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 ti...
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

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more