Bibledoorajar loves the country girl's adoration of the King

     Our country girl is beginning to see her true destiny and to be able to walk more fully in it. She sees the special fruits that have been laid up at "our doors" probably by her countrymen for her husband and his bride. She wants to give him of her best in the place where the mandrakes (see Gen. 20:14-16) give off a wonderful fragrance. Therefore, it is easy to say she is planning this time of great romance--a time to enter more deeply into what she now so admires in her husband. He is so wise and she wants to show him off again to her mother, but more so, she wants to lie in his arms and be instructed by him.

     Jesus promised that if we loved Him, that we would certainly come to know Him and that He would come and abide in our lives (John 14:23). But He did not say that this would be a "you have arrived" time. No, He made it clear that it would be a tender time of instruction and change, a time to learn how to live together. His abiding in our lives gives us great revelations about how wonderful the Godhead is and just how great is their preparations for the Bride who is mysteriously in Christ. Think about this, we have within us, glory that cab come only from God. We live in a different place where the mandrake fragrances are intense and we cannot help but feel the peace and protection from all that would harm. We are whispering directly into His ear and He into ours. Daily the Spirit shares with us the power found in the name of the King if only we believe. Today, I think I will relax with Him and reread some of His love letters, 1, 2 and 3 John. Have a great week and feel the love.

Bibledoorajar Desires the Stature of a Palm-Tree

The King likens the returning bride's stature to a palm-tree. This is a good thing because in the Bible the palm tree is always associated with spiritual good and with the delight that comes from good. The palm tree is stable, growing deep in desert soil. One might say the bride was a statuesque lady greatly to be admired. The King was ready to climb up and partake of her fruits.

Today, in our Bible class we were attempting to get our students to understand that we cannot work or earn our way to heaven but that our King loves it when we bear fruit. Our good works have a wonderful aroma to Him and fruit that we produce because we are truly His and want to serve Him is the best fruit of all. Its' fragrance cannot be surpassed as far as our King is concerned. And just think, how varied and interesting the fruits are to Him as they come from His bride in whom He is so well pleased!

I'll choose to be a palm tree this week, how about you?

Bibledoorajar exults in the King's praise of the Country girl's returned

     Most people rejoice when estranged marrieds can work things out and "get back together". But only those very close to them know if the return brought great joy to the hearts of the couple. I have heard of some who renew their vows, others take a second honeymoon, etc. When they go among old friends, many who may have taken sides during the "split", may make one or the other feel a bit of discomfort. And so it was with the country girl. Happy together, she and the king returned to some of their favorite places to see the garden of nuts, the budding vines and things in flower. When they meet old friends or the king's subjects, they call out to her to come closer in order that they may observe the king's bride more closely. She feels a bit uncomfortable, like she was just a popular dance of the times. Or, maybe they wanted to dance joyfully with her at her return. I think they, as we Christians should when one is restored, just wanted to experience the joy of once again having her among them---a beloved of the king.

     At any rate, even if she wasn't completely comfortable around the king's subjects, she did rejoice that she was fullly restored to her king. And, my oh my, how he rejoiced in her! As he describes her,
(Song 7:1 ff), there is no doubt that he feels she is perfect in every way. Someone said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the king is completely gripped by the country girl's beauty.

     Surely when Israel, God's chosen people, heard this story they could not help but be impressed with the way God presented His love for them. Their very Creator was Israel's husband! And in the Church age what a beautiful picture of how Christ sees us, his beloved bride. We may behold each other and smell stinky armpits, but Christ beholds the beauty of every member. If we are feet, then the word declares that the feet of those who bring the gospel are beautiful. Whatever our part in the body, He finds us altogether lovely and is able to enjoy and use us to reflect His glory. All the blemishes we  see in each other, He sees as covered with the flowers and budding vines of His righteousness. We are cautioned that every "body part" is pleasant to the Lord and all are to be esteemed as they work together to be the productive bride the King desires. Have a blessed week!

Bibledoorajar applauds the country girl who abandoned pride and sought the King

     Our country girl has returned to her shepherd-king and has successfully dealt with her pride. How easy it would have been for her to agree with the daughters of Jerusalem that she was made for the pomp and circumstance and that she had achieved the right to turn her husband away. But instead, she truthfully acknowledged her position and fled to the one whom she knew alone could meet her great need.
     This is a choice for all of us. We must abandon the cause of our human condition and all the worldly advisers. We must admit we need Him more than all others. After all, "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked" (1 John 2:5-6). And if it is the Shepherd we seek, we must first "learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29) and realize that the Shepherd resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

     Now our country girl is seeking him for himself and is declaring her need to abide in him. She is seeking that which is more valuable--the things of her Shepherd. Now, for her beloved:

"Who is she whose glance is an appearance of the morning, Fair as

the moon, Clear as the sun, Terrible as an army with banners? (Song 6:10)

     Isn't it wonderful that she is fully restored as though never having turned him away? And what about the splendor he sees in her? A vision of clarity, she moves with power and majesty. Holy Spirit, help us to remain close to our Shepherd, thinking more of holiness and his kingdom than the lure of the world.

