This love story is a spiritual road map of sorts that lays out for us our walk on that "narrow path" that leads to righteousness. Within this book we find how the King deals with and teaches the bride to overcome the obstacles that hinder their love relationship. Along with the King’s chastening is revealed the thoughts and intentions of the heart of Christ. The fact that He does chasten the bride to raise her up is balanced by the way the King goes about "drawing" her in, which we will find is through His love, compassion, and mercy.

The most important message that we will find contained in this book is learning God’s WAYS. Knowledge only becomes of any real value if it is contrasted with wisdom. And if you only get one thing out of reading this book I pray it would be to get a glimpse of God’s ways, which are a manifestation of His wisdom.

There is much depth within the Song of Solomon as well as many different meanings concerning each verse of this glorious book. It is not the goal of this writing to go through all the different meanings of each verse nor is it the goal to be "comprehensive" in this study. I consider this study barely an outline and much is left up to the reader in allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you as individuals. This experience I will not rob you of.

Finally, the interpretation of this book is solely what I believe I have been shown by the Holy Spirit. Since the word of God is written "line upon line, precept upon precept", there can be many different meanings and applications to each verse. If the Holy Spirit is revealing something completely different to you concerning a certain passage of scripture in this book, PRAISE THE LORD! The goal of this writing is not to lay forth THE meaning of the Song of Solomon but to hopefully be an "initiator" that sparks a new level of passion and desire for the Lord Jesus Christ and contrast what which the Lord has already been showing you.

Most of all, open your heart to the Lord as He wishes to unveil His overwhelming love for us as He seeks to draw us into intimacy and passion with Him and raise us up as His pure and spotless bride for that soon to come marriage supper of the Lamb.

All scriptures KJV unless otherwise noted. The numbers in brackets [ ] are the Strong’s concordance reference numbers to the hebrew words.

For a free copy of this book you may write, phone, or e-mail:

Jim Rinker

1115 Fern Ave.

Kenhorst, Pa. 19607

610-796-4862

rinker@3dp.com

I would like to begin by describing the three main character's in this story. The role of these characters will become much clearer as we study this book.

1. There is first King Solomon who allegorically represents Jesus. The name Solomon in the Hebrew is [08010] Sh@lomoh and means "peace" and thus giving us a direct connection to king Jesus the "Prince of peace".

2. There is the shulamite woman who represents all those who in their Christian walk decide that they are not satisfied with their initial "outer court" experience with God but rather desire to "fully know" the King. Although the shulamite is one person in this book she represents the "bride of Christ" singular. This is because "IN CHRIST JESUS" all are one thus all who make up the bride are "one body" singular.

She represents all who choose to run after their King. This is also evident in verse 3 as she says "virgins" plural and in verse 4 were she says "we will run...".

The word shulamite in the Hebrew is [07759] Shuwlammiyth and means "the perfect" or "the peaceful". This is a prophetic picture of the destiny of the bride of Christ. Perfect in beauty and holiness and totally at rest and peace as she rests upon her love Jesus and His finished work at the cross.

3. There are the "daughter's of Jerusalem" or "daughter's of Zion" which represent all those who did have an initial salvation experience but are content to view the King from afar. They are content with that initial salvation experience and wish to go no further in their walk with the Lord. They are represented her as "plural" (ie. daughters) for two reasons.

a. Because the gate is straight that leads to righteousness and few there be that find it. In contrast, broad is the way that leads to destruction and MANY there be that travel that road.

b. Since these are not "connected" to the head then they are not yet "one" or in "unity" with the Holy Spirit thus are "many". These represent many different "wills" that are not part or under the "will of God".

With this contrast between the "shulamite woman" and the "daughters of Jerusalem" in mind, the Song of Solomon does not begin at the initial "salvation experience". Rather, the beginning of this book is when one desires "more" from God than what was given to them as the "free gift". It is when one accepts the challenge by God to enter into a deeper walk with Him no matter what the personal cost. For those who choose to travel the "narrow path", Jesus is no longer an "escape plan" or "meal ticket" but a burning desire that will not be quenched until He is FULLY realized. These are very "discontent" with their "outer court" experience (but not ungrateful) and wish to press right into the "holy of holies". Thus it is here were we begin our journey through this book.

Solomon in the Hebrew is [08010] Sh@lomoh and means "peace" and thus giving us a direct connection to king Jesus the "Prince of peace".

There is so much depth in these first three verses!

It is evident from the language that the something has happened within the shulamite woman to make her view the King in this manner. So what happened? How did she come to view the King in this manner? I believe the answer is simple. She simply received and responded to God’s love for her. It is in her response to His love that her "eyes" are opened and "ears" unstopped and she is now able to see into the spiritual realm and behold the beauty and glory of Jesus as He really is.

It is because of the "YES" in her heart to receive His love and then her "willingness" to want to know the King in a deeper, more intimate way that Jesus revealed Himself to her in this way. It is out of this "revelation" that she realizes who Jesus is in comparison to all else around her. So it is from "divine revelation" that she is drawn "upward" by Jesus.

Let's look in depth at this passage because the shulamite woman makes some significant statements here.

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love [is] better than wine".

In this we see a "receiving" of His love and thus an "intimate exchange" between the bride of Christ and Jesus. That exchange takes place because she both feels and receives His manifest love for her. She also realizes that His love is better than anything else that she has previously experienced. She is beginning to see the goodness of God. His goodness has always been there but what was once despised, ignored, and overlooked is now taken seriously and diligently sought after.

"Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name [is as] ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee".

Because she realizes who the King is because she can now see His grace, mercy, compassion, and love, His name now has POWER. Ointment is a symbol of the anointing and she now realizes that there is POWER in the name of JESUS. At one time it was just the name of the King but now even when she says the name Jesus she is literally brought to tears and brokeness. It is because of all these things that the "virgin's", those who are also seeking diligently after the King along with her, love Him.

I will stop here for a moment to make a statement. In her current immature state the bride's heart is "toward" the King. She is running after Jesus but she loves Him for His goodness or "His hand". She loves Him for what He can provide for her. We will see as we go through this book that as the bride matures she no longer seeks Jesus because of His "provision" but rather she seeks Jesus for who He is. This is referred to as "seeking His face". Prophetically this is were all who run after Christ are headed. There will be a bride that will love the King with all of their soul, strength, and might because He is LORD AND KING of the universe and His character and nature are beauty and NOT because He gives them good things. This is a necessary "season" for the bride but not an end-point.

"Draw me, we will run after thee".

This is her "official" entrance onto the narrow path that Jesus spoke of.

The "love" of Christ was shed abroad so that all who "respond" to His love will be saved. It is in her response to His goodness to "draw me" that Jesus IMMEDIATELY begins to speak to her on a "higher" spiritual level than He previously has before. He is able to do this because she allowed Him to ELEVATE her to a higher level than she was at previously. This is also an important point, Jesus "meets" us were we are at but in order for us to "receive" from Him we must be elevated to the place were we can receive from Him. This can only happen as we "respond to His invitation". We see this next.

"The king hath brought me into his chambers".

See it is in His "secret chambers" that the "true unadulterated" revelation of Jesus Christ exists. It is only in this place of "solitude" were she can be divinely protected away from the deception that exists all around her. It is in the "secret chambers" that Jesus wishes to have "divine fellowship" with His bride. It is for "divine fellowship" with God that mankind has been created in the first place. So as she is elevated into the secret chambers she is now able to receive the "true manna" or "true bread".

It is in this place were she no longer receives "contaminated food" which is full of man's doctrine's and opinions. Much of what Jesus has to say in this place of solitude is CONTRARY to what she has been previously taught by men. If she had not been "elevated" and "set apart" much of what she would hear would be rejected by her natural mind because it is not what is being taught in the mainstream and would seem to her as "false doctrine" or "weird theology" and maybe lost because of "misunderstanding" on the part of the bride.

Jesus has to totally "reprogram" her way of thinking. Paul referred to this as the "renewing of our minds". It is in the secret chambers that all of the "false conceptions" and "false representations" of the nature and character of the King will be broken and the true "JESUS" will be revealed to her.

Finally, she proclaims:

"We will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee".

Because of all of this she is totally overwhelmed with His manifest love. Out of His display of love for her flows PRAISE and WORSHIP.

There is a sacred circle that we see in these first five verses that is the "power source" of our relationship with Jesus. From this sacred circle all else flows. It is upon this "foundation" which Jesus will build in raising up the bride to maturity and completion. This circle consists of:

- Receiving Jesus love (in many forms)

- From receiving His love comes desire

- From desire flows holy passion

- From holy passion we run after Jesus to RECEIVE more (we desire more of Him)

All else that we will read through this book flows from this foundation. The key is HIS GOODNESS and His EVERLASTING COVENANT with us. As this is recognized and cherished by the bride she will continue to press forward toward to MARK which is the HIGH CALLING of GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.

From these first five verses we begin to see how our Lord and King draws us to Him. Jesus does not draw us to Him through hype, fear, or manipulation. These have been and always will be the ways of men. Rather, the King through an outpouring of His love and affection literally "conquers" the heart of the bride. In this first chapter we begin to see His ways in operation and how contrary they are to the ways of man.

In chapter 1, we left off in verse 4 were the King has brought the bride into His "chambers", that place of "elevation" and "seclusion" were He can begin to directly speak the pure unadulterated living word to her. This is indeed a glorious place to be. She has already described how she sees the "beauty" and "spender" of the Lord Jesus Christ as her "eyes" were opened.

There is a second revelation that she gets in His chambers. It is how she "rightly" sees herself.

We read in:

She now realizes that the King loves her just the way she is because Jesus loves us with an agape love that

is BEYOND human comprehension. She now feels LOVED by the King! And with this agape love comes an astounding revelation. She begins to view herself in PROPER PERSPECTIVE.

She no longer sees herself as either a lowly "good for nothing" sinner (black) or as a confident, self-righteous "King’s kid" (comely) but she now realizes that she is lovely to Him even as one who has been "darkened" by sin. She now sees herself as simply a "sinner saved by grace".

To put this in context, Jesus obviously does not want us to REMAIN "darkened" by sin but in His agape love He loves us just as we are. It is from the perspective of being received "just as I am without one plea" that the Lord will be able to deal with the "old" adamic nature that she still has and at the same time not let her "fall under condemnation" while the "old" is being removed from her.

It is only through this unconditional love and acceptance of her just as she is that this task can be accomplished. Thus we see the "dichotomy" being played out were Jesus chastens us but in such a way that we neither "despise" it nor "faint" under it.

His ways in raising up the bride are key as we study this book. His goal is to raise up the bride and fully restore to her the inheritance bought and paid for at the croos of Christ. With this goal in mind, Christ manifests this wisdom as He uses love to draw her UPWARD to Him.

Hebrews 12: 5-6 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

As we study this text, notice here that she is addressing the "daughters of Jerusalem", those who have not yet chose to respond to the love of Christ and run after Him. Because they choose to "remain" content with their outer court experience, they have no knowledge of God’s ways. Because of this, they still openly "practice" the ways of man that are still part of the old "adamic" nature. This includes "judging" from the "outward" appearance. The maturing bride can "feel" their condemnation upon her as they view the maturing bride as one who does not quite have it all together. From the outward she seems to them as a "backslider". But because her HEART is positioned rightly before the King, His view of her is much different.

As the maturing bride receives Jesus unconditional love for her, this is the first TRUTH that she begins to reveal to those around her. She responds by saying something like:

"He does not love me because I "double-tithed" on Sunday or because I won 20 people to Christ last week or because I did not "peek" at that dirty movie on TV. He loves me with a divine love that is unconditional".

This is something the "daughters" have not yet got a grasp on. Their whole theology of God's love is give to get. There whole view of God's love is CONDITIONAL.

It is His PROMISES that are conditional, not His LOVE. A very IMPORTANT but DISTINCT truth that is vital for all to realize.

In this verse we also see black in reference to:

Tents and curtains refer to a "separation" or distinction. They separate that which is on the outside from that which is on the inside. Thus her "outward" flesh (black) is being distinguished from her "inward" beauty (comely).

Thus the tents refer to a seperation of the outer man or old nature from the inner man or new nature. These must be seperated as we are called to judge on the spiritual level and not in the natural, what we see with our physical eyes but what we see with the eyes of our heart.

We see her continue this thought in the next verse:

In the first part of this verse she exhorts the daughters to stop looking at the outward. She knows that she has been darkened by sin. If we can stop here for a moment and prophetically "look ahead" to were Jesus is taking His church, namely RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT:

This is what the maturing bride has got a glimpse of in the "inner chambers". She sees others judgment and condemnation on her (and everyone else for that matter) and says to them:

And likewise if we would put on those same glasses we would "judge in righteousness" as well.

In the second part of verse 6 we get the maturing bride’s view of the "daughter’s of Jerusalem", those around her who as of yet have not began to run after the King and thus are in bondage to practicing that which comes forth from the old adamic nature, namely hype, fear, and manipulation, which are all man’s ways. She says:

We had mentioned earlier that the "daughters" view of God's love as "give to get". They had to "do something" to receive it instead of receiving it by FAITH because "it is written". Because of this "earthly"

view of God she proclaims that the daughter's were angry with her. They were telling her that you had to "do something" to receive His love and put upon her THEIR yoke of religious bondage. They made her "keeper of

the vineyards". They made her a slave to fulfill some man's dream or vision.

They were in effect saying to her:

Please note that these things in and of themself are not necessarily wrong. What makes them wrong is to do them to gain His approval or think that in doing them we are righteous in His sight. The maturing bride tried religion. She knows this is all vanity and profits little to raise her up spiritually or draw her closer to Christ.

Revelation from the King Himself will do this to a person. It changes you forever. Dirty water and tainted bread no longer tastes good to her anymore. Only the pure streams of living water and fresh manna from heaven will suffice to her from this point forward.

She goes on to proclaim:

She was doing all this "stuff" to fulfill her religious obligation to "receive" what was ALREADY hers IN CHRIST JESUS (if she would have known it) and by doing those religious things she did not keep her OWN vineyard, her own personal relationship with Jesus. But now by entering into the "inner chambers" she can look back on this and say never again will I allow my relationship with Jesus to be hindered by anyone or anything. I will from this point forward DILIGENTLY MAINTAIN my personal walk with Christ.

She then turns to the King and asks:

She is asking Jesus were are those TRULY following after you? Were can I find your MANIFEST PRESENCE? Were are those who have got the same REVELATION from You and of You that I have? Were are those who have CEASED from their FLESHLY LABORS and have come to REST in the finished

work of the cross of Christ?

She then states:

Song of Solomon 1:7b "for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?"

In effect she is saying that she NEVER wants to be lead astray off of that narrow path even again.

She truly wants JESUS to be her leader. She will never again be content with living her Christian walk through another person or movement. She will only be content to hear God's voice for herself.

The King then answers her:

His answer to her is to seek out those who are following Him. It is because God chooses to reveal His glory through men and women.

He is saying:

See, there are no "lone rangers" in the body and the Lord is building a church (singular) and raising up a bride (singular). Because of this fact He points her to begin to RELATE to and RECEIVE from those who have

gone before her on their quest to follow the King wherever He goes. He is leading her into right relationship as He fits her into His "building no made with hands".

This passage of scripture has traditionally been interpreted as the King giving a description of the shulamite woman. I wish to offer here an alternate "interpretation" and switch the character roles. The Song of Solomon is written in such a way that it is unclear at times who is speaking, either the King or the shulamite woman. I believe that the Lord intentionally wrote it this way so that dual meanings can come from certain passages of this text. Remember, God’s word is written line upon line, precept upon precept.

So the first level of revelation in this passage of scripture is to interpret it as the King speaking to the shulamite woman. In this case we see Jesus great love and devotion to the maturing bride. This is the traditional interpretation, and a correct interpretation of this passage of scripture.

The second level of revelation in this passage is the "role reversal" were it is the shulamite woman describing the King. It is on this interpretation of this passage of scripture that I will go into much detail. The key revelation that we gain through this "role reversal" is found in NUMBERS. We will see this throughout this book were we see the numbers three, five, seven, eight, ten and twelve being used to highlight overall theme’s in this book. These numbers are all biblically significant and will be described in detail as they are applicable to the text.

