Song of Solomon 2:3-7. Submitting to the Seasons of the Beloved.

Dear sisters in the Lord,

This is a brief study on Song of Solomon 2:3-7 that I hope will encourage you.  In this passage, the Bride begins by saying

"As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my Beloved among the young men."

She sees the worth of Christ compared to the treasures of the world as the worth of an apple tree compared with the fruitless trees of a forest.  He delights her as the world cannot.  He sustains her as the world cannot.  He is beautiful as the world is not.  

"With great delight I sat in His shadow,
and His fruit was sweet to my taste."

She sits in His shadow and eats of His fruit.  Sister, this is our resting place.  We do not build a fortress for ourselves to rest in.  We do not sow fields for ourselves to sustain us when we are hungry.  He supplies all our needs.  He is a living apple tree, able to go where He wants to go and do what He wants to do.  We must only remain in His shadow, wherever He goes.  We cannot venture out and expect the Shadow of the Almighty to follow us where we want to go.  We must remain under the shadow of our Beloved, even when we find Him in a strange place.  

"He brought me to the banqueting house,
and His banner over me was love."

The banqueting house is a place of celebration!  From time to time, the shadow of the Beloved will lead us to a place of restoration and clarity and joy.  It is a place for the dearest of His friends, His precious Bride.  We go gladly with Him into His banqueting house!  It is there that we are reminded that His banner over our lives is LOVE!  Sometimes we forget the Beloved's banner, and we see ourselves under a different banner.  Perhaps you put yourself under the banner "struggling mother," or "student," or "neglected," or "unwanted," or "busy woman," or "brokenhearted," or "ashamed," or simply "ruined."  My sister, Jesus wants to remind you that the only banner over you that matters is "LOVE."  He has marked you out as His own, His precious treasure and the great delight of His eyes.  You are loved.  You are not forgotten.  Let Him bring you into His banqueting house.  Rest there under the banner of LOVE. 

"Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
His left hand is under my head,
and His right hand embraces me!"

Here the Bride is so filled with the knowledge of Jesus's love for her that she is overwhelmed.  She realizes that she does not even have the capacity to hold the realization of His love for her, and she grows weak as He embraces her and gently cradles her in His arms.  He knows that the strength of His furious love for her would crush her, and He only shows her as much as she can bear, and possibly a little bit more!  He is the Apple Tree, and He will refresh her with His fruit so that she can arise and walk with Him calmly once more.  Sister, the love of Jesus is enough to remove all your insecurities, to take away your fear and inhibitions and your shame.  There truly is a place, there in the banqueting house, where His love is demonstrated so powerfully that we are left breathless and overcome by boundless joy, and we find ourselves limp in His arms.  Do not be afraid to go in when He invites you.  It won't be too much.  He knows your heart so well, and He will not destroy you! 

"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases."

This passage can be understood in many ways.  I want to express to you, sister, that Jesus knows the right time to take you to the banqueting house.  If you are not there, do not try to bang your fists on the door and demand to be let in.  Test your heart before Jesus.  Ask Him where He wants to go, what He wants to do.  He may have a very simple, plain task for you to accomplish as you walk with Him in the field.  He may simply want you to sit in His shadow and be quiet with Him.  He may invite you to the banquet hall.  Any of these things are possibilities, and there are many others.  The most important thing is to remain in His shadow.  

Many of us believe that we are to live constantly in the banqueting hall, and so like a lioness we barge in and demand that Jesus perform the wonders of His love for us.  We dance and clap and yell until we are exhausted, all because we think we are meant to always be sick with love.  My sister, we are meant to be like a gazelle or a doe, not a lioness!  In Hebrew culture, a gazelle represented beauty and honor.  It is a shy, delicate animal that would never force it's way into the banqueting hall.  A doe represented surefootedness, steadfastness.  If we are to be like does, then we remain steadfastly in the shadow of our Beloved, never swerving off His path because the way is hard or boring or confusing or long.  We yearn for His heart and His words and His ways.  

My sister, I adjure you to submit to the Seasons of the Beloved.  Do not try to awaken love in the wrong season.  Wait on Him.  Rest in His shadow, wherever you find Him.  You are the Lily of the Valley in His care.  Just rest with Him and wait on Him.  You will be brought into the banqueting house in His time.  Once you are there, let Him show you the banner He has placed over your life.  You are loved.  You are sought after and purchased at a high price, because you are precious to Him.