His Heart Song
“Immature, Yet Beautiful”
- Chapter 4 opens with the Bridegroom lavishing very specific praise on the bride…no, she is not perfect yet…BUT He sees her as she will be….
- Last time we met, we spent the ENTIRE time on the very first phrase of chapter 4….”Behold, you are beautiful, My love, behold, You are beautiful!”
- What an amazing statement that God makes about us!!!!...even in our immaturity and in our weakness…He sees us as beautiful!
- Why in the world would we be considered BEAUTIFUL in the eyes of God even when we are still so immature?....if you think about it, there are several reasons…
- 1st REASON: RIGHTEOUSNESS…..2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
- We are lovely or beautiful because of what HE did for us on the cross…not because of a single thing that WE did….
- He wraps us in robes of RIGHTEOUSNESS…that’s one reason why we are beautiful!
- 2nd REASON: A WILLING SPIRIT….Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me”
- That verse is the prayer that David prayed after he sinned with Bethsheeba…..there is nothing more beautiful to God than a WILLING SPIRIT….our little bride at this point, has a willing spirit
- 3rd REASON:…GOD’S PERSONALITY….Beauty is in the eyes of the Beholder…and our Beholder (God) has a heart toward us of LOVE…He is PASSIONATE about us…therefore He views us as beautiful where someone else who was not so madly in love with us, would definitely not see us as beautiful at all
- 4th REASON:….OUR ULTIMATE DESTINY….we are destined to be His Son’s future bride…that in itself is enough to make us BEAUTIFUL and LOVELY!
- God know the end from the beginning…He knows our ultimate destiny as His Son’s Bride…
- Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
- This is TOTALLY NOT how we see ourselves…we screw up, we fail Him…and we think ourselves completely undesirable to Him…MAYBE that’s why He gave us this Song…..so we would know how HE feels about us even when we screw up!
- 1 Samuel 16:7 "...for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
- He is about to lavish praise on His Bride…not just GENERAL praise, but very SPECIFIC praise…
- You know how it is when you are madly in love with someone….you literally love EVERY little thing about them….the bride is about to be in shock about how much her Beloved loves everything about her!
- Why did He have to say it TWICE???....because we would have a really hard time believing that THAT is really how He still feels about us…even after our royal screw ups!
- EYES have to do with “seeing” which refers to FAITH and REVELATION….spiritual eyes speak of DISCERNMENT, UNDERSTANDING and WISDOM
- Ephesians 1:18 “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”
- The EYES reveal a lot about the person…they also symbolize SPIRITUAL DISCERNEMNT
- SPIRITUAL PERCEPTIONS and the deeper truth are not for the world…they can’t even be comprehended by the world or by the immature…
- When you have DOVE’S EYES…eyes that are not focused on the world…but are focused on Him…you are more able to DISCERN SPIRITUALLY
- 1 Peter 3:3-6 "Likewise you wives, be submissive to your husbands, so that some, though they do not obey the word, may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, when they SEE your reverent and chaste behavior. Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. So once the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves and were submissive to their husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are now her children if you do right and let nothing terrify you."
- DOVES EYES….singular vision…eyes on Him and Him alone…dove’s eyes speak of PURITY, INNOCENCE, and LOYALTY…
- The Holy Spirit is pictured as a DOVE…so He is saying she has the eyes of the HOLY SPIRIT…which is the eyes of REVELATION
- Matthew 6:21-23 “The lamp of the body is the EYE. If therefore your EYE is good, your whole body will be full of light. “But if your EYE is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.”
- BEHIND YOUR VEIL….the veil is her covering….just as she was covered and “hidden”…we are to be covered and hidden with HUMILITY
- The flocks of goats descending from the Mount were all black….they were all known for their long, silky hair…when they all ran down together, it was a sight to see…it literally looked like a long flowing silky black stream…
- This might not seem like a compliment to us now days…but…look deeper into it.
- Numbers 6:1-5 “The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazarite, he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins, as long as he is a Nazarite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. During the entire period of his vow of separation NO RAZOR may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long.”