As we study this text in light of the role reversal, do not forget to also relate what is being described of the King by the shulamite woman as also being said of the shulamite woman by the King.

So let’s see what the Lord has for us in this text.

We see here that the maturing bride gives a THREE fold description of her King. Three is the number of spiritual completeness which means in this case that the King has become her all in all. This is the theme of this text and also this chapter.

Before we study this description I want to say that this is not the FULL description of the nature and character of King Jesus but it is ALL she knows Him as in her current spiritual condition. As we will see later in this series she goes from this current THREE fold description of Jesus to a SEVEN fold description of Him in Song of Solomon 3:6-10 and finally to a TWELVE fold description of Him in Song of Solomon 5:10-16.

These numbers are very significant. Three signifies SPIRITUAL COMPLETION and thus at this stage she finds herself COMPLETE in Him. Seven signifies SPIRITUAL PERFECTION and REST and thus signifies that she has ceased from laboring in the flesh and has entered into the SABBATH REST of the Lord. Seven also signifies holiness becoming a reigning theme in the life of the maturing bride. Twelve signifies GOVERNMENT or AUTHORITY and signifies that the Lord has become Lord of her life. We see then that these numbers signify SPIRITUAL MILEPOSTS in the walk of the maturing bride with the King and thus a measuringstick if you will of her spiritual development.

Within these three stages we also see a shift in her focus:

- In stage one her focus is self were she is complete in Him. Initially she comes to Jesus to be "complete"

thus it is for her pleasure.

- In stage two she labors WITH the Holy Spirit as she seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

She is in transition (metamorphosis).

- In stage three Jesus is the focus as she does all things to please Him. Thus she denies self and does all

things to please her King.

Now that we see prophetically were the maturing bride is headed, let's go back and study her three fold description of the King.

In this the maturing bride proclaims her King as:

- A company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots

- Thy cheeks are comely with rows [of jewels]

- Thy neck with chains [of gold].

In the first analogy, her description of Him is as:

"A company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots"

Horses and chariots represent strength. So the maturing bride can see the ALMIGHTY KING JESUS as being all powerful.

Pharaoh had searched for the "choicest" of horses to be in his army. I was told there were 70,000 horses in his army that were hand-picked. Not just any horse would do but rather only the strongest and most elegant.

So this is also a picture of King Jesus massive wealth and riches. What our King possesses is COSTLY, ABUNDANT, and SELECT.

Likewise, Jesus sees the shulamite woman as becoming strong in her devotion to Him. She is CHOICE, COSTLY, and SELECT simply because she responded by running after Him. Note here that although we are yet immature Jesus says these things about us. We once again see God’s ways painted throughout this book as He chooses to "woo" the bride to Himself by love and affection and not a critical heavy hand.

In the second analogy, her description of Him is:

"Thy cheeks are comely with rows [of jewels]".

Cheeks refer to "countenance" and is were the "outward" manifestation of our emotions rests. In her current spiritual state the maturing bride needs CONSTANT affirmation of His love for her and is constantly seeking for His manifest presence. She needs to FEEL His love for her. As He "touches her emotions" and allows her to feel His love for her it is this that she covets and describes as "rows of jewels".

Likewise, Jesus sees her emotional display or "response" to His manifest presence as a precious jewel to Him. Jesus is ecstatic when we are overcome by His manifest presence and respond to His love.

In the third analogy, her description of Him is:

"Thy neck with chains [of gold]".

The neck refers to the will. Our will can be strong in a positive sense of submission and thus be "flexible" or can be strong in rebellion and thus be referred to as being "stiff-necked". The will can also be flexible in the sense of MERCY and COMPASSION were we always seeks to make the first move to reconcile and restore. This is what I believe this refers to.

She sees an all powerful, superabundant God who is merciful with her and will RELATE with her right were she is. He is not "stiff-necked" in the sense that He is requires more from her that she is able to bear in her

current spiritual condition. He rather meets her were she is and from that standpoint ELEVATES her to higher levels through His AGAPE LOVE for her. It is this aspect of the King that causes her to proclaim "Thy neck with chains [of gold]".

Likewise, Jesus sees the maturing bride as not being stiff-necked but rather that she is now submitting her will to Him. She no longer stands in open rebellion to the King but chooses to respond to His outpouring of love by humbling herself before Him. In this we see the wisdom of God in how He chooses to BREAK the will of man. He chooses to make us broken through love and affection. As we "fall on the rock" of His mercy and compassion our will will become broken. If we choose to remain in rebellion then He is forced to "fall upon us".

So if we can stop for a moment and review how far the maturing bride has come so far we will see that:

- Jesus first laid the foundation of the "sacred circle" of revealing His love for her which built passion and

desire within her which then caused her to desire MORE of Him.

- Jesus next caused her to know that He loves her just as she is UNCONDITIONALLY.

- Jesus then revealed Himself to her as the all powerful, loving King who is willing to meet her were she is

King. He has become her "all in all" although in a yet immature form.

So as these truths have now become part of her (and those running with her) she now goes on to describe what effect the nature and character of Jesus has on her and how this causes her to put her faith into action.

The Hebrew word for border is [08447] towr and means turn, row, or border. This word is derived from [08446] tuwr, a primitive root, and means search, search out, spy out, or seek.

I believe that what is being said here is that the "making of borders" is her appeal to the King that her offering to Him is her dedication to seek after or run after the King. She knows that this is all that she can really offer Him as the all powerful and all abundant King. The words gold and silver are here to convey that here dedication will be the best that she can offer and that she will indeed give her finest to Him.

In addition to this we see that she is discovering that there is a "co-laboring" that is happening here as she declares "we". Thus, we see here that the Holy Spirit plays a role as the one who "draws us to Jesus" and while our role is to "respond" to His drawing.

She continues on:

It is her "dedication" that is a sweet fragrance to the King. In her current state of maturity, as mentioned earlier, this is all she has to offer and the King does accept this form of worship. She will find out

and be lead into what true worship entails as we progress through this book.

She continues on:

Myrrh speaks of DEATH for it is one of the principle spices in the EMBALMING of a corpse. It is also one of the chief spices in the anointing oil that was to be used to anoint the Holy instruments and the priests in the tabernacle of worship. It also speaks of SACRIFICE since it was one of the three gifts brought to Jesus at His birth prophetically looking forward to His sacrifice on the cross.

All of these "attributes" of Jesus are conveyed in the word MYRRH (primarily His sacrifice) and it is for these reasons why He is a bundle of myrrh to her. She is so captivated by His sacrifice for her that she wants Him to always be with her. Her desire for the King to lay on her breasts all night is intimate in two ways. One it shows an exchange of affection. Secondly, it shows that she wants Him to get close to her heart and thus get to know her intimately. She wants Him to know her deepest desires of the heart. The heart speaks of MOTIVES thus she wants Him to relate to her based on her INTENTIONS.

The King then responds to the "outpouring" of love from the maturing bride. He gives a FIVE fold description of the maturing bride. Five is the number of grace and it is GRACE that the King is giving to her in

exchange for her humbled heart position.

The King responds:

The five fold description of the maturing bride is:

- My beloved [is] unto me [as] a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi

- Thou [art] fair; thou [hast] doves' eyes

- Thou [art] fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed [is] green

- The beams of our house [are] cedar

- Our rafters of fir

Firstly, He tells her that she is "a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi". The Hebrew word for camphire is [03724] kopher and is rarely translated camphire but rather as "random" and also can mean "price of life". It is from [03722] kaphar, a primitive root, and means atonement, purge, reconciliation, reconcile, forgive, purge away, pacify, atonement made, merciful, cleansed, disannulled, appease, put off, and pardon. Now if that does not blow you away then nothing will!!!

We are HIS inheritance bought with ransom money which is HIS LIFE. He is saying to her all the things that she is to Him and all that He intends to do IN HER as we will see in the coming parts of this series. This

truth must deeply sink into our spirit man. We are His inheritance. It is us that He wishes to inherit by His sacrifice.

Engedi in the Hebrew is [05872] `Eyn Gediy and means "fount of the kid".

Conversely, we are His inheritance if we view this as the bride speaking to the King. He is the one who PAID the random or price of life for us, and made atonement for our sins.

He next tells her the she has "dove's eyes". The eyes are the light of the body. What we "behold" has a lasting effect on us to either be purified or corrupted. Jesus taught us:

A dove can only focus on one object at a time. They have no "peripheral vision" thus what He is saying to her is that your eyes are no longer "adulterous" but they are "faithful". As she continues to behold Him we will find that she will increasingly become like Him.

Conversely, if we view this as the bride speaking to the King we see that she sees His devotion and dedication to her as single, not wavering to the left or to the right. She sees His covenant with her as everlasting and never failing.

Thirdly He tells her that "our bed is green". For starters there is reference to "our bed" which implies intimacy or intimate exchange. Green is the color of life. Almost all living plants are green. It is the Chlorophyll in the leaves that makes plants green and it's purpose is to convert light to energy.

So we see the two fold meaning in this. First, the King and the maturing bride's intimacy is full of life. It is no longer DEAD RELIGIOUS FORM. Second, the light that is radiating from the King is being captured by

her as she beholds Him with dove's eyes and is being converted into "energy" (food for the soul) that gives her LIFE. Our food is His LIGHT! It is the light of Jesus that sustains us.

And this also should be viewed in the converse as the bride speaking this to the King.

Fourthly, He tells her that "The beams of our house [are] cedar". Beams refer to "strength". It is the beams that hold a house up and keep the whole structure sound. Cedar in the Hebrew is [0730]'erez and simply

means cedar. This word is derived from [0729] 'araz, a primitive root, and means to be made firm or strong. So from this He is telling the maturing bride that what holds our house up is strong. That strength is our dedication to the Lord and conversely His everlasting covenant with us. Sampson's strength was His hair (dedication) and thus our STRENGTH is our dedication to Him.

Conversely, the bride sees Jesus as her pillar of strength as her strength is His dedication and devotion to us.

Finally, He tells her that "Our rafters of fir". Rafters are what hold the roof up and a roof is our covering. I believe this refers to His divine protection (grace) not only on her life but also on THEIR RELATIONSHIP. It is this relationship that He will defend and protect with all jealousy and likewise she is becoming jealous for her time with Him. She is constantly now making MORE room to get more time with her King alone daily.

And conversely, she sees His love for her as that "fortress" or "rock of protection" that makes her safe and secure.

We pick up in chapter 4 were we left off in chapter 3 with a continuation of the conversation between the King and the maturing bride. The bride now speaks to the King.

The Hebrew word for Sharon is [08289] Sharown and means "a plain". This verse repeats itself for emphasis, flower/valley/flower/valley. The bride sees herself as valuable and loved in His eyes but she does not yet see herself as "unique" in His eyes. The lily of the valley was "common". In the springtime in Israel the whole desert "plain" or "valley" was filled with flowers, especially lilies. She is in effect saying "Lord, I am just one among many".

His response to her:

NO!!!! This is the heart cry of our Lord. Can you hear it? Your a lily among thorns! You are more than just "another" flower in My flower garden. You are unique and special and needed. Can we take this to heart? Jesus taught us:

This is an important truth that the bride must also receive because when the sifting starts and the King begins to deal more aggressively with those "character issues" in the life of the bride, which are common to fallen man, she will need to be secure in her relationship with the King so she does not misinterpret the King's intentions or fail to have an intimate knowledge of His love for her.

Again we see God’s wisdom painted through this book. He reaffirms His love for her and builds a solid foundation, which is His relationship with us and ours with Him based solely on LOVE. It is upon this ROCK that Christ then deals with that part of us which is of the "old adamic nature". It is upon this ROCK that the church is built.

See it is upon the revelation of who Christ is that His church is built upon. More importantly, who Christ is to us as an individual. It is upon the ROCK of this love relationship with Him that the church is built.

The maturing bride replies:

The Hebrew word for apple is [08598] tappuwach and simply means apple tree. This word is derived from [05301] naphach, a primitive root, and means to blow or to breathe. It is interesting because this is the same word used in connection with "breath of life".

Thus by analogy she is saying that she has found her life source and it is Jesus. She has come to realize that her King is her source of life, He is the tree of life. Because of this realization she "sat" under the

shadow of King Jesus. She had done this because this truth has become REAL to her. She then declares that she not only ABIDES under her life source but also PARTAKES of the good fruit of the TREE OF LIFE.

She continues on:

The Hebrew word for banqueting is [03196] yayin from an unused root meaning to effervesce. It is translated 138 times as WINE. This refers to the bride being filled with the Spirit.

The emphasis on being "filled" with the SPIRIT is not "drunkenness" or "excess" but rather overflowing with divine PROVISION.

Jesus taught:

The daily provision at King Solomon's table, daily now, was no less than:

The point here is that His provision is SUPERABUNDANT and as we choose to partake of all that Christ has ALREADY provided for us we will then never lack. But we must PARTAKE. Christ cannot complete His work in us apart from the "infilling" or "baptism" of the Holy Spirit. It takes SUPERNATURAL POWER and not SELF DISCIPLINE to remove those things from our lives that are of the old adamic nature. It will also take ALL of the Lord’s provision to fully accomplish His work in us. So as we choose to PARTAKE we will mature accordingly.

She continues on:

Flagons in the Hebrew is [0809] 'ashiyshah and is a raisin-cake, used in sacrificial feasts and is consistently translated in AV as "flagon of wine". She is requesting from Jesus MORE. More of the infilling of the

Holy Spirit, more of His good fruit. She is literally overcome with love for Jesus. This is a work of the Holy Spirit.

I think it would be wise to put this all in context at this point. This initial "filling" of the SPIRIT touches her EMOTIONS. She is right now on an emotional high and this is indeed a "work" of the Holy Spirit. This "season" will pass as we will see very shortly. His provision needs to go much deeper that just touching the "surface" (emotions) but must penetrate down into the "inner man". Her emotions are touched as the

infilling goes from OUTSIDE INWARD. As His infilling goes down deep into our innermost being the Holy Spirit will then begin to deal with character issues as His divine provision brings healing, restoration,

and reconciliation to a yet immature but willing bride. This is a necessary but TEMPORARY season that the bride must go through as she walks the narrow path.

She continues on:

The Hebrew word for left is [08040] s@mo'wl, a primitive word and means left or by implication north (as one faces east). North biblically is indicative of judgment or better said correction. It was from the NORTH

that correction came against Israel. His hand of correction is under her head because it is her MIND that is about to be renewed by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew word for right is [03225] yamiyn and means right or by implication south (the direction of the right hand when facing East). South biblically is mercy. Abram went SOUTH when a famine came upon the

land.

Likewise Jacob went south when a famine came upon the land. Egypt is south and in this sense represents protection and provision. It was not the ultimate purpose of God to keep Israel in Egypt, only for a season. There inheritance was in the promised land.

His right hand of mercy or "goodness" embraced her. His mercy or "grace" is what will carry us through trials and tribulations. It is His mercy or goodness that confirms His love to us.

We need both His goodness and His correction.

As He comforts us with His right hand He corrects us with His right hand (in our minds). This is the true biblical picture of the Father’s ways.

Back to the text.

That word "he" has no gender to it and in the amplified is translated as "it". If this is the case then "he" can be substituted by "she" since the word has no gender. Some translations have either he or she in it’s place. To translate this passage in accord with this substitution we find that the it is the King giving the "charge" with "my love" being the subject, and thus my love being the bride, not to be awakened nor stirred.

Alternately, "he" would be translated as "it" and "love" itself as an attribute and not being the maturing bride as the subject. Then either the King or bride could give the declaration. A possibility but not one that will be pursued in this study.

What I believe is that this is a "season" in the life of the bride were she is being filled with the Holy Spirit. Initially this infilling touches her emotions but as it sinks deeper is will reach her "inner man" and being the process of renewing the mind.

