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Because she feared losing Him and His love more than she feared what lay beyond her secure dwelling, she ventured forth to find Him. He had deliberately distanced Himself from her to draw her out of her comfort zones. What do we learn from this in our relationship with Jesus ? Have you sensed the Lord withdrawing His presence from you in order to draw you out ?
Verse 1: She has gone back to her own bed and is wallowing in self pity. We can do this when Jesus is testing us concerning our possession of him (shuting ourself off from brothers and sisters - seeking Him alone). This is a 'night' (dark) time in her life where she seeks Him but doesn't find Him. This is true in our lives where we wallow in self-pity but seem to be cut off from His presence. The reason is that He's wanting to draw us outside the boundaries we have confined ourself in.
The ' bed' represents the place of spiritual slumber (here the hebrew word has the emphasis on 'sleep' - with Jesus this can represent His intimate presence, but He has withdrawn Himself here).We can seek Him in such a state but will will not find Him, as we must first arise from our state of spiritual lethargy and take positive steps to find His intimate presence once again.
Verse 2: ‘The City of God’ = God’s people, the Church. (See Heb 10:25)
We can cut ourself off from the Church as we feel far away from God. The truth is we need to have fellowship with other believers as this will help us come closer to God.
Look at the words for rise, streets, square, city and ask God to reveal something to you.
Verse
3:
It was only after she asked the ‘
Watchmen’ (particularly mature and watchful
Christians) that she found Him. What can we learn from this ? Notice that
they found her as she was desperately searching for Him in the City (Church).
We too must be so desperate that we spend much time searching for Him in
Church related activities - we will definitely be 'found' by Church leaders
if we do this.
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Verse 4: However, on finding Him, instead of going on His terms into the mountains, she held Him close and pulled Him into her ‘ Mother’s Chambers’ on her terms! What do we learn from this ? How can we be like her in our Christian lives ? (NB.’Mother’s Chambers’ = negative patterns from childhood we feel ‘comfortable’ clinging on to.) |
Our own upbringing and 'soul ties' to our mother and father can hinder us from being released into the harvest fields Jesus is drawing us into. Pause for a moment to ask God to show you if there are any 'Mother's Chambers' you are hiding in!
Again this section ends in the charge of verse 5 , that others would not step in and try to force the process of awakening in love.
Go back to Stage Two Overview and then read the conclusion.