- Hebrew women would give up legitimate things in their everyday life in order to focus more on the Lord….it was a vow of DEDICATION and SEPARATION….it was called a “Nazarite vow”…..the word Nazarite means CONSECRATED, DEVOTED, and DEDICATED
- So……knowing this…..you can see that the HAIR is a symbol of consecration, devotion, and dedication
- When Samson cut his hair…he broke his vow…he broke his DEDICATION to the Lord
- 1 Corinthians 11:15 tells us that a “long hair is a woman’s glory”
- HAIR speaks of the beauty of SPIRITUAL COVERING and SUBMISSION…which in turn speaks of her DEDICATION
- So…..SUBMISSION and DEDICATION is a woman’s glory…
- If you look at it that way…..this verse that we are about to read takes on all new meaning….it’s not speaking of your NATURAL hair on your head…but SYMBOLICALLY and SPIRITUALLY
- 1 Corinthians 11:5-6,15 “But every woman who prays or prophecies with her head uncovered dishonored her head…For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.”
- THINK about what some of the women in the Bible did with their hair…their GLORY….in John 12:1-6 Mary of Bethany and in Luke 7:44 wiped Jesus’ feet with their tears of love using he SURRENDERED GLORY, HER DEDICATION, HER SUBMISSION…..which was her HAIR!!!!
- He is telling her that He sees her SURRENDER….He sees that HER WILL is to please Him and to be DEDICATED to Him……remember…He sees the end from the beginning!!!!
- GOATS…..they are very stately in their walk….the Bible even tells us that…
- Proverbs 30:29-31 “There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing: a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; a strutting rooster, a HE-GOAT, and a king with his army around him.”
- So GOATS signify…..DIGNITY and DIVINE ORDER…the Beloved sees His bride as having DIGNITY and DIVINE ORDER….not to draw attention to herself…but for Him and Him alone….remember….her hair is UNDER THE VEIL….Under HUMILITY!
- Her hair is not just like A GOAT going down the mountain….but is like a FLOCK of GOATS….that means its ABUNDANT
- MountGilead was a great place to feed goats because it was very fertile…..so all this together means that the Bride was WELL FED….she is WELL FED ON THE LOVE and the WORD OF GOD!!!!
- If you are not WELL FED on the Word of God….your DEDICATION is not all that fabulous….it is surely very weak and you are surely prone to drift away
- What does He see when He lifts your veil???....does He see DOVE’S EYES….where you have single vision for Him and Him alone…..Does He see your HAIR…..your total SUBMISSION and DEDICATION to Him and Him alone????
- It just makes sense that the TEETH are next to be lavished over…..
- What do we use our teeth for???...we use it to EAT and TO CHEW
- A full set of teeth help us to chew on the food and it even helps to unlock some of the tastes of some of the foods that we eat
- TEETH help us get nourishment into our bodies! You have to have TEETH to eat anything of substance….if you don’t have teeth…chewing meat is almost impossible….just like little baby Cohen…he has four teeth….he can handle a cookie or cracker if he can soak it with enough slobber…but a big bite of meat would just do him in at this stage in his life!
- TEETH speak of the ability to receive and CHEWON the Word of God
- Paul even talks about the Corinthians and how they can’t handle the meat of God’s Word…
- 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 “…I…could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to…babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with SOLID FOOD; for until now you were not able to receive it.”
- We are nourished by meditating on God’s Word…that’s how we are FED….we gotta have spiritual TEETH for that!
- The Beloved knows that His Bride loves His Word and she feeds on it! He doesn’t have to hold back and give her only baby food…He can give her MEAT!!!! Cause He says “each of her teeth has a twin…no one is missing!!!
- With a FULL SET OF SPIRITUAL TEETH…she can even understand the subtle meanings of His Word that other people miss..
- What’s in your SPIRITUAL mouth????
- Check out what Hebrews says ….
- Hebrews 5:12-14 “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s Word all over again. You need MILK, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But SOLID FOOD is for the MATURE, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
- So….our teeth are to be like a FLOCK OF SHORN SEEP…
- SHEEP are considered to be clean animals in the Old Testament
- SHEEP that have been shorn have wool of all the same length….the wool of an unshaven sheep is all discombobulated and different shapes and lengths…
- WOOL speaks of FLESHLY Zeal….