In this text Jesus is commanding all of His children, both the "daughters of Jerusalem" as well as the roes and hinds, to leave her alone until she is READY to proceed forward. She needs to come to the

realization FOR HERSELF that there is yet a deeper work that Christ needs to do in her to come into His PERFECT will. She needs to allow the infilling to sink into her "inner man" and thus the Lord charges those around her not to bother her until this process is complete. It must be HER reality. All of this is conveyed in

this verse.

One last thing. The "roes and hinds" are male virgins. They are not "male" in the sense of "earthly gender" but in the sense of spiritual calling. This is conveyed by the use of roes (male) and hinds (female), thus in the earthly both men and women having this calling. Male virgins are they which are called to be spiritual "eunuchs" (thus male virgins) in the body of Christ whose sole purpose is to prepare the bride by being a "friend of the bridegroom" to present to Jesus a pure and spotless bride to Him on that day.

This is the "Elijah" company or "forerunners" that prepare the way for the Lord. Both John the Baptist and Paul had this calling upon their lives. I believe that this is what the Lord has revealed to me concerning the roes and hinds and have no other foundation apart from divine revelation to back up this claim.

In the Lord’s infinite wisdom we see that His work is accomplished methodically and purposefully. Everything that He does has a plan and purpose to it. We will find that this is one of several separate spiritual season’s that the bride needs to go through in order to come to maturity. We need to both recognize the Lord’s times and seasons as well as allow Him to do His work in us in each season unhindered. This initial infilling is a season of preparation after which the Lord begins to deal with the old adamic nature in her life.

Up until this point Jesus has shown two different and distinct faces to the maturing bride. First, He has revealed Himself to the maturing bride as this gentle, loving King full of mercy and compassion, covering her

sins and pouring out His love towards her.

Next, King Jesus has revealed Himself to her as her source of provision, being Jehovah-Jirah. This was accomplished at the banqueting table were she was filled by the Holy Spirit.

Now the King comes to her in a completely different way. He comes to her as a conquering warrior King literally "leaping" on the mountains.

Firstly, mountains are nations or peoples biblically. Thus He is revealing Himself to her as King of kings and Lord of lords over all the earth.

The implications here are two-fold. Firstly, as mentioned, Jesus has overcome the world in the sense of being the ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY or King. He is destined to rule and reign DEFACTO in the Millennium. He has ALREADY defeated satan at the cross but chooses to use him to fulfill His plans and purposes in this earth age.

Secondly and more applicable to were the maturing bride is, Jesus has overcome the world concerning PERSONAL battles. He was tested in all areas of His fleshly life and was victorious. He is an overcomer! In light of this, the revelation to the maturing bride is "Be of good cheer, I have overcome this world and thus the power is there for YOU to overcome this world as well".

What King Jesus is doing here is challenging the bride to respond to the infilling (provision) of the Holy Spirit as it begins to penetrate into the inner man. He comes to her boldly proclaiming His victory to her and

as we will shortly see invites her to partake of that same victorious life that He has already bought and paid for at the cross.

The bride declares:

Even though she has caught a glimpse of this face of Jesus by divine revelation, He does not come in uninvited. Thus God's nature is one of INVITATION and not FORCE. We see in this God’s character and wisdom. The Lord has given man "free will" to choose and thus He will not to cross that line in order to accomplish His purposes. He will draw us but He requires us to respond to Him and choose Him over this world.

So Jesus is "PEERING" into the life of the bride, revealing His true character and nature, then inviting her to "open the door" and allow Him to become this new revelation to her. The choice to accept or refuse is

in her hands.

King Jesus then speaks to her from behind the lattice:

Here is the invitation. Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. Come with Me and as I have overcome so likewise will you overcome.

The King continues:

The word winter in the Hebrew is [05638] c@thav and is from an unused root meaning "to hide". When a tree enters into the winter season it is not dead but only dormant. The life is well below the surface. On the

outside all appears dead and lifeless but down below the surface growth is actually taking place. When we think of winter we get images of being barren or lifeless.

Back in chapter 1 the bride declared:

It was the "black" tents and curtains that "hid" the comely or lovely part of the maturing bride. The King is declaring to her that this is all about to change. All that which I have "rained" into your spirit-man is soon to arise to the surface. As the infilling of the Holy Spirit has penetrated deep into your inner man the loveliness that is within will begin to rise to the surface and be seen.

He next gives a FIVE fold description of the "signs" that will accompany this "metamorphosis". We again see the number FIVE thus indicating that God's grace is upon the maturing bride as she continues to press into

the kingdom.

- The flowers appear on the earth

- The time of the singing [of birds] is come

- The voice of the turtle is heard in our land

- The fig tree putteth forth her green figs

- The vines [with] the tender grape give a [good] smell

These five "signs" are both individual and corporate. Five again being the number of grace and thus showing that His grace is both upon her as well as needed in her life. One can literally say that when we see these signs "corporately" appearing that summer is nigh. Summer is the time of harvest (May).

Israel has been referred to as being the "fig" and this is certainly true IN THE NATURAL but the revelation here is that there is a "sign" in the SPIRITUAL ISRAEL that when we begin to see a corporate awakening that

all these things are near, even at the door.

First we see the spiritual allegory with "flowers appearing". Flowers are beautiful, fragrant, meaningful, and a sign.

Spiritually "flowers" manifest the BEAUTY of Christ, which is His holiness.

Spiritually flowers also draw men unto Christ with their sweet fragrance, which is the "anointing" from a life of "sacrifice".

And spiritually flowers are a sign of the times that summer is nigh.

Second, we see the spiritual allegory with the "singing of birds". This refers to worship being poured forth. This is worship that was born in the winter season or the wilderness experience. It is worship that comes

not from "lip service" or from some "emotional high" but rather wells up from her innermost being. This again is a sign that there is a change in seasons with the maturing bride.

Third, we see the spiritual allegory with the "voice of turtle". The Hebrew word for turtle is [08449] towr and means turtle dove. This word is derived from [08446] tuwr, a primitive root, and is translated as "search", or "search out". There is a deep longing and "cry" or "voice" that is coming forth that wants to know Jesus in a deeper more intimate way. It is this longing or "voice" that is being referred to here by analogy.

Fourthly, we see the spiritual allegory with the "fig tree putting forth green leaves". The Hebrew word for figs is [06291] pag, from an unused root meaning to be torpid, i.e. "deprived of power or feeling", "lethargic", or "apathetic". The fig tree is symbolic of God's people both in the NATURAL (ie. nation of Israel) and SPIRITUAL (all of His children both Jew and Gentile).

As we discussed previously, there is the outer flesh man and the inner spirit man. So what is being conveyed here is that what once in the winter season seemed to lack any power or zeal is now beginning to spring to life. The infilling of the Holy Spirit has brought about a change in the inner man that now is showing signs of life, signs of power. Power to overcome character issues that have up until this point rule and

control over the bride. Small victories (leaves appearing) are a sign of greater victories to come.

Finally, we see the spiritual allegory with the "vines [with] the tender grape give a [good] smell". The Hebrew word for vine is [01612] gephen from an unused root meaning "to bend".

Jesus is referred to as the "vine" and we are the branches.

As we abide in Him we will begin to bear fruit by being connected to the vine. It takes the Lord's "breaking" or "bending" of our wills in order to humble us so that we will abide in Him as our life source. The end result of this will be children full of fruit bowed over in humility.

This is seen in the parable of the tares and wheat.

Tares look exactly like wheat until the harvest. At this time the tares head (grain bearing part) turns black and contain no fruit thus they stand straight up (pride). The wheat, however, turn "golden" and as they are heavily laden with fruit "bend over" (humility).

Back to the text as the King continues.

The Hebrew word for dove is [03123] yownah which is derived from [03196] yayin, translated as wine 138 times. Dove is a symbol of both single devotion (single eye of the dove) as well as the Holy Spirit or in this

case one who is being filled by the Holy Spirit (wine).

The cleft of the rock is God's place of protection. It is the place were we know His hand of mercy and goodness. It is the secret chambers.

Moses was placed in the cleft of the rock so God's face (His severity) would not be seen but rather that His back side (goodness) would be seen.

The "secret place of the stairs" is that "narrow path" that the maturing bride is on. It is "secret" to all but her and God.

Jesus further proclaims:

"let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet [is] thy voice, and thy countenance [is] comely".

This statement reveals the heart of our King. He is looking for and desiring from us intimate relationship. He wants us to communicate with Him daily, hourly, moment by moment. He loves us and longs for fellowship.

He then proclaims to her:

Here is the invitation from verse 10 to "rise up and come away". The foxes here represent those things which rob us of bearing spiritual fruit. As the buds just begin to appear from the infilling and inner working of the Holy Spirit there is some character issue that rises up in the maturing bride to cut off the tender fruit from the vine. So He invites her to know Him as the overcoming King who has defeated satan and overcome this world and apply the overcoming provision to her life so that the tender fruit will come to full maturity. this is her call from CARNALITY into MATURITY.

This verse is declaring to the maturing bride "I have shown you My goodness by divinely placing you in the cleft of the rock, you now need My Shepherd’s rod of correction".

The maturing bride answers:

Song of Solomon 2:16 My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his: he feedeth among the lilies.

The maturing bride declines the offer. She still seeks to know Him for her own purposes thus declaring that "My beloved is mine" first. Although there is immaturity and refusal in this statement she does declare "I am His". This statement will be reversed by the end of this book. For now, she is content to know Him as one who "feeds among the lilies".

The Hebrew word for feedeth is [07462] ra`ah, a primitive root, often translated as shepherd, or pastor. She still is clinging to the revelation of Jesus as the "Good Shepherd", full of love, mercy, and compassion who binds the wounds and has mercy and compassion. She needs to find out that she is in desperate need of His Shepherd’s rod of correction as well. This lesson will soon be learned.

The King replies by saying:

One last time He pleads with her to reconsider. Jesus knows what is best for us and not us. He is the potter and we are the clay. Notice that there is a time limit on this challenge. It is "until the day break". His word to her is "turn". In addition turn "quickly" (roe or hart).

His invitation is to run on the "mountaintops", just as He revealed Himself to her in verse 8. The Hebrew word for Bether is [01336] Bether and means "cleft". Thus His intention is not for her to "forsake" her

knowing Jesus as the King who placed her in the cleft of the rock of intimacy (were she found God's MANIFEST PRESENCE and His GOODNESS) but she needs to "take" that experience with her and move forward. He is reassuring her that His MANIFEST PRESENCE will always be with her even though she needs to leave that place physically and go into new uncharted territory.

We left off in chapter 5 with the bride refusing the invitation of the King to "come away with Him". Because she refused to press on and allow the infilling of the Holy Spirit to deal with those character issues that "spoiled the fruit", Jesus was forced to withdraw His manifest presence from her. This is a training process. Notice that HE did not leave her, only the "feeling" of His presence. We are promised that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us.

This is a spiritual mechanism that the Lord uses to get us up off of our bed and begin to run after Him. At times in our Christian walk we get content with the measure of Jesus which we already have. He wishes to

give us the "fullness" of our inheritance. He does this because He truly loves us. If He did not intervene by "chastening" us we probably would remain were we are forever.

It is by this mechanism that the Lord builds hunger and thirst in us for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The Lord can only fill us to the extent that we hunger and thirst to be filled.

This is actually a season that the bride is in and will remain until the inner work of the Holy Spirit is complete, namely to build an insatiable desire to run after Christ at all costs. We see that as His manifest presence leaves her and she begins to cry out to God. She is seeking to get back what she once had. He is there but she does not feel Him. Notice that she is seeking on her bed. This is not were He is to be found. He said come with me "from our bed of love", "from the banqueting table" and into a new dimension. If she wishes to find the King, she will need to seek for Him were He can be found.

So she is in this condition days, weeks, months (hopefully not years) until it dawns on her that she needs to obey the King and arise and run after Him. This is exactly what she does as she declares:

Song of Solomon 3:2a I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth:

So the character trait that He is building within the bride by this spiritual mechanism is obedience. The success of this mechanism is dependent on how much we value the PRESENCE of the Lord. If the Lord's

presence is cherished then we will quickly arise and run after Him. If His presence is despised some may never get beyond this spiritual level.

The bride continues her declaration:

See, there is no "cheap and easy" way in God's kingdom to build character. Character comes by LONG-SUFFERING. As we "endure" His chastening, character is being deposited within us. Obedience is the

goal but the way that it will come is through PASSION and ZEAL for the Lord Jesus Christ.

The sacred circle of passion and zeal is the foundation upon which King Jesus builds. She has a measure of passion but needs more. So He does not "immediately" reveal Himself the instant she begins to seek. There is a higher purpose that He needs to accomplish.

The heart of Jesus is to immediately embrace the bride for running after Him. To do this, though, would rob her of the strength that she will need for the journey ahead. It actually pains Jesus not to reveal Himself quickly. He withholds Himself for OUR SAKES and not as punishment.

The maturing bride continues her declaration:

Song of Solomon 3:3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: [to whom I said], Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

We see in this verse an even HIGHER purpose that needs to be accomplished in the bride. Not only does she need character via long-suffering, she also needs to learn how to find Jesus for HERSELF. The watchman in this verse refer to anointed men and woman of God and anointed movement of God. The maturing bride will no longer be allowed to have her identity in Christ be in another anointed servant or movement of God nor will the Lord allow her to live her relationship with God THROUGH another person or movement.

God is obviously working IN and THROUGH other men and women and specific corporate movements. As glorious as these relationships are, they can rob us of our relationship with Jesus if we allow ourselves to have our relationship through other people or movements. In order for the Lord to correct this, He sometimes has to "break" our identity with them so that He is OUR reality, OUR vision, OUR JESUS. Often the Lord has bring us OUT OF relationships so that He can bring us back into them from the proper perspective. The King will no longer allow the maturing bride to live her relationship with Christ through another person or movement.

Many Christians do not ever get past this stage of spiritual growth. They get content to listen to and receive from specific movements, pastors, or anointed men and women of God. The Lord in His mercy will

not allow Himself to be revealed FULLY through them to the maturing bride in this spiritual season. The bride is required to go BEYOND them to find Jesus for herself.

See, as she went beyond the anointed teachers and prophets, Jesus once again allows His presence to be felt. Through this "long-suffering" the bride was taught how to have her own relationship with Him in GREATER measure than she previously had.

It is through this season that she learned obedience and the consequences for the lack of it. Only those who truly love Jesus will make it through the wilderness (I found him whom my soul loveth).

She then declares:

"I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me".

See, once she realizes how to have her own relationship with Jesus, and further learns to receive His hand of correction so she can be an overcomer, she now desires to reveal this truth to the church (mother’s house). She now desires to tell others how to have their own relationship with the King just as she is experiencing.

She needs to remain in this season until the revelation of Jesus begins to flow FROM her. This is the purpose of the work in the first place. Jesus wanted her to "catch the foxes that spoil the vine" and as she has done this and applied the anointing oil to her life and be an "overcomer", spiritual fruit begins to be borne that she wishes for the church to partake of.

This is a season that she is to remain in until she is prepared for the next "revelation" of Jesus.

This is a repeat of what the Lord exhorted in:

This is a season that the bride must remain in until she is PREPARED and WILLING to receive a yet deeper

revelation of her King. Jesus is again exhorting those around her not to disturb her until she is ready to move forward.

As the Holy Spirit is allowed to complete His work in the maturing bride’s life in this season, she is now prepared to receive the new REVELATION or FACE of Jesus that He is about to show her.

As a review, Jesus first came to the bride as the "Good Shepherd". He then revealed Himself to her as her source of provision via the "infilling" of the Holy Spirit. He next came to the maturing bride as

the "Overcoming Reigning King" who invited her to run with Him and become an overcomer as well.

In this new season King Jesus reveals Himself to the maturing bride as the "WARRIOR KING" who is going to have all things placed under His feet (submission), tearing down anything that exalts itself against the

knowledge of God.

She needed to learn how to be an overcomer on a PERSONAL level first so that she would be prepared to now run with Jesus to fulfill His plans and purposes in this earth age, which are to reconcile and restore mankind back to the Father from the enemy who is robbing God of His inheritance.

