. We tend to be satisfied with a ‘positional’ understanding rather than ‘feeling’ an actual living transformation of the Holy Spirit. Most think the SS is simply an expose on marriage. But you don’t engage your mind to interpret this tune. It requires a ‘Baptism of Fire’ to refine and perfect the Beloved/Bridal Soul within the story and likewise the interpreter will require a similar processing to mine the depths of this Song.
Some justify their understanding by stating that the SS is not referenced by Jesus or found quoted in the New Testament. However, parallel stories are.
The ‘Woman at the Well’s (John 4) chequered past serves to expose her desperation to find true satisfaction which the world couldn’t supply. She went through men ‘like water’ selling herself for pittance but was still left wanting. Dying for ‘unconditional/sacrificial’ love, her thirst was palpable. Jesus had to respond to that calibre of need offering her ‘Living Water’ to eternally quench her thirst. Likewise, the Shulammite was desperate to find the ‘One her heart loves’ and similarly went out at midday to find Him abandoning societal shackles with unbridled passion (SS 1:7).
There is also the account of ‘Mary of Bethany’; another dark horse. Martha, her duty bound sister admonished Mary for blatantly flaunting the cultural constraints of the day as she crossed the floor to sit with the guys and listen to Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). She went one step further exposing her flagrant abandonment in John 12:1-8. While ‘Jesus reclined at the table’ she takes a jar of expensive perfume (Nard) and pours it out onto Jesus’ feet then unties her hair to wipe them with the fragrance filling the air. This time it’s the Disciples who admonish her, accusing her of waste. She has just poured out her future onto Jesus’ feet. And she has no regrets.
Once again there is a parallel account in SS. Chapter 1:12 states, ‘While the King was reclined at His table, my perfume (Nard) spread its fragrance’. Just as Mary of Bethany kept nothing in reserve the Shulammite also ‘laid all her cards on the table’ showing her intention by laying everything on the line. She’s all in. There is no going back. She displays sacrificial devotion to the King and He reciprocates albeit on an immeasurably greater scale. The Shulammite says, ‘My Lover is to me a sachet of Myrrh resting between my breasts’ (v.13). Myrrh is an ingredient found in Holy anointing oil used to consecrate the Devoted (Exodus 30:23). He epitomizes sacrifice and fulfils her need for Agape/unconditional love and unveils His Counterpart to be composed of the same essence.
The sachet of Myrrh is a foretaste of what is to come. A small token, pledge, deposit, earnest or Seal of the Holy Spirit (symbolized by the oil - Matthew 25) with much more in view as the Lover and the Beloved prepare to consummate their union on their ‘verdant’ bed beneath their lofty canopy.
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