- The priests of Zadok were forbidden to wear WOOL…it made them sweat, they had to wear LINEN… (you can read about this in Ezekiel 44:15-18)
- These sheep have been SHORN….that means that all her FLESHLY zeal is gone….not there anymore…
- SHORN SHEEP are also clean from IMPURITIES…spiritually speaking there is no UNCLEANNESS, GOSSIP, ANGER, CURSING, BACKBITING, or any other yuck stuff
- SHEEP are also totally helpless and dependent….
- These sheep had just been shorn and they had just come up from the washing…How do we get ourselves washed today…..????? YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS!!!!...... by the washing of the water of HIS WORD!
- His WORD gives us WISDOM and BALANCE……PURITY!!!!!...completely DEPENDENT on HIM!
- Ephesians 5:26 “That He might…cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.”
- James 1:21 “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
- What else does being washed in the Word do for us….????.....it gives us discernment of good and evil….
- When we are washed in His Word…we don’t call good evil or evil good as it warns us against in Isaiah 5:20
- As we use our TEETH on the WORD of GOD…our MOTIVES are cleansed….our WOOL is shorn….and we don’t walk around in our FLESH…trying to get all attention for ourselves….
- Ask Him to cleanse the words of your mouth today by His Word ….ask Him to make your mouth be in agreement with His Word!
- LIPS….verbal communication….our SPEECH
- SCARLET RIBBON…..speech that has been redeemed
- SCARLET…in Hebrew it is “shani”…it refers to a small insect through which the dye for the color scarlet is obtained…it was extracted by crushing the eggs of this worm-like creature…”shani” is the RED PRODUCT…..the Hebrew word for worm is “tolaath” this word is found in the Hebrew of Exodus 26:31 when describing the VEIL that is to be created and woven and placed over the Holy of Holies…
- HANG WITH ME HERE….listen to what Hebrews says about what the veil is…
- Hebrews 10:19-20 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the BLOOD of JESUS, by a new and living way opened for us through the CURTAIN, that is, HIS BODY…”
- KEEP IN MIND…that us…sinful mankind is referred to as a WORM in Job 25:6 and again in Isaiah 41:1 (remember “worm Jacob”…..which is the same word for SCARLET
- ARE YOU GETTING WHAT THIS MEANS????...... do you understand what Jesus had to make Himself like….do you see the depths He had to go to for US…
- Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as SCARLET (SHANI), they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like CRIMSON (TOLA-WORM), they shall be as wool.”
- DO YOU SEE NOW WHAT JESUS HAD TO BECOME IN ORDER TO TAKE AWAY OUR SIN????
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that God causes His own Son to become SIN for us……He had to become like a WORM (US, SIN)
- REMEMBER….i order to get the scarlet dye …the tolaath (worm) had to be CRUSHED….
- In Isaiah 53:5, 10 it tells us the Messiah would be “bruised” and CRUSHED…..
- Because He was CRUSHED…the scarlet, cleansing blood flowed….it flowed for us
- “Her lips are like a thread of scarlet; her speech is comely (lovely)…”
- With the BLOOD (the scarlet) applied…her lips are ready to speak things that will please her Beloved…
- PRAY….ask God to keep the scarlet on your lips….always remember the CRUSHING He went through for you….let it be what pours out of your lips….
- SCARLET…the blood of REDEMPTION….
- Our REDEMPTION should always be what is upon our lips…that SCARLET STRAND should IMPACT our lips AT ALL TIMES!!!!
- Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
- Our speech is an indication of the grace of God in our lives….
- Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
- Pure speech is, of course, a mark of spiritual maturity. …The contrast between the unrighteous and the righteous is clear when it comes to SPEECH
- Of the unrighteous, in Romans 3:13 "Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips."
- For believers, in Hebrews 13:15 "Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."
- 1 Peter 3:10 "He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile."
- The Beloved even said in Song of Songs 2:14 that our voice is sweet, our face is lovely”…the reason it is SWEET is because of the scarlet ribbon….the BLOOD APPLIED….
- When the Holy Spirit anoints our lips….our words are SWEET not only to Him but to those around us