The revelation of Jesus in Song of Solomon 3:6-10 is SEVEN FOLD in all. Seven being the number of SPIRITUAL PERFECTION or REST. It is this seven fold revelation that signifies that the maturing bride is both allowing Christ to bring her to perfection via holiness as well as her entering into His Sabbath rest were she is ceasing from "laboring in the flesh" and resting in the completed work of Christ and Him flowing through her.

In Song of Solomon 1:9-10 the maturing bride gave a three fold description of Jesus. As she has matured in Christ she now sees Him both from a different perspective as well as in a more complete way.

Seven is divided into three and four. In this current passage we see the THREE fold description of the King in conjunction with His COMPLETENESS. In verses 9 and 10 we will see a FOUR fold description of the King. Four being the number of divine creation. This four fold description of Christ signifies His plan of redemption of this world back to the Father.

What is being conveyed in verses 6-8 is that there is no "weakness" to our Warrior King, no piece of armor is missing, He is armed and ready.

- He cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke

- He is perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

- His bed, which [is] Solomon's; threescore valiant men [are] about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all hold

swords, [being] expert in war: every man [hath] his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

Firstly, He reveals Himself to her as a "pillar of smoke". When the children of Israel left Egypt and pharaoh was in hot pursuit, the Lord protected them with a pillar of smoke.

This "pillar of smoke" speaks of many things.

It first speaks of Jesus being the one who will go before us and fight the spiritual battles to come. We are called to allow Him to work "through" us and go forth in "His" strength and not our own.

Secondly, this speaks of His divine protection in the midst of battle (doing God's will). To the children of Israel God was a cloud of protection and a light unto their pathway but to God's enemies He was darkness and confusion.

Thirdly, this speaks of His "sword" of separation. The pillar of smoke separated God's children from the children of this world. When God poured out His judgments on Egypt the Lord first "sealed" His children and separated then into Goshen so they were protected from His wrath.

Next, Jesus is revealed as one who is "perfumed with Myrrh and Frankincense", and ALL the powders of the merchant". Myrrh is the chief spice in the embalming process of old and thus speaks of His sacrifice at the cross. Frankincense was given at His birth and speaks of His sacrificial life and His VICTORIOUS life by overcoming all temptations. It was the only spice mentioned in connection with the "meat" offering indicating this same meaning.

Myrrh is also part of the "anointing oil" that God told Moses to make to "sanctify" the holy place and all that was to be in it. Frankincense was used in conjunction with the sacrificial offerings. The "powders" are the "rest" of the chief spices that make up the anointing oil.

These two spices are mentioned in conjunction continually and thus it is apparent that the Lord is making it clear that the anointing is directly connected with the sacrificial life. Sacrificial both in the sense of sacrificing for the Lord and sacrificing on the behalf of others.

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

In this context it is the anointing that will give SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY to war in the heavenlies and become a partaker of His plans and purposes to restore and reconcile mankind back to the Father.

The third revelation of Jesus nature is His bed being protected by sixty valiant men. His bed is our place of intimacy with Him. It is a promise from Him to the bride that in the midst of battle our bed of intimacy will not only be there but it will be divinely and JEALOUSLY protected. It also signifies that His bed of intimacy goes were He goes thus the bride needs to rise up and embrace this new revelation of Jesus for by embracing it, she will continue in her intimacy with Him.

Sixty speaks of strength. There are two biblical examples were sixty is used. One is in:

This was in the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Jews were in captivity for seventy years. Now a wall that is as thick as it is high is very strong thus sixty denoting strength or protection.

The second example is in:

Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful king in the world at that time and the image being sixty cubits high denotes the strength of his kingdom, although in this case in a prideful way.

The analogy here with the sixty valiant men is strength and protection, directly relating with the wall described in Ezra. A wall of valiant men through who it would be impossible to get through to attack the bed of intimacy. It is interesting to note that the biblical example is usually seventy. I do not know how these two interact but I will simply offer the information for comparison sake. Seventy speaks of strength, and warfare, and AUTHORITY.

- Moses chose out from among the people seventy that would judge the people with Him (authority).

- David has seventy valiant warriors that were His "inner circle", they were the finest warriors in the land

(strength).

- Jesus sent out the seventy disciples two by two to preach the gospel and tear down satan's kingdom by

casting out demons and healing the sick (warfare).

The fact that their sword was at their side signifies that these were prepared for battle at a moments notice. These warriors were constantly on guard. The enemy would never surprise them as these began to form a

hedge of protection" around those who were part of the bridal company.

In this revelation, therefore, we see a call to be part of that "sixty" who have SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY to war in the heavenlies (intercession) on behalf of others. This is the bride's call to move into fulfilling the plans and purposes of God, which are to reconcile and restore that which the enemy has stolen from Him in this earth age.

The maturing bride continues to receive the FOUR fold revelation of Christ as the redeemer of this world through His CREATIVE WORKS:

This four fold description of Christ is:

- Chariot of wood

- Pillars of silver

- Covering of Purple

- Midst paved with love

Chariots speak of strength. The Hebrew word for Lebanon is [03844] L@banown and means "whiteness". The King's power or strength is in who He is, His holy character and nature. Pillars also speak of strength. Pillars are what hold buildings up. Silver speaks of redemption. The house of God is held up by the redeeming power of the blood of the lamb who was slain for our sins. It's strength is in HIS sacrifice!

The bottom or "socket" in which the pillars are placed are gold. Gold is the foundation which is the GOVERNMENT of JESUS CHRIST. Gold speaks of authority, government, and kingship. It also speaks of "the best" or "choicest". His whole plan of redemption is build upon a sure foundation of the finest rulership that there is, the THEOCRACY of Jesus Christ.

The covering is purple. Purple speaks of forgiveness because of the shed blood of Christ being poured out to forgive our sins.

The fact that it is a covering of purple means that it is His shed blood that is covering our sins. This speaks of His forgiveness and divine protection that is found by being "under the blood".

And finally, "the midst thereof being paved [with] love, for the daughters of Jerusalem". And the final revelation is that all of this description of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished by the power of

the Holy Spirit was to build a sure house for the daughters of Jerusalem (all those who are saved) which is rooted and grounded in His AGAPE LOVE for us.

SIMPLY ASTOUNDING!!!

It is this revelation of the nature and character of Jesus that the maturing bride wishes to reveal to the "daughters of Zion".

There are a few things in here that need to be taken note of. First, there was no "hesitation" in the maturing bride to embrace this new revelation of who Jesus Christ is. She did not have to be chastened this time to receive it. She immediately embraced this revelation of Jesus and brought it to the "daughters".

Secondly, the maturing bride moves from calling the "daughters of Jerusalem" to "daughters of Zion". I believe that there is redemptive quality in this statement. Jerusalem in the Hebrew is [03389] Y@ruwshalaim and means "teaching of peace". These could be viewed as the "first principles".

Zion in the Hebrew is [06726] Tsiyown and means "parched place". In this we see that she begins to see their true spiritual condition and great need. They are dry and in need of having the REAL JESUS revealed to them. In addition they are in real need to have relationship personally with the King, the source of all life. They have been bottle fed the milk of the word of God long enough. Their hearts need to be stirred by beholding the beauty and splendor of the King. She is doing this verbally but she soon will do this under the

ANOINTING.

She thus recognizes that the "daughters" need a fresh revelation of their King. She exhorts them to "behold the King" which you have crowned as King. Satan has robbed the "daughters" of who the real Jesus is. A

false image has been set up in their hearts and this is why they are currently running after RELIGION and not the King. It is because they have lost their vision as to the true nature and character of the King.

The maturing bride is currently revealing the true nature and character of Jesus but not with AUTHORITY which comes from the ANOINTING. It will be the anointing that causes the daughters to begin to run after the

REAL JESUS and the next series are the final steps taken to release the anointing in the life of the bride.

In this chapter we will look at the Lord's seven fold declaration of how HE views the maturing bride. SEVEN is the number of completion or rest. From this we will see an invitation to enter into the EIGHTH which is the number of superabundance, new beginnings, and also the number of the holy of holies (2x2x2) which is a cube.

We begin in:

Song of Solomon 4:1a Behold, thou [art] fair, my love; behold, thou [art] fair

Twice for emphasis the Lord exhorts the maturing bride "thou [art] fair, my love". This exhortation is made to reaffirm the King's love for His bride. As the trials of walking the narrow path often leave us feeling like we have failed our Master we need to receive how he would view us. His perspective is not on our shortcomings or our stumbling in the flesh but rather by our growth and maturity in the Spirit. He does this by complimenting the bride's beauty through her devotion to Him.

The King then goes on to give the seven fold description of the maturing bride.

1. Eyes

Eyes refer to what we behold. A single-eye refers to pure devotion while an "adulterous" eye refers to a half hearted or impure devotion. Jesus exhorts:

So we see the King exhort the maturing bride:

Song of Solomon 4:1b thou [hast] doves' eyes within thy locks:

She is told two things here. First, her devotion to the King is pure. Second, it is veiled (within thy locks).

Back in chapter 1 the King exhorts the immature bride:

In past times the bride had a single devotion to Jesus but in her immaturity(place of insecurity in her relationship with the Lord) she needed to justify herself thus had a desire for other's to "notice" that she was running after God. Notice that the King did not even mention this to her as she was in this yet immature state. What grace and mercy our Lord has to allow us to mature without bringing to light every flaw that we have.

Now that the bride has matured we see that her relationship with God is now "veiled" and thus her "pure devotion" is primarily for His pleasure. This pure devotion has also brought her to a place of security in her relationship with the King and therefore has no "desire" or "need" to have to show other's her devotion to the King.

2. Hair

Hair biblically represents devotion or covenant. Thus the Nazarene vow (covenant) caused the one taking it to not bring a razor upon their head. So we see the King speak about their covenant relationship by stating:

The Hebrew word for goats is [5795] and is derived from [5810] and means "to be stout" or "strong". The Hebrew word for Gilead is [1568] and means "heap of testimony".

The King's declaration to the bride is that her covenant with Him is very strong (flock of goats) and stands as a "testimony" (Gilead) to their growing relationship.

3. Teeth

Teeth represent the way we "break down" the word of God or "truth". Thus we see the bride exhorted:

There is much in this. First they are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn. The word shorn in the Hebrew is [7094] and means to clip or chop. What this is saying is that the bride now has the ability to "rightly divide" the word of God. There is no longer the immature tendency to only focus on one biblical truth but rather the sum of the word of God is taken into account as the word of God is digested as food for the soul.

Secondly, we read that the sheep that are shorn have "came up from the washing". This refers to the word of God or revelatory knowledge being "untainted" or "unleavened" by flesh. As truth is rightly divided it is no longer being contaminated by the opinions, ideas, and traditions of men but is being received right from the throne of God through the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, that which is received from man as teaching is first "washed" before it is "divided". She now has the ability to discern that which is of the "soul" from that which is of the "spirit", that which is "good" from that which is "evil" (Hebrews 4:12, 5:14).

Thirdly, we read that "every one bear twins". This refers to the ability of the bride to recognize counter truths. Thus we are to know the "goodness AND severity" of God. We are to "suffer BEFORE we reign" and many like balanced truth's. The bride is coming to the place were she is receiving the "whole council" of God.

Fourthly, we read that "none [is] barren among them". This refers to the word of God or revelatory knowledge becoming "life". The word of God now has the ability to "divide asunder" within the bride that which is flesh

from that which is spirit. The word now has the ability to "renew the mind" and "wash" or "cleanse" the bride. In times past the truth was simply "head knowledge" but now it is apostolic in nature (applied to her life to bring about change).

4. Lips

Lips speak of our speech. It refers to what we say. The bride is thus exhorted:

Her lips are like a thread of scarlet. A thread is something what we would sew with. this is born out in the Hebrew [2339] which means to sew. Thus if we go by analogy her lips are "sewn together" thus her words are few. She no longer speaks a multitude of vain or empty words.

Thread also speaks of something that ties things together. Thus her words are thus very directed and pointed. The thread binds together the multitude of truths that she has learned and speaks them in a clear and concise manner.

The color is scarlet which is red. This speaks of redemption. All that comes out of her mouth now has a redemptive quality to it. She no longer speaks out of bitterness or opinion. When she speaks, it has meaning and purpose to it. It is a speech that is filled with redemption and thus seeks to redeem and reconcile mankind back to God.

The King goes on to exhort "thy speech [is] comely". This refers to no guile or bitterness coming out of her mouth. That which she speaks is the pure word of God untainted by the flesh.

5. Temples

Temples speaks of our mind or our seat of intellect. Were our mind is fixed is were the rest of our body goes. It is in the "temporal region" or our brain that our "motor functions" are controlled thus the temples speak of self-control. Thus the King exhorts the bride:

The Hebrew word for pomegranates is derived from [7426] which means to rise up or to be mounted up. Pomegranates is a fruit thus this speaks of the fruit of the Spirit being born in our life. Because it is connected with our temples signifies that it is now the "fruit of the Spirit" that controls our lives (mounts or raises us up or above) rather than the "lust of the flesh.

We again see the phrase "within thy locks". So even the fact that she is bearing Spiritual fruit is veiled from the naked eye for the Lord only to behold and to whom He chooses to reveal it to.

6. Neck

The neck speaks of the will of man. The Israelites were referred to as a "stiff-necked" people. Thus their will would not be broken and submitted to God. This is in sharp contrast to being "broken" and "contrite" which

speaks of our will being broken and submitted to the Father. The King speaks about this to the bride as He exhorts:

Firstly, the King exhorts "Thy neck [is] like the tower of David". Being like a tower of David speaks of by analogy being a "man after God's own heart". Being a man after God's own heart is a man completely submitted to His Lordship. Being a tower speaks of strength. Thus the will is submitted but it is strong. Those who have a strong will for God often "anchor" or "support" the faith of many others.

We see this in the next phrase "builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men". In this we see that as the Lord strengthens us to "do the will of the Father" that we

will become a pillar in His household that will raise up many "mighty men". Shields speak of faith (as in the shield of faith) thus as the bride is becoming strong willed it will raise up the faith of all those around her.

Note also that her will is "builded for an armory". Armories speak of armies and armies speak of those going to battle. War is a matter of will. It is pitting the two irreconcilable wills against one another. Thus it is this type of will that raises up a whole army to do battle.

7. Breasts

Breasts speak of our ability to nourish others. Thus the King exhorts the bride:

We see in this the expression "two young roes that are twins". Twins speak of balanced truth. Thus the maturing bride now has the ability to present the whole council of God perfectly balanced. Young speaks of

"fresh revelation" thus what is being fed has timing and relevance to it. It is not just truth but it is truth for today. It is what God is speaking either individually or corporately to His body today.

The Hebrew word for roe is [6643] and means splendor or prominence. Those who nourish the body will be exalted as stated in:

But as we will see that reward is not honor with man. The King goes on to say "which feed among the lilies". Lilies are common!

The lily of the valley was in great multitude thus the expression "which feed among the lilies" refers to the bride walking in the midst of humanity and revealing God's truth as food for the soul. Feeding amongst the lilies is in very sharp contrast to "standing above, over, or in front of the lilies". This is the brides ability to walk veiled (hidden) amongst humanity as flesh (as Jesus did) yet minister to people what they need when they need it.

What a awesome God we serve to view the maturing bride in this manner. The bride has now entered into His rest and as we will see in chapter eight is now invited to partake of His resurrection life.

The number seven as stated previously speaks of REST or PERFECTION. The King is not yet through with the bride. He yet challenges her to press on into the EIGHTH. Eight speaks of or superabundance, true worship in the holy of holies, and new beginnings. She possesses seven and is exhorted to run after the eighth.

An Invitation to the Bride:

Myrrh is a spice used in the embalming process and thus speaks of death to self. Frankincense was used in conjunction with the sacrifial offering. It was holy and set apart.

So the eighth and final is true worship and legal entrance into the holy of holies (resurrection life) that can only occur via a life of SACRIFICE via death to self then the anointing of God applied to the bride.

