Spice-Laden Mountains

-


Scripture:

Song 8:14      ¶ Make haste, my beloved,
        and be like a gazelle
    or a young stag
        upon the mountains of spices!

Observation:
This is the final verse of the Song of Songs.  It seems to end rather abruptly and yet there is passion and poignancy in this last comment.  This entire book, the Song of Songs sits at the very heart of the word of God and is a reminder that the call of God’s people is into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus had not yet come when the book was written and so it becomes prophetic, foreshadowing the arrival of the beloved, the one with whom we would fall in love. The longing and the desire contained within the pages of the Song are a reminder to us of the deep love that Jesus has for us and the depth of response he is awaiting from us.  True holiness is to become absorbed in the holy love exuding from the beloved.

But here the book ends rather abruptly.  The beloved is suddenly gone and we are awaiting his return.  Where is he?  Why is our heart broken?  Some commentators have suggested that the mountain of spices represents the three days in which he is in the tomb for it is in death that bodies were wrapped in spices.  Others have said it denotes the time now when he is gone to the Father and we await his return.  The throne of the Father is a royal throne and when Jesus was born the wise-men came and brought him gold, frankincense and myrrh.  These were spices in honor of a king. 

Application:

Jesus is our king who now waits upon the spice-laden mountain, a mountain in which he receives the honor that is due him as our Lord and King!  At the same time this becomes our prayer for we, his beloved, have fallen deeply in love with him.  Our desire is for him.  We cry out, “make haste” — come back quickly for we love you and our only desire is for you.  On his holy hill, the mountain of spices permeates his very being and our prayer too is that his holy scent will, through the Holy Spirit, be brought to us, those who are his holy people and the world will be drawn toward the one who is now upon the spice-laden mountains.

Prayer:

Lord, may your love so permeate our being that your holy spice-laden scent would be noticeable through me.  Your love overwhelms me!  Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a time when we try to carry
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her
Read more

The Advantage of Sanctification

-
Scripture: Rom. 6:22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Observation: Two sides of life are presented here in great contrast.  One is a life of sin and enslavement to evil.  The other side of life is freedom which provides the advantage of sanctification (or holiness as some translate the word) that leads to eternal life.  The options here are a life of sin, slavery and death; or freedom, holiness and eternal life.  The advantage of holiness or sanctification is the benefit of the life of freedom.  Jesus died so that we might be made holy like him and this is something that is offered as a “fruit” or “advantage” right now.  The end is eternal life — but the living of life is that it can be lived out in holiness.  The next verse is really just an affirmation of the verse 22.  Sin will lead
Read more