Bibledoorajar realizes the country girl is the King's prized possession

     The country girl is back with the king tending his sheep. He is so glad to have her back; he is so glad that he says she is more important than his most prized possession--Jerusalem. She is beautiful and has a great effect on him, slaying him with her eyes. Gone from her neck is the thousand bucklers and shields mentioned earlier and now the king sees sixty queens and eighty concubines and virgins without number. Wow she is growing into quite the woman and this allures him much more than the ornaments of gold he previously placed upon her neck. How pleasing it is to him that she has blossomed into a beautiful lover--a repentant girl returning much more assuredly to the one she loves.

     I learned the song below as a child in Vacation Bible School. How much more it means to my repentant heart now than it did then. To be welcomed again after mistakes, after maturation, and after restoration is a wonderfully valuable thing.

In God's green pastures feeding, 

by His cool waters lie.

Soft in the evening walk my Lord and I;

all the sheep of His pasture

fare so wondrously fine,

His sheep and I.

Waters cool, pastures green

In the evening walk my Lord and I.

Orien Johnson 1956

Bibledoorajar goes with the Country Girl to Find the Beloved

     Last year I divided some of the lilies in my yard because when overcrowded they tend to not bloom as much. Now the garden is a source of great joy for me. The lilies, white, yellow, purple and bronze, are bigger and taller and more beautiful to behold. The task of dividing them was worth it.

Our country girl knows exactly where HER beloved has gone. Her mind goes back to the time when he first sought her out as he was watching over his sheep among the lilies of Israel. He will be out there laboring and if she wants to restore her relationship with him she must go to him there---the place to shepherd sheep. Back to the place when she was fair--a lily of the valley. She knows he still longs for her; she simply must go to him. And, so she does. And she goes with new commitment. Early on she had said, "my beloved is mine and I am his," but now she says, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."

In my own personal walk, I remember putting this commitment this way: I know that I know that I know that I am His and He is mine! There is no turning away now! The country girl and I have chosen to stay with Him among the sheep and share the work. Yesterday He and I (among others)  cooked for and served the family of a sister gone home to eternity and we applauded the decision for Christ as two young men were baptized. Then we laid the body of His beloved sheep to rest. I wouldn't have chosen to be anywhere else!
    

Bibledoorajar discusses Savior and Lord

     Thank God that our country girl's nightmare has ended on a positive note. In the end, she realized the love of her life was both her savior AND Lord. When she told her friends that he was altogether lovely, her realizations were full of descriptions of his wonderful complex personality and physical attributes. He was altogether lovely. Her words, however ancient, describe someone who is full of beauty and splendor. He is matchless according to  her testimony and she convinces the daughters of Jerusalem that she had been wrong in rejecting his coming ("Oh, all you who hear"). The daughters respond, "Where has he gone, your lover, so that we may seek him with you?" And once again, they elevate the bride by calling her the "fairest among women." She is seeing clearly now!

     We can all rejoice when our testimony to our Lord is such that those around us are caused to declare their desire to seek Him. And those declarations call for a response from us too. From the beginning God the Father wanted the value of Christ to be known. When reading in the book of Leviticus about the Great Offerings God required of His people, one sees that God started by explaining the Burnt Offering. The offering made (by Christ) and its value was directly related to the Father ("God gave His only..."). Next the Meal offering and the Peace Offering and lastly the Sin and Trespass Offering---all ministering to the spiritual needs of God's people.  But when the people of Israel responded they did so in reverse by approaching first with the sin offering. This revealed understanding of their basic human need. God says His Son is altogether lovely, full of compassion even when He must whisper words of rebuke and never must we lose His value to the Father. The Father demands He become Savior and Lord.

     The ladies of Jerusalem are told that she knows where her shepherd--king will be. He has gone to his garden--to happy surroundings. She knows she must look for him there. Next week we will  see if they find him there.

     Just as the Father established four great offering to set forth the aspects of what Christ has done for us, so He ordained four distinct gospels to describe this savior and king in His earthly life. Reading them is a great way to get to know the Son of Man (the earth) , Son of God (the heavens). Enjoy!