Seven speaks of perfection and we see this in this passage. The King is telling the bride that she is no longer defiled. There are seven different Greek words in the new testament that are all translated as defiled.

The one word that is relevant to this text is [3435] moluno and means to not be polluted or stained by fornication or adultery. We read in:

Revelation 14:1-5 "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty [and] four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God".

The defilement or fornication with women in this case is with false doctrines or beliefs that comes forth from men’s traditions and opinions that run contrary to the word of God and His WAYS. These are virgins. They are no longer play the harlot!!! They are no longer defiled by the teachings, doctrines, or traditions of man. They are able to discern good from evil and are thus not spotted by the adultery of the mystery Babylon mother of harlots religious system described in Revelations 18.

We read further that "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth". These follow Jesus despite rejections, accusations, condemnation and lies that the religious system heaps upon them. These hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him wherever He goes.

We again read further in this passage and see that "These were redeemed from among men". The other relevant Greek word for defiled is [2840] koinoo and means to make common. The context of this word is in:

So these virgins have dealt with the flesh. They have dealt with those things which defile us in the sense of making us common or "mere men" as Paul stated to the Corinthians. So then these virgins are "sanctified"

or "set apart" as holy vessels. They are redeemed from among men or that which is common. These have pressed on with God and have embraced His chastening or sanctification process whereby they have become holy vessels.

Back to the Song of Solomon text. As we read the next verse we see that the Lord now explains His invitation to the maturing bride to go on even further with Him and receive the "anointing".

Many things here!

First, the King exhorts the maturing bride to "come with Me from Lebanon". She is exhorted to "come" thus the King wants to take the bride yet higher or "yet deeper" in the Spirit. The word Lebanon in the Hebrew is [3844] and means "white mountain". This thus signifies the "purity" or "spotlessness" that He has just declared to her in verse seven.

This word is derived from [3825] and means "the heart". This word is derived from the prime root [3823] and means "to be enclosed". Thus from this place of devotion and purity of heart which is hidden behind a veil

for only the King to behold the bride is exhorted to press on.

We see that there are five mountains that she is to go to with the King. Five is the number of grace therefore it will take God's grace to do this. In addition she is to leap from the mountaintop were she currently

is to these other "peaks" thus it will take a great "leap of faith" to press forward from this point on. This would be analogous to "crossing Jordan" as we have heard so much about prophetically in the past few months.

The first mountain is "Amana". The Hebrew word is [548] which means a covenant. This word is derived from [543] and means sure or faithful. This word comes from the prime root [539] and means to build up, foster,

support, to render firm or faithful.

Just as God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham so right now He is seeking a covenant people. The covenant is made between God and those who "go all the way with Him". We read of this covenant in:

Just as the covenant with Abraham was made by circumcision (a sealing of the covenant) thus these who "press through the veil" will also be sealed. It says that they are "sealed" in their foreheads. This signifies

that they have been "circumcised" in the foreskin of their heart (minds). This "sealing" or "circumcision" is a divine act of God and thus seals the covenant.

So His covenant is to "renew our minds".

It will be a "seed" in this last hour which shall enter into this covenant relationship with Him.

Psalms 22:30 A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

Thus in order to receive the "anointing" or "resurrection life" we must enter into this covenant with Him.

Secondly, we see the mountain of "Shenir" which is from the Hebrew word [8144] and means "peak". Paul exhorted the Ephesians:

This peak is to enter (dwell) permanently in the spiritual or heavenly realm. It is there were the spiritual blessings reside and thus the maturing bride is invited to made her abode there.

Jesus made this same invitation to His disciples just forty or so days before they received the "anointing":

Thus in order to receive the "anointing" or "resurrection life" we must also abide or dwell in the heavenly realm or Spirit.

Thirdly we see the mountain peak is "Hermon". The Hebrew word for Hermon is [2768] and means "abrupt". This word is derived from [2763] and means "to devote", "to seclude", and "to be blunt". Again much in this.

As has been prophesied there is going to be an abrupt change in the Spiritual climate that many will miss if they are not "abiding" in the Spirit. It also means that the "anointing" will bring an abrupt and sudden change to those upon whom it rests.

This sudden change will bring a level of "devotion", "separation" or "seclusion", and "boldness" that we have previously not known. I will reiterate at this point, it will take FAITH to recognize and run after the abrupt change and it will take GRACE (divine intervention) to be taken to the next level.

The separation will be that being "totally set apart" and becoming a bondservant of the Lord. It will being a prisoner "in" the Lord. We read in:

The word "of" in the Greek is "en" meaning in, within, continuing or abiding within. Thus this level of devotion is entering "IN CHRIST", a phrase used to denote were all the promises of the Lord abide.

The boldness will come from the anointing and our confidence in the Holy Spirit. It will be the total casting away of any confidence in the flesh and our total leaning upon the Lord.

Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

It will be the same boldness the apostles once had:

Thus in order to receive the "anointing" or "resurrection life" we must also receive the abrupt change in the spiritual realm that is about to take place, the PARADIGM SHIFT, that will bring about the "devotion", "separation" or "sanctification", and "boldness" needed in these end days.

The Fourth mountain is "from the lions' dens". The Hebrew word for lion in this text is [738] which is derived from [717] and means "to gather" or to "pluck with violence". So it will be from this mountain that the harvest will be gathered and the land taken. We read in:

It will take force to "take the land" and thus those who "cross Jordan" will be a "war-like" people who will not stop until all has been reclaimed. We see a picture of this in:

It will be this "Joshua Generation" that will posses the courage, zeal, and boldness to press through and take the land in the midst of a very real enemy.

Thus in order to receive the "anointing" or "resurrection life" we must also receive the "violence" and "courage" in order to go in and posses the land.

The fifth and final mountain is "from the mountains of the leopards". The Hebrew word for leopard is [5246] and means "limpid" or "transparent clearness". This final mountain signifies the level of purity that the

King is looking to take us to. Transparent means that we no longer have any "hidden" sin in our lives but we can rather stand before the Father and our fellow man with a "pure" conscience.

Those on this mountain have been purged of "dead works" by the blood of Christ that they may press forward to serve the living God in "good conscience". They have been purged from those things that have only the

religious "form" but do not have any spiritual power to bring about a change. Paul goes on to state in:

That word evil is [4190] poneros in the Greek and means "full of labors". So those who come to this mountain will have ceased from their "labors" having no confidence in the flesh and therefore not have a "guilty" conscience that receives any "condemnation" or "guilt" but these will lives their lives before the Lord in pure devotion and separation unto Him. Their "weapons of warfare" and "tools" will be strictly spiritual.

Thus in order to receive the "anointing" or "resurrection life" we must also stand before God transparent having nothing to hide but rather having our consciences "washed" by the blood of the lamb enter into His

"rest" (ceasing from our fleshly labors) that we may rest in the finished work of the Lord that the Holy Spirit may flow through us.

To review the five mountains were:

- Amana (covenant)

- Shenir (abiding or dwelling place in the heavenlies)

- Hermon (paradigm shift)

- Lion's Den (violence or courage)

- Leopards Den (Transparency or clear conscience before the Lord)

The story takes a bit of a turn here. The King is now going to reveal some truths to His maturing bride about His spice garden within her, which is the inner work of the Spirit that will make up the anointing oil that will be released from within her.

After the call to "come up higher" with Him, the King immediately reaffirms His love and affection for the bride.

This passage is a play on words from way back in Song of Solomon chapter 1. The yet immature but willing bride proclaimed to the King:

So now the character and nature of this maturing bride is such that it causes the King of kings to speak these same words back to her. Can you imagine the very King of all the universe looking at you and proclaiming this over you His maturing bride? Well He did and He does so receive this deep truth in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

In this we see the Lords WAYS and wisdom once again. He draws the bride through love and affirmation and not via hype, fear, or manipulation. He is constantly telling her "you can do it".

The King goes on further to affirm the bride by stating:

Honey and milk are under thy tongue, what a statement! The words that the bride is now speaking are both sweet and nourishing. There are no longer any bitterness to her words. All that she says has both a redemptive and nourishing quality to it.

He further states:

The garments here speak of our garment of praise.

The smell of Lebanon refers to the cedars of Lebanon. Lebanon was filled with the cedar trees that both David and Solomon used to build the King's house with and also the tabernacle of the Lord.

Cedar also contains a preservative that kills insects. That is why we have "cedar chests". The same chemical in the cedar wood that smells good is that which inhibits unwanted insects and bacteria from growing and thus defiling whatever it is in the box you want to preserve.

Thus her garment of praise is like a sweet incense unto the Lord that has a preserving quality to it. The praises that go forth from her to the King of heaven KEEP her from being DEFILED.

Now the focus changes to the King's "garden within" and He now addresses a work that He is doing WITHIN the maturing bride.

Jesus work in us in this hour is to make us fruitful. Many think of "fruitfulness" as feeding the poor or as witnessing and leading other's to Christ or some "outward work" that we do to "advance" the kingdom forward. And indeed these are "manifestations" of being fruitful.

This, however is only one aspect for our King has a much deeper, "eternal" work that He is doing within us and that is to make US a fruitful place, a place were the anointing flows from.

Jesus said:

So the true "fruit" is who we are rather than what we do. What we do flows from who we are. Thus Jesus describes the bride as a "garden". And it is in this garden that the Lord intends on bringing the "fruit" and

"spice" plants that He has tended to maturity.

Notice that she is a "garden enclosed", "a spring shut up", and a "fountain sealed". These are three references to the same thing. Garden, spring, and fountain refer to that "living water" or "life" that the Lord is filling us with. It is HIS LIFE within us that is pleasing to Him for Him to FIRST AND FOREMOST partake of Himself, then use as a means of advancing the kingdom to reconcile and restore.

We are His inheritance! Thus He is the FIRST to partake of His labor within us. This is why the bride is "enclosed", "shut up", and "sealed". Should the world partake of His garden before He does?

This also refers to the bride living her life "veiled" before the King and coming into that place of security and maturity in Him. The bride now has hidden her life in Christ.

This also refers to the garden being not yet complete or ready fro release. Therefore His garden is yet enclosed until the time of MATURITY when the fruit of the garden can be partaken of.

The garden within the bride has TEN different fruit/spice trees mentioned. Ten is the number of "perfection of divine order". Thus the King is bringing to "perfection" within the bride His "divine order" by which she will be fruitful in all that she does.

Spices and fruit add "flavor" and thus make food pleasing to eat. Spices makes a bland meal "good". Thus in this context spice/fruit (as also connected with fountain and spring) refers to life. Thus it is the spices in the garden within the bride that will bring "life" or the "anointing", resurrection life that will "elevate" those whom the Lord wishes to reconcile back to Him.

The ten spices/fruit trees are:

1. Pomeganates

The Hebrew word for pomegranates is derived from [7426] which means to rise up or to be mounted up. Pomegranates are a fruit thus this speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. Pomegranates also speaks of being

"self-motivated". Thus the specific fruit would be passion or zeal. This means that the bride no longer has to be dragged along by the Holy Spirit continually but rather is "diligently" running after Jesus.

When the bride back in chapter 2 "missed" the Lords call and shed her tears on her bed at night she realized that it was her that was now called to move (run) after her lover, Jesus could not do this for her. She had received "zeal" for Him. She declared:

Her whole passion and desire is to know her King. She has learned to rise up from her mistakes and diligently seek after her King until He is found.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride having fire in her eyes full of passion and zeal for Jesus.

2. Camphire

The Hebrew word for camphire is [3722] and means to cover. This could mean two different things. Firstly, a life that is hidden or veiled before the Lord. Secondly, and more likely, it is the bride covering others nakedness and shame and meeting people were they are. We read in:

This covering is love.

It is through love that we cover, bind, heal, and feed. This love is to "love our neighbor as ourselves" and is "brotherly love". This manifestation of love is compassion.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of a bride that is full of compassion and rich in mercy and righteous judgment.

3. Spikenard

This spice is only mentioned two places in the bible. Those are here in the Song of Solomon and in:

The only two things that we know about spikenard is that it was VERY AROMATIC and VERY COSTLY. We see that one pound of the ointment was poured unto Jesus by Mary. This ACT by Mary signifies that ALL must be poured out on the Lord leaving nothing behind. She gave ALL. To the world (represented by Judas) it seemed like an enormous waste:

To those who are given WHOLLY to Him they CANNOT nor WILL NOT hold back ANYTHING. Thus spikenard is a reference to the bride's total abandonment to her King.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride being wholly given to Jesus.

4. Saffron

The Hebrew word for Saffron is [3750] and is an orange-yellow flower of the crocus family, used for flavoring in drinks and confections in order to promote perspiration for cooling of the body. This is all interesting but I believe there is a deeper meeting.

The crocus is an early spring flower, one of the first flowers to bloom and is a SIGN that spring is upon us. This also has a dual meaning. First, the bride SEEKS Jesus EARLY.

Firstly, this speaks of our quick response to the Lord (early meaning quickly in this text).

Secondly, the bride herself is a SIGN that spring is upon us. Spring refers to two things.

1. The time of WHEAT HARVEST thus a refer to THE HARVEST.

2. The CHURCH being RAISED UP and coming alive. We see reference to this earlier in Song of Solomon.

So the spice Saffron is a reference to the bride being a SIGN to the body both that the HARVEST (of the world) is upon us and that the END-TIME REVIVAL (within the church) is upon us.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride becoming a living testimony.

5. Calamus

The Hebrew word for Calamus is [7070] and means a reed or a rod. This is a direct reference to the bride's life being in complete submission to the Lord via the SHEPHERD’S ROD. It refers to the sweet smell of her

SUBMISSION via the Shepherd’s correction. It is one of the PRINCIPLE spices in the ANOINTING OIL (Exodus 30:23-25).

Correction or chastening comes through tribulations. It is these tribulations in life that we are called to "patiently endure". We are not naturally obedient but we rather learn it. Thus the Shepherd’s rod is a teaching instrument. Jesus our Master endured this pathway:

So Calamus is the spice of SUBMISSION or OBEDIENCE via "patient endurance" through suffering or tribulations under the rod of correction or chastening or better said ROD OF TRAINING of the Shepherd.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride being totally in submission to Jesus authority.

6. Cinnamon

The Hebrew word for cinnamon is [7076] and means "to erect", "to build" or "upright". This spice is also one of the principle spices in the ANOINTING OIL used to SANCTIFY the HOLY INSTRUMENTS of the tabernacle.

This spice refers to the bride entering into the labor's. She is an active participant in erecting that building of LIVING STONES not made with hands. She is now devoted to see that the BODY is raised up. She now has a vision for what the Lord is doing corporately.

She also has a vision for the lost and seeks to enter into the labor of bringing in the harvest.

Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly [is] great, but the labourers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

She has now yoked herself with the Master so that she may be a co-laborer with Him, being an active participant and a willing vessel through which the Lord can carry out His plans and purposes on earth

through and WITH.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride becoming a co-laborer with Jesus.

7. Frankincense

The Hebrew word for frankincense is [3828] from [3826] and means white. This is a direct reference to purity. It was also one of the gifts brought by the wise men to Jesus.

Frankincense refers to a life of sacrificial offering unto the Lord. It was the spice that was used in conjunction with the meat offering.

The meat offering was done daily in the morning and the evening CONTINUALLY. Frankincense was the only spice mentioned in conjunction with this offering thus refers to our life being a SACRIFICE unto the Lord.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride becoming a living sacrifice for Jesus.

8. Myrrh

This spice was also a principle ingredient in the ANOINTING OIL. The Hebrew word for Myrrh is [4753] from [4843] and means BITTER. It was also a principle ingredient in embalming spices thus refers to DEATH TO

SELF.

Thus this refers to the cross APPLIED to the life of the bride and that she is dying to self. Those who become Jesus disciple will exude the fragrance of this spice in their life.

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride dying to self and becoming conformable to HIS death.

9. Aloe

The Hebrew word for aloe is [174] and has no specific meaning. Aloe is common, however, in our culture and is a primary plant used for HEALING. We use the plant in hand lotions for cut, wounds, and burns.

Thus aloe refers to the bride's wounds being healed by the Master. She no longer has any open wounds that can potentially become infected or diseased. She has allowed and received the healing of Jesus through

FORGIVENESS. Thus the bride now exudes forgiveness in her life. She no longer carries grudges or bitterness but is healed and clean before the Father

Therefore this spice is the fragrance of the bride being completely healed through forgiveness.

10. All the chief spices

Notice that nine specific spices are mentioned. This is a direct link to the nine "fruit" of the Spirit spoken of in:

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

The Lord needs to add something to convert the spices into the ANOINTING OIL, this is the TENTH or COMPLETION of His work in us.

"All the chief spices" refers to the complete mixture of these individual spices into the ANOINTING OIL. Any one of these spices in itself is beautiful and desirable but in order for the ANOINTING to flow all of these spices must be mixed together to for something completely UNIQUE.

The first nine refer to the "plants" or "garden" while the tenth refers to the COMBINATION of those spices to make something of value or relevance.

This final reference (the tenth and final ingredient which is reference to PERFECTION of divine order) is to the CREATIVE WORK OF GOD. Thus it is the Lord that takes these individual spices and CREATES something completely unique. An ointment that is made from ingredients that are measured according to a divine recipe that only the Lord is capable of REPRODUCING, thus a creative work.

Notice that this leaves the books open to "other spices" in addition to the above nine. This means that it is a sacred ointment in which only the Lord truly knows the full recipe for.

We then see the King make reference to this CREATIVE WORK via the combination of all the spices.

Song of Solomon 4:15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

In verse 12 she was "A garden enclosed", "a spring shut up", and "a fountain sealed". But once the spices are mixed she becomes "a well of living waters".

Sensing this in her spirit, the bride calls forth for the RELEASE of the anointing in her life.

This is the "release" that many are sensing in their spirit right now. It is the wind (Holy Spirit) that is to carry the fragrance of those sweet spices to whomever He chooses.

There is a yearning in the heart of the bride not only for the release of the anointing to others but she exclaims "Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits". The bride calls for the Lord

Himself to partake of the fruit of His labor's within her.

Her deep desire is for the Lord to be pleased with the fruit that is born in her life. She is seeking for that smile from heaven, that voice that proclaims "well done good and faithful servant". Her whole desire is to be pleasing to her husband. She is becoming a virtuous woman, a chaste bride that the King both desires and deserves.

We left off in chapter nine with the King doing a CREATIVE WORK in His spice garden (within the bride) which was to take the individual components of the spice garden and create the ANOINTING OIL.

As the bride sensed this change within her, she called forth for the winds of the Holy Spirit to blow over her that the fragrance of the anointing may be released in her life.

We pick up on this story in:

So the King has come into His garden to be first partaker of this creative work. He is going to taste the fruits of His labors within her. So we see Him gather all the pleasant fruit within His garden, the myrrh, the spices, the milk, the honeycomb, the honey, and the wine.

It is interesting that as the King is partaking we also see this reference for "His friends" to partake of this "good fruit" as well as the bride herself (meaning the bride of Christ collectively).

So who are "His friends"? These are the spiritual eunuchs responsible for preparing the bride. They are the "friend of the bridegroom". They are the "roes" and hinds" previously mentioned in this book. These

are those who have been "laboring" with Christ over you and I to get us were we are in Christ today. So as He is first partaker of the fruit of His labor so are they.

These friends are "male virgins" in the sense that their calling in this age is different from that of the bride, just as was John the Baptist’s.

These are the "forunner's" or Elijah company sent to make a straight way or path for the King into the life of the bride. These are sent that they may "present" a pure and spotless bride to Jesus the King.

This company is the 144,000 "male virgins" that are to proclaim the gospel during the tribulation period.

These are they who are "brought forth" or birthed from the woman or true church.

The word for "man child" in this passage is [5207] huios and means offspring or sons plural. This is not only reference to Jesus but also refers to the sons of thunder or Elijah company that have been prophesied will come forth. It will be these that "make the path straight" for the coming King.

Let's get back to the Song of Solomon text and focus on the bride.

We now see the King once again inviting the bride to "come".

The bride is awakened out of her sleep by her beloved. Don't read over this. She recognizes His voice and recognizes the call. Notice the intimate dialog as the King reaffirms His love for her, her beauty to Him, and her purity to Him.

Open to Me:

- my sister

- my love

- my dove

- my undefiled

The bride responds to her King.

Back in chapter 3 the King gave this same invitation.

She did not come, however, and the King had to withdraw His presence from her to build hunger and thirst in her so that she would be broken and run after Him.

Jesus often will have to lift His presence from us in order that we will run after Him and press on. He does not withdraw Himself for we know that He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. It is that "perception" or "feeling" of His presence that is withdrawn.

Those who are seeking for Jesus for who He is (His face) and not His provision (His hand, what He can do for us) will be able to, as the maturing bride had done in Song of Solomon 3:2, seek Him by night in tears and

travail to find Him whom her soul loveth then get off of their bed and pursue after Him.

Those who are "content" will never get beyond this point. Until their motive for following Jesus is converted the mechanism by which God uses to draw us unto Himself will never work. It can only work when we are

drawn by "the one we love" through seeking His face.

This call here in chapter 5 of Song of Solomon is a little different, however, from that call in Song of Solomon 2:10. She says two specific things that cause her to hesitate. As a side note, we see the bride go from refusal in chapter 2 to simple hesitation in this text. As we grow in the Lord more is required of us so even simple hesitation can cause Jesus to withdraw Himself (His manifest presence) as a teaching or chastening lesson.

These two things are:

- I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?

- I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

The Hebrew word for coat is [03801] k@thoneth and is from an unused root meaning "to cover". This "covering" is what Jesus covers us with to hide our sin from being exposed. The purpose is for healing. Wounds need to be COVERED and not EXPOSED so that they will heal and not fester and disease the whole body. It is that same covering that we are called to use to cover the naked with so that they will heal. This was one of the duties of the priests.

The "coat" is also mentioned in scripture as part of the priestly garments used by the priests to minister unto the Lord. It is in light of this definition of coat that this verse is intended. Jesus comes to her in the night season to perform the priestly duties.

What duties? Ministry unto the Lord!!!

She is tired and complacent. I don't mean this in any critical way but how many times has the Lord visited us in the night or early morning season when we are most vulnerable and weakest in the flesh and asks us to arise and perform the priestly duties? How many times have we missed God by pulling the covers over our head and responding like the maturing bride?

He needs to teach her that He is her source of provision and that He will provide the necessary grace to overcome the weakness of the flesh. He comes to us when we are weak that we may understand that our source is of Him and not us.

Secondly she has washed her feet and does not want to defile them. Jesus washed the disciples feet and said to Peter if your feet are washed then your whole body is clean. The Hebrew word for feet is [07272] regel and means feet. It comes from a prime root [07270] ragal and means to spy or spy out.

We can only go were our feet take us. Jesus put off His royal robes and WALKED among DEFILED humanity. If we relate this to "coat" then "coat" can also be considered a "cloak" or "veil" as in a cloak of humility. In this context Jesus was asking the bride to put that cloak of humility on and come out amongst the "defiled" for the sake of the "defiled" that some might be redeemed.

Jesus was not afraid to "defile" Himself for the sake of this world. Remember, He did become defiled when the sins of the world were cast upon Him. He has faith that God would make Him clean. We need to have

that same faith.

So the call here is to come with Him out from the security of her hiding place and into the midst of humanity. This was her call to ministry. She, however, is afraid of being defiled. She was called to go with the King wherever He goes and Jesus walks among those defiled to reconcile them. This is described in Ezekiel 44 concerning the true priesthood:

Her hesitation came from being content with were she was in her walk with the King. His rod of correction needed to be applied once again. We read on:

This part is really interesting and is exactly were many in the body are at this moment. We are at times in a "slumber" in our walk with King Jesus. We are not yet living in expectancy moment by moment and "take our easy". We are only moved when God comes to us in "familiar" ways and when He touches us emotionally. It is exactly at these times when we "think not", those times we are unprepared, that Jesus comes to us and calls upon us. This is called His "still small voice". Yet many times we are not "moved" by this voice.

We then see the King put His finger in the hole of the door. This is akin to the Holy Spirit coming upon us and touching our "emotions" or "soul". As the King does this the bride is moved.

There was a story about a time at a certain Christian college were they were having a church service and the Lord spoke through a person giving a call to "come up higher" with the Lord. The "anointing" was not really

flowing and nobody responded. All of a sudden a mightily flow of the Spirit filled the chapel and the same word was given. This time many responded to this call of the Spirit. As many were moved by the Spirit and the altar area began to fill another word came forth "your too late".

The Lord was training them that they needed to respond quickly without Him having to touch their "seat of emotions" and likewise this is the lesson that the maturing bride here (as well as us right now) are learning. We need to be moved by HIS WORD and not EMOTIONS. Likewise we are NOT to be moved ONLY by His word and not by OUR EMOTIONS. A dual truth in that statement.

We read further that "I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped [with] myrrh, and my fingers [with] sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock".

Considering what I have just said about this learning lesson, we need to put it into context because the bride did respond. We see that her hands "dropped" with myrrh. Myrrh, as stated previously refers to the cross or

death to self. The word dropped is the Hebrew word [05197] nataph, a primitive root translated drop or prophesy.

As the King leaves this sweet fragrance of myrrh behind all over the door handle and she responds to His call (although late) He is actually "prophetically" speaking into her life concerning her destiny. This destiny is to be like HIM.

As she responded the myrrh was all over her hands. This myrrh not only came from the King but not it was coming from her. Her response was evidence of the death of the self life within her. She too was beginning

to "exude" the same "fragrance" as her King.

We read on:

You know that just before dawn is the darkest hour! As with Peter just 43 days before Pentecost and the outpouring of the glory of God was to come upon Him and the other disciples, Peter experienced his "dark night of the soul".

Peter was so close to being "perfected" (fit to be a vessel to contain God's glory) but he needed yet to learn one very valuable lesson, there is no hope apart from the Master. We can do nothing apart from Him. One

moment Peter was saying "I will die with you" and the other he is alone and totally defeated. From this apparent defeat, however, came the final preparation, the final cutting of the last roots of self-sufficiency, that would allow the outpouring to come upon Him.

This is the lesson for the bride in this passage. He withdraws Himself not out of anger or disgust but rather to make the final preparation complete. She needed this "dark night of the soul" to burn the last areas of self-sufficiency and contentment out of her. I promise you that she WILL NOT make this mistake again.

We are told in Hebrews:

So her soul "fainted" as He leaves. He again withdraws His manifest presence (He Himself never really leaves, only His presence) and in this final soul searching time is when the final preparations are made in her

life.

An explosion is about to occur from this darkest hour.

The maturing bride is going through a time of sifting and chastening by her King. She is now entering into her own personal "garden of Gethsemane" were the final area's of self-sufficiency and disobedience are being burned away. She is coming into the "final adornment" as the 'last" pieces of her wedding gown are

being placed upon her.

So we pick up as she once again (as in chapter 3:1-2) goes through a period of "soul searching" to seek her King.

I will digress here for a moment before we get into the text to add this point. As we stated, Jesus never "left her" but rather hid His manifest presence from her. What had happened to her (both in chapter 2:8 and in

chapter 5:2) is that Jesus came to her in a "way" that she was not familiar with.

In Song of Solomon 2:8 Jesus came to the bride as this "WARRIOR KING" when what she was familiar with was this loving Savior who reigned down blessings upon her. She was taken "off guard" and as part of her training needed to go through a time of seeking.

In Song of Solomon 5:2 Jesus comes to her as the "still small voice" and is not "fully aquatinted" with this "side" or "face" of the King. She is not being "condemned" by the chastening but rather is being trained to

"recognize" Jesus when He comes and be ready in whatever form He may appear to her.

Sometimes we have an image or "icon" of what Jesus looks like in our heart. Sometimes we have a "method" or "formula" on how to find Jesus in "five easy steps". It is these images and formula's that prevent us from

seeing or recognizing the King when He stands before us in "another form".

Sometimes He comes to us through anointed men of God to minister to us. At other times He stands before us as a broken, dirty, homeless person in need of ministry both physically as well as spiritually. At other

times He comes through a person trapped in bitterness crying to get out but not knowing how. And at other times through our children and spouses. These images must be broken in order to see Jesus in ALL

circumstances.

At times these "icons" cause us to seek for Him in "familiar" places and as we are about to see the Lord is going to break the idols in her life.

So the bride has this "burning passion" to find her beloved King. She goes out "seeking" for Him "among the daughters of Zion". She goes back to the church to find her King. She goes back to her 'familiar ways"

which in the past led to her finding Jesus.

Notice what happens to her. Let me note here, Jesus NEVER leaves her (as we will see in chapter 6). She is about to find out EXACTLY were her King is and it is going to take the "watchman" to beat it (Jesus) out of

her (no pun intended).

Many of us need to have are "familiar ways" and "idols" broken and Jesus is using those in the church system to break the idols. The watchman smite, wound, and expose the maturing bride. This has a dual

meaning and I will lay forth both of them.

Firstly, this speaks of the FALSE watchman who when they come upon the bride dish out to her rejection, condemnation, wounding, and beatings, trying to EXPOSE any weakness in her they can to discredit her because her deeds are righteous and theirs evil. We know however that:

So the Lord is using the "false" to sift His children right now. He is using then to expose their hidden area's of dependence or reliance upon man to find God, any area's of self sufficiency or self reliance, hidden area's of attachment to the false church system, hidden idol's that have been set up, idolizing the church or anointed men and woman of God, preconceived notions or opinions as to what His church will look like, and "exaltation" of man. All of these are "beaten" out of her by these watchman.

Secondly, this speaks of the TRUE watchman who out of love and concern tell the truth in love and EXPOSE hidden area's of attachment to man and their religious order. They expose anything that is not of God for the

sake of the bride so that she may be complete, whole, and without spot or wrinkle. At times those who are mature will recognize dependencies and "soul ties" that need to be broken due to the maturing bride

idolizing them thus they will "beat" and "wound" the bride so that her focus remains Jesus and not them, at the expense of being misunderstood by the maturing bride themselves. This is out of love and exaltation of the bride and not to "hinder" or "abuse" her in any way. We will see more of this as many mature to the level of TRUE WATCHMAN in the coming days.

All of this is necessary to "find" exactly were her King is. Once the reality of were Jesus is found comes to the bride she will have taken a MAJOR STEP in her spiritual walk. More on this in chapter 6. We read on

to find:

Notice that the bride is maturing. She does not retaliate from these "attacks" but rather out of a pure seeking heart really wants to find her beloved. She begs the "true" watchman to help her find her lover and best friend. This final "reliance" upon man in her walk with Jesus is about to be brought to an abrupt end. We read in the next verse:

This is painful but necessary and is exactly what many who are being raised up as the "bride" are going through right now. This response is offensive and irritating to those who truly love and RESPECT their King.

But it is through "offense" that the bride is going to realize in a permanent and mature way were their King resides. Without the realization of were He abides, in other words have FULL CONFIDENCE as to His residence, she will never be able to take that MAJOR SPIRITUAL STEP.

It is in her response that the "explosion" takes place. It is the "watchmen" that draw "CHRIST IN HER" out. This is the fulfillment of her request to "blow the north and south winds" on her garden to release the

anointing. It is in the midst of this "deep darkness" that the anointing flows from within her INNERMOST BEING. The garden and all the goodly spices that are WITHIN her are not going to be manifest to all in the

physical realm.

This explosion manifests itself in a TWELVE FOLD description of who her King really is. Twelve is the number of government and thus she is revealing to all who the real "KING of kings" is, His attributes and

nature. These flow from her INNERMOST BEING OUTWARD.

She bride has moved from the three fold description of Christ (Song of Solomon 1:9-10), to the seven fold description of Christ (Song of Solomon 3:6-10), and now to the full twelve fold description of Christ. This signifies that she now has the complete picture of who He is.

The anointing oil flows from her spice garden as the winds blow upon it.

Song of Solomon 5:10-16

1. My beloved [is] white and ruddy.

2. Chiefest among ten thousand.

3. His head [is as] the most fine gold.

4. His locks [are] bushy, [and] black as a raven.

5. His eyes [are] as [the eyes] of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, [and] fitly set.

6. His cheeks [are] as a bed of spices, [as] sweet flowers.

7. His lips [like] lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

8. His hands [are as] gold rings set with the beryl.

9. His belly [is as] bright ivory overlaid [with] sapphires.

10. His legs [are as] pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold.

11. His countenance [is] as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

12. His mouth [is] most sweet: yea, he [is] altogether lovely.

This [is] my beloved, and this [is] my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Within this description is the nature and character of Jesus our WARRIOR KING.

1. My beloved [is] white and ruddy.

White comes from the Hebrew word [06703] tsach and means dazzling, glowing, clear, bright. Ruddy comes from the Hebrew word [0122] 'adom and means red or ruddy. It is derived from [0119] 'adam, the common word for man or mankind. This speaks of His human perfection while He walked in the flesh. He was man yet God. It also speaks of our calling to be "Christians" or "Christ-man". We live in the flesh but walk not according to the flesh, just as our WARRIOR KING did.

2. Chiefest among ten thousand.

Chiefest is from the Hebrew word [01713] dagal, a primitive root and means to (set up) banner or chiefest. The word ten thousand is the highest number in the Hebrew language. In Jude we are told that Enoch prophesied Jesus would return with ten thousands of saints. There is no words for millions, billions, ect. What is being said here is that out of ALL of the loves that can possibly be imagined, you are the chiefest.

That word chiefest is also to set up banner. So if we were to fill a football stadium with 100,000 people and one had a huge banner they were holding it would distinguish them from all others. It is His love over us that distinguishes Him from all others.

Song of Solomon 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me [was] love.

3. His head [is as] the most fine gold.

The Hebrew word for head is [07218] ro'shand menas head, chief, top, beginning, company, captain, sum, first, principal, chapiters, or rulers. All of these describe RULERSHIP or HEADSHIP. So His RULERSHIP is

like fine gold. Gold speaks of the finest or best. In the holy of holies ALL is either solid gold or covered with gold. God requires the BEST in His presence. This description is speaking that His rulership is ABOVE all others and is the finest ABOVE all others. It speaks to us that His Lordship in our lives is SUPERIOR to our rulership in our lives. His ability to rule and reign is far better than any other rulership or government.

4. His locks [are] bushy, [and] black as a raven.

This was part of the King's description of His bride. As discussed in part 1, locks or hair refers to devotion. Black speaks of youthfulness, vitality, "prime of life", and strength. Thus His devotion to us is always in strong and relentless. This speaks of His devotion towards His everlasting covenant with us.

5. His eyes [are] as [the eyes] of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, [and] fitly set.

This also was part of the King's description of His bride. Doves eyes refer to "singleness". His desire is "towards us" as His bride. He is not an adulterer but He is sold out to see that we become that pure spotless bride.

Rivers of water speaks of that "life source". Jesus said that "out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of "living" water". Thus water is the anointing. We read in Ezekiel:

Thus His singleness of devotion to us IS OUR LIFE SOURCE. It is our security. He will never leave us nor forsake us. It is because of His devotion to us that we are like trees set by those rivers of living water.

Milk speaks of nourishment. His devotion is not only our life source in the sense of security but also concerning revelation. Jesus told us:

All of this speaks of His devotion or covenant towards us being our source of strength, our life source.

6. His cheeks [are] as a bed of spices, [as] sweet flowers.

The Hebrew word for cheeks is [03895] l@chiy from an unused root meaning "to be soft". Our cheeks also speak His emotions toward the bride. It also speaks of His tenderness thus "soft". We see all through this book the tenderness and "sweet emotions" of the King toward His bride. Not once does the King bring a cruel word against His bride. He always speaks to her in love and compassion exalting her to the HIGHEST PLACE. It is this tenderness that is a "bed of spices" (remember the spice garden in chapter 4) and a sweet fragrant flower to the bride.

7. His lips [like] lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

Lips speak of speech or HOW we talk to others. Lilies speak of multitudes due to the "lily of the valley" being in vast quantity in the springtime. lilies also speaks of beauty and freshness, new beginnings, a change in season (for the better) as does the springtime. Lilies are also symbolic of the resurrection of Christ. Myrrh speaks of death and thus hope of resurrection life.

Thus the multitude of His speech is beauty and freshness to the bride. Everything that the King says has redemptive quality to it leading the bride to the cross and thus into the new beginnings of resurrection life.

8. His hands [are as] gold rings set with the beryl.

Hands biblically speak of service or ministry. Gold speaks of "quality" or "finest". Rings being circular speak of everlasting or never ending. Beryl is a precious stone.

Thus His ministry toward us (His covenant) is eternal, never ending, always there. He is always there for us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. It is the finest, the choicest, the best. More precious that anything that this world has to offer. His love is sweeter than the sweetest of honey and better than the choicest of wine. His ministry toward us is not "half-hearted" but rather He gives us His choicest or best. He holds back nothing from us.

9. His belly [is as] bright ivory overlaid [with] sapphires.

The Hebrew word for belly is [04578] me`ah and is from an unused root. One meaning of this word is "place of emotions or distress or love". Thus belly speaks of His "innermost being" or seat of emotions.

Ivory is from the Hebrew word [08127] shen and means tooth or ivory. It is derived from [08150] shanan, a primitive root and is translated sharp whet, sharpen, prick, teach diligently.

Thus His emotions or innermost being has the ability to "prick" us to the heart. It is sharp and has "teeth" to it. As Jesus is moved towards us and His "bowels" yearn for fellowship with His bride she cannot help

but be "convicted" and "cut to the heart" over the love of the King and His show of emotion for her. All this is "overlaid with sapphires" thus signifying the costliness or preciousness of these emotions that the King has for the bride.

10. His legs [are as] pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold.

Legs speak of strength. Jesus is the foundation of the building. He is what is holding the building up. He is also the one bearing the weight of it. Thus the strength of His house that He is building is Him. Gold speaks of the BEST or of Kingship or rulership. It also speaks of the resurrection life. Thus the strength of the house is set upon the work of the cross. It is upon the finished work of the cross that His house is built and thus is the strength of the house.

11. His countenance [is] as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

His countenance or appearance is as Lebanon. Lebanon, as stated earlier, means "whiteness". This is confirmed in:

Jesus radiates the "holiness of the Lord".

12. His mouth [is] most sweet: yea, he [is] altogether lovely.

The word mouth is from the Hebrew [02441] chek and means mouth. This is derived from [02596] chanak, a primitive root meaning to dedicate or train up. Thus His words of correction or training that come forth from

His mouth is sweet. Even in correction the bride feels His love for her and conveys to her the need for correction because of her destiny. This makes her secure and receive training with open arms.

Finally, "He [is] altogether lovely". This is the complete man. The sum total of Jesus is beauty and holiness, perfection and grace. He truly is "all in all", "alpha and omega".

She then sums up by saying:

Out of her "innermost being" comes forth the "revelation" of the nature and character of Christ to a evil and perverse generation who have desperate spiritual needs but are totally blind to them. These are not just words but rather "anointed" words that come from that "anointing oil" of the mixture of spices in chapter 4 of the Song of Solomon. These words have impact!

Truly the highest goal in life is to simply be a friend of God!

We will end this chapter by looking at the impact of the anointing exploding from the innermost being of the bride revealing the TRUE JESUS to them.

Look what the anointing did.The revelation of Jesus Christ via the anointing oil of her spice garden released by the winds of the Holy Spirit has caused those who just a few verses before considered Jesus equal with TV or golf to now desire to run after Him.

What words could not do the anointing has done. Back in chapter 3 the bride gave a seven fold description of the King and then turned to the daughters and said:

The maturing bride gave a pretty impressive seven fold description of the King but without the anointing her words could not break through to the hard hearts of the "daughters of Zion". It is going to take the anointing to break hard hearts in this hour and the anointing is going to cost us everything. Something to think about as we are being challenged as to exactly how much we actually desire to see the church raised up. The operative word is cost. Are we willing to lay it all down for the anointing. Something to think long and hard about.

Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit via the bride, the daughters of Zion have started on their own "Song of Solomon" path and can declare as the bride did:

And finally, after all of this, the bride finally realizes were her beloved has been all along, in His spice garden WITHIN HER. She has finally manifested the reality of "Christ in us". Her search is over and her seeking for the King is complete. She has found Him and now will never have to search for Him again. They are one in union.

Jesus is in His garden partaking of the fruit of His labor in the bride, gathering the "fruit of the Spirit" and gathering the "lilies". The lilies are those who are now on that same path as the maturing bride. They have become lilies among thorns.

So here is the full circle, as the maturing bride is released and her spice garden is drawing others to Christ by revealing who He is to the "daughters of Zion" they are being converted into "shulamite women" entering the same "pathway" as she did in chapter 1 of the Song of Solomon.

And we will leave this chapter as the bride declares:

And with this declaration we find that the bride has now come under the complete Lordship of Jesus Christ. She has gone through the trial and testings and has spiritually progressed that she, as Paul declared:

She has progressed from possessing Jesus but for her pleasure:

To were she is now:

In this statement they have become "co-laborer's" among the lilies.

She has yet one more spiritual progression that she must go through and were the Lord is leading her. This is found in:

She no longer mentions her name in this statement. This is her entrance into the holy of holies were no flesh (self) can stand in His presence, only Christ. I would like to relate a prophetic vision from Bill Hawkins (whawkins@ncats.newaygo.mi.us) that ties this progression together.

So the progression is from outer court worship:

To inner court worship:

To holy of holies worship:

So we can see were we are headed. may the Lord who is able to complete that which He has began in us allow these truths to soak deeply into your spirit-man as the Lord's desire is to draw us into the holy of

holies worship, raising us up together as His bride to be seated in the heavenlies with Him.

One of the key theme’s throughout this book is the affirmation of the love of the King for His bride. The way that the King draws us into the holy of holies is not by threats but rather by constant love and affirmation. Conversely, we see the speech of the bride has now become that of her Lord and King. As she has grown in a love relationship with Him her speech has the same redemptive quality to it as the King’s does.

One of the mileposts that mark the maturity of the bride is her speech. Jesus told us:

So as her heart (mind) is renewed and redeemed we see her speech also being redeemed. James puts it this way:

As we study chapter 6 of the Song of Solomon, what we find is that this passage can refer either to the King speaking to the bride or the converse were the bride is speaking to the King. We find the same phrases in this passage of scripture spoken earlier in the Song of Solomon thus signifying an affirmation of their love for each other.

So the voice of the bride in this passage of scripture is spoken in UNISON with the voice of the King. They are together declaring their love for each other. She is becoming ONE with the King and her speech is evidence of this.

We see here a seven fold description given by the King of the bride and conversely by the bride of the King. Seven being the number of spiritual completion.

1. Thou [art] beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah

The word Tirzah in the Hebrew is [08656] Tirtsah and means "favorable".

In a love relationship there is favor or grace. On the part of the King it is His agape love for us that gives us His unmerited favor.

It is our humility or positive response to that show of affection that allows us to receive it.

The bride received His unmerited favor because she humbled herself before Him.

On the part of the bride it is what she gives up for the King. As she is in the process of dying to self, she no longer lives her life to please her wants and needs anymore. She now lives her life to please her husband. He has finally found favor in her sight. She has become the Proverbs 31 wife that King Jesus was raising her up to be.

2. Comely as Jerusalem

The word Jerusalem in the Hebrew is [03389] Y@ruwshalaim and means "teaching of peace".

Peace only exists under one condition, which is where there is only one will. So here the bride is declaring to the King that He is her peace, her strong tower, her fortress. His ways are peace and joy to her. His rulership over her life is peace and safety to her.

As we submit ourselves to God there will be peace in our inner man as the devil flees from us. Peace comes when we both know and are walking in the perfect will of God.

As our minds are renewed by the inner work of the Holy Spirit we will know and do the perfect will of God and thus gain His perfect peace.

The King is declaring to the bride that we are now in unison and harmony. There is no longer strife and division at the point were two different wills meet. We are of one mind and one will co-laboring together.

The bride has come into unity with Jesus, and because of this with those who also are IN CHRIST. This is a fulfillment of Jesus prayer in:

3. Terrible as [an army] with banners

The word banners in the Hebrew is [01713] dagal, a primitive root, and means "chiefest".

The bride is declaring to the King that He is her Lord, her Master, her Ruler. She has come to the place were Jesus truly is Lord over her life, not just in declaration but in reality. She has come to:

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The King is declaring to the bride that all of His sacrifice and suffering was for her. His everlasting covenant is upon her as He will move both heaven and earth on behalf of the bride as she makes requests to Him through prayer and intercession.

Jesus is able to give her what she asks for because her will is in line with the Holy Spirit thus her requests are spiritual and not carnal. She is no longer an adulteress as James described, she rather asks in accord with the Holy Spirit and receives according to her faith.

4. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me

The King is so overcome with the beauty of the bride that He has to stop in mid sentence, almost in tears, and tell the bride to look away from Him as her fixed gaze (a sign of her unbroken devotion to Him), is causing all kinds of emotions to rise up in Him.

Now we are talking about the beauty and radiance of the bride having this effect on the King of heaven. We are talking about the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Her beauty is her singleness of devotion to Him. It is her single eye. She will not go either to the right or left but her gaze is fixed upon the beautiful face of Jesus.

The bride is declaring to the King her love and emotions for His unfailing covenant with her. His covenant never fails. His love is always there. She is overcome with His dedication and devotion to her.

5. Thy hair [is] as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

Hair itself speaks of covenant or dedication. It is directly connected with the Nazarene vow or which Samson is an example. His strength was in His hair (devotion).

The King proclaimed this over the bride back in:

Song of Solomon 4:1c thy hair [is] as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

The Hebrew word for goats is [5795] and is derived from [5810] and means "to be stout" or "strong". The Hebrew word for Gilead is [1568] and means "heap of testimony.

The King's declaration to the bride is that her covenant with Him is very strong (flock of goats) and stands as a "testimony" (Gilead) to their growing relationship. Likewise the bride declares the cross of Christ and the finished work thereon as a testimony of His everlasting covenant with her.

6. Thy teeth [are] as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and [there is] not one barren among them.

Teeth represent the way we "break down" the word of God or "truth". The King proclaimed this over the bride back in:

There is much in this. First they are like a "flock of sheep that are even shorn". The word shorn in the Hebrew is [7094] and means to clip or chop. What this is saying is that the bride now has the ability to "rightly divide" the word of God. There is no longer the immature tendency to only focus on one biblical truth but the sum of the word of God is taken into account as the word of God is digested as food for the soul.

The bride’s declaration to the King is her gratefulness to Him for sending the Holy Spirit to "rightly divide" the word of God and reveal the "hidden manna" found in the scriptures. She is declaring it is not of my intellect but through revelation that I have been able to understand the scriptures.

Secondly, we read that the sheep that are shorn have "came up from the washing". This refers to the word of God or revelatory knowledge being "untainted" or "unleavened" by flesh. As truth is rightly divided it is

no longer being contaminated by the opinions, ideas, and traditions of men but is being received right from the throne of God through the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, that which is received from man as teaching is

first "washed" before it is "divided". She now has the ability to discern that which is of the "soul" from that which is of the "spirit", that which is "good" from that which is "evil" (Hebrews 4:12, 5:14).

The bride’s declaration to the King is her gratefulness for Him giving her pure bread to eat and pure water to drink. She is declaring that it is only by your grace to give me discernment of what is good and what is evil that I can tell the difference. It is only by the Holy Spirit and not of my own doing.

Thirdly, we read that "every one bear twins". This refers to the ability of the bride to recognize counter truths. Thus we are to know the "goodness AND severity" of God. We are to "suffer BEFORE we reign" and many like balanced truth's. The bride is coming to the place were she is receiving the "whole council" of God.

The bride’s declaration to the King is her gratefulness to Him for giving her the whole council of God and for rightly dividing the scriptures for her.

This is the realization that the bride has come to. She now knows that without Jesus revealing these truths to her she would be wretched, blind, naked, miserable, and poor. All proceeds from the Father.

Fourthly, we read that "none [is] barren among them". This refers to the word of God or revelatory knowledge becoming "life". The word of God now has the ability to "divide asunder" within the bride that which is flesh

from that which is spirit. The word now has the ability to "renew the mind" and "wash" or "cleanse" the bride. In times past the truth was simply "head knowledge" but now it is apostolic in nature (applied to her life to bring about change).

The bride’s declaration to the King is that she is a fruitful place because of who He is and because she is grafted into the vine. It is the "living Word" that has accomplished this in her and not self discipline.

7. As a piece of a pomegranate [are] thy temples within thy locks.

Temples speaks of our mind or our seat of intellect. Were our mind is fixed is were the rest of our body goes. It is in the "temporal region" or our brain that our "motor functions" are controlled thus the temples speak of self-control. The King pronounced this over the bride in:

The Hebrew word for pomegranates is derived from [7426] which means to rise up or to be mounted up. Pomegranates is a fruit thus this speaks of the fruit of the Spirit being born in our life. Because it is connected with our temples signifies that it is now the "fruit of the Spirit" that controls our lives (mounts or raises us up or above) rather than the "lust of the flesh".

We again see the phrase "within thy locks". So even the fact that she is bearing Spiritual fruit is veiled from the naked eye for the Lord only to behold and to whom He chooses to reveal it to.

The bride’s declaration here is that it is only because I am grafted into the vine that I am bearing fruit. It is Your intellect and not my intellect or wisdom that has born fruit in my life. She also declares His humility in this as Christ does not "flaunt" who He is as King of the universe but rather He veils Himself to be revealed to the humble and contrite of heart.

Jesus and His bride are becoming ONE!

As we have gone through this glorious book, we have discovered God’s ways. Throughout this book it has become evident that what the Father and King Jesus value is much different than that of man.

It is not only His ways that are shown here, in other words the way He would go about doing something but also how He sees us. Men look at the outward but God sees the heart.

We really have very little to offer God in the way of what we can do for Him or give to Him. What we do have to offer is a heart totally submitted to His will and humbled before Him. This man will God take special note of.

Because the Father sees men differently that we see those around us, we are often taken by the STRENGTH of a person. This can be strength in the form of FLESHLY PERFECTION or SPIRITUAL GIFTING. God is not nearly as impressed with what we do for Him as He is with how submitted we are to Him.

In the case of the flesh, it is vanity and has not value to it.

Concerning spiritual gifts, they are freely given in which case there is no room for boasting.

As we pick up in the Song of Solomon we begin to get this same view of what kind of person captivates God’s heart.

The King proclaims:

Sixty speaks of strength. There are two biblical examples were sixty is used. One is in:

This was in the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Jews were in captivity for seventy years. Now a wall that is as thick as it is high is very strong thus sixty denoting strength or protection.

The second example is in:

Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful king in the world at that time and the image being sixty cubits high denotes the strength of his kingdom. In this context his strength perverted his thinking and corrupted him with pride. His kingdom was given to him by the Father but Nebuchadnezzar thought it was by his strength.

In the context of this text I believe sixty queens refers to those who move in the gifts of the Spirit but they have somehow become corrupted by the spiritual power or gifting that God gave them.

I should say at this point that gifting is not love. The highest goal is not to heal people in Jesus name or to cast out demons in Jesus name or to turn water into wine in Jesus name. The highest goal is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is in obtaining this Agape Love that we fulfill the law.

Ultimately it was not Jesus spiritual gifts that dealt satan the ultimate defeat but it was rather His love for us and His obedience to the Father that dealt satan the death blow. The use of the spiritual power that Jesus had was only a byproduct of His love for those around Him and His love for the Father. His use of the spiritual power was only in accord with what the Father was doing. Yes the "anointing" was used to tear down satan’s kingdom but He the "anointing" was only a means to an end and not the end itself.

The end of the law is love.

Paul taught us this dichotomy between gifting and love in:

Many are seeking God for what He can give them, namely His power and gifting. Although the reasons are noble they are still rooted in the fleshly compassion of man which will always fall short. The motives come from the "good" side of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fruit from this tree, whether appearing good or evil, will ALWAYS be in opposition to God. These motives sound something like:

- If I only could heal people I would empty the hospitals out from those under attack by the enemy then the lost would praise Jesus.

- If I only had spiritual authority I would cast down all principalities and powers that rule this nation then the lost would see.

Good motives but do they fall in line with the will of the Father. What we really need to know desperately are His WAYS. Then when we are bestowed with power from on high it will only be used in accord with what the Father is doing.

The multitudes followed Jesus because He did mighty miracles.

Jesus call to them was to be direct partakers of the nature and character of Himself. It was in partaking the character and nature of Jesus, which is love for God is love, that would give them life.

Gifting and power does not necessarily come with a price. The word gift means exactly what it says, it is a gift and has no price tag. To obtain Jesus love, however, will cost us everything.

Back to the text.

Next, eighty speaks of zeal for God specifically in relation to opposing evil. There are two examples were eighty is connected with service to the Lord. The first is found in:

These priests confronted the King for his rebellion against God and His set order concerning the operation of the temple and what manner sacrifices were to be made unto the Lord.

The second example is found in:

King Jehu sought to rid the land of all Baal worship so he made a feast and called all Baal worshippers in the land to come to worship at this great feast. It was a trick. Once he got all of them together he sent eighty valiant men in to slay them all.

In this context, concubines are those who have a zeal for the Lord but act in the strength in the flesh. The Lord has many "concubines" who are busy doing many "great" works for Him. Because of their works they view themselves as being SUPERIOR to those around them. Many are busy doing great things for God but it is out of the flesh and not by the Spirit of God. Those who are strong from all appearances seem like they are the Lord’s choicest.

But as we are taught:

These are those who are like those of the church of Ephesus, they know what is right and what is wrong and zealously defend those things but their relationship with Jesus has grown cold.

The Lord declares He has many who are like the queen and the concubines. They are doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. They have a zeal for God yet not according to knowledge.

These know what is right and do it but not from the standpoint of love and affection but rather out of duty and obligation. Because of their devotion to the Lord their hearts have been lifted up in pride as they base their relationship with the Lord and His approval on what they do for Him. Outwardly, these are laboring for the Lord but their hearts are not submitted to Him. These have stopped leaning on the righteousness of Christ and in their hearts rely on their righteousness through the living the law and not on the finished work of Christ. Because of their devotion to Him OUT OF THE FLESH, their hearts remain unbroken towards Him.

The King continues His exhortation:

Virgins without number is a symbol of the masses who claim to be Christian. They are around the King because they can get something from Him. Perhaps it is the soothing of the conscience that they are saved from hell or perhaps it is that God provides for them. These are not around the King for His sake but for their own. These live their whole Christian walk from a self centered standpoint of what Jesus and Christianity can do for them, how it can enhance their life, fulfill their goals and dreams. These the King declares are so many that they are without number.

The King then declares of the bride:

The mother here refers to the "spiritual Israel" or the true church. The church is the mother of us all. It is out of her that we have come forth. The bride is undefiled because her heart has remained in a humble and broken posture before the King. She has not been defiled through pride. In her heart she knows that she is really nothing if she for one moment takes her eyes off the King of Glory. The Lord’s delight is in those who remain of a humble heart and continually SEEK HIS FACE. These love the Lord for who He is and not what He can provide for them.

This is a picture of the end-time bride who serves the Lord out of pure devotion to Him as their only motive is to know the King. It is from this standpoint that any of the gifting and power that will be released through her will have any lasting eternal value.

As we have seen throughout this entire study of the Song of Solomon, the major emphasis on what makes the bride beautiful and glorious in the sight of King Jesus is her single devotion to Him. Twice the King refers to the bride as having doves eyes that are fixed on the King, the dove being a symbol of pure devotion since the dove has no peripheral vision.

We begin to see that not only does the King declare this beauty and splendor over the bride but now the "daughters", "queens", and "concubines" begin to see the beauty of holiness, which is her heart position before the King, as they declare to the bride:

Her beauty begins to stir deep inside of them a heart wrenching desire to run after the King in like devotion towards Him. It is when the real Jesus is seen radiating from the bride that hearts will be stirred.

The bride then declares:

Song of Solomon 6:11-12 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, [and] to see whether the vine flourished, [and] the pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me [like] the chariots of Amminadib.

This reads in the NIV:

Verse 12 in the NASB reads:

The meaning of this verse is found in the word Amminadib. In the Hebrew this word is [05993] `Ammiy Nadiyb which means "my people are willing". The garden of nuts is the Lord’s spice garden which is both within us as well as corporately being each of us. The fruit is the inner work of the Holy Spirit that washes us and renews our mind. The effect of this is to make the queens, concubines, and virgins willing to run after Jesus in pure devotion as well.

The bride’s desire is now to be among God’s people. Her concern, effort, and focus has now shifted a bit as she now desires and longs for the corporate church to be raised up. She now goes to labor in the "garden of nuts" as she senses a brokeness in her people, those who are called by the name of Christ along with her, and are willing to run with the King as well.

As she departs, the queens, concubines, and virgins declare:

She is so beautiful that they do not want her to depart. I believe what is happening here is that the glory coming from the bride (glory meaning spiritual fruit) is so awesome that the queens, concubines, and virgins become captivated with the glory on the bride and loose site that the glory on her is really that of the King. This same thing happened to the Corinthians when Paul and the apostles visited them in power.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them [which are of the house] of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

So as this declaration is being made, the King declares:

In the NIV this passage reads:

This statement can either be from the King Himself or the shulamite woman. The word Mahanaim in the Hebrew is [04264] machaneh and is translated camp 136 times. The declaration here is to keep focused on who filled the bride with the glory rather than to be captivated by her glory and loose sight of the King.

I believe that it is actually the bride making this declaration as she declares about herself:

"Who am I and why would you look upon me as to cause division in the body of Christ. Is Christ divided?"

As we begin chapter seven what we see is a twelve fold description of the bride given to her by King Jesus. Twelve is the number of government or authority and as this description is given we find that the bride has now gained apostolic or governmental authority.

This twelve fold description is:

- How beautiful are thy feet with shoes

- The joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels

- Thy navel [is like] a round goblet, [which] wanteth not liquor.

- Thy belly [is like] an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

- Thy two breasts [are] like two young roes [that are] twins.

- Thy neck [is] as a tower of ivory

- Thine eyes [like] the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim

- Thy nose [is] as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus

- Thine head upon thee [is] like Carmel

- The hair of thine head like purple

- This thy stature is like to a palm tree

- Thy breasts to clusters [of grapes]

1. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter!

Feet have to do with evangelism. We are taught by Paul in:

The feet in this case is the evangelistic message of the gospel of Christ and the shoes represent the preparation involved for that message to move forward. This description of the bride here is that she is now ready to go to the nations to win the lost back to the Father.

The Hebrew word for "prince" is [05081] nadiyb and is translated willing three times. This word is derived from the Hebrew word [05068] nadab, a primitive root, and means "offered willingly". Right from the very beginning of this multi-faceted description of the bride we once again get a picture of what the King delights in the most, and that is a willing heart offered freely by a person to Him.

2. The joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

Thighs represent strength. The strongest part of our body is our legs, particularly our thighs. Our legs are what hold us up. The word joint in the Hebrew is [02542] chammuwq and simply means joint. This word is derived from [02559] chamaq, a primitive root, and means to withdraw, turn around, turn away. I believe that this is a picture of her strength, which is the bride’s testimony of withdrawing herself from this world and the things in it that defile or corrupt us. The world calls this foolishness but the King of kings calls it a precious jewel. It is the work of the hands of a cunning workman. That cunning workman is the Holy Spirit who molds and shapes, continually drawing us towards Jesus and thus away from this world.

3 Thy navel [is like] a round goblet, [which] wanteth not liquor.

The navel is the place were the umbilical cord was attached on the belly. The Hebrew word for navel is [08326] shorer and means umbilical cord. This speaks of the bride being yet grafted into the vine and Christ yet being her life source. She knows her life source and thus continually abides in Christ moment by moment.

The Hebrew word for liquor is [04197] mezeg, from an unused root meaning to mingle (water with wine). Water speaks of the word of God and wine is a symbol of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and/or the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The picture that we then see here is that as she abides in Christ she is continually being renewed or regenerated by the water of the word of God and the wine of the baptism or inner working of the Holy Spirit.

4. Thy belly [is like] an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

The belly speaks of the spirit man or our "innermost" being.

Wheat is a picture of the fruit of the Spirit. Biblically, the word of God is spoken of as bread which is of course made from grain. In Matthew 13 in the parable of the tares and wheat, the wheat is a symbol of that which has eternal value while the tares and chaff are symbols of the corrupt and temporal.

The Hebrew word for lilies is [07799] shuwshan or showshan or shoshanand (fem.) showshannah {sho-shan-naw'} and simply means lily.This word is derived from [07797] suws or siys, a primitive root, and means rejoice.

The picture that we are getting here is the inner man of the bride filled with the fruit of the spirit (heaps of wheat) to overflowing thus fulfilling the scripture above in John. It is from this superabundance that praise and worship (meaning of root word for lily) flow forth from the bride.

5. Thy two breasts [are] like two young roes [that are] twins.

Breasts speak of the ability to give nourishment. It also speaks of maturity since it is adults that have breasts. Breasts also speak of mothering or parenting since it is her children that will benefit from her care. Back in Song of Solomon 4, the King gave a description of the bride.

We had discussed that twins represented counter truths that allowed the bride to receive and digest the whole council of God. We now see that her breasts are twins. So she is now the one who is nourishing others with the whole council of God, teaching balanced truths to those who yet need the milk of the word. Young roes represent youthful vitality or prime of life. The bride’s teaching of the word is never lifeless but is rather filled with the anointing of the Holy Spirit as she is able to bring the word to life for those that she cares for.

6 Thy neck [is] as a tower of ivory

The neck speaks of our will. Our will is either "flexible" in a positive sense, bending to the will of God. It can also be "stiff necked" and will not bend to the will of God but rather stand in rebellion towards Him. In this picture we see that her will is like a tower. It has already been established that the bride at this point in her walk is totally submitted to God’s will. Thus the picture here is that her will is strong, not in rebellion towards God but rather strong in that she is totally committed to Him.

The Hebrew word for ivory is [08127] shen and is usually translated either sharp or teeth.

7. Thine eyes [like] the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim.

Eyes are a symbol of the object of our desire. In this book the bride has been said to have doves eyes and is a symbol of pure devotion to Christ. Here her eyes are like fishpools in Heshbon.

Heshbon in the Hebrew is [02809] Nwbvx Cheshbown and means "stronghold". Bathrabbim in the Hebrew is [01337] Bath Rabbiym and means "daughter of multitudes". This again is a symbol of her single devotion to the Lord. Her devotion to the King is strong even as she walks in this world with it’s multitude of distractions seeking to allure the bride’s attention away from the King.

8. Thy nose [is] as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

Our nose represents discernment. The Hebrew word for Lebanon is [03844] L@banown and means "whiteness". Thus the symbol here is that her ability to discern good from evil is not tainted by man’s opinions rather she relies solely on the Holy Spirit to see beyond this physical realm and discern situations as the Lord sees them.

The Hebrew word for Damascus is [01834] Dammeseq and means "silent is the sackcloth weaver". Sackcloth is a symbol of humility. When the Lord warned to pass judgment the people of the land would humble themselves with prayer, fasting, and changing their garments for garments of sackcloth. The symbol here is that even though she is able to discern the truth it is always cloaked in humility. Often that means remaining silent about a situation and simply taking it to the Lord in prayer instead of directly confronting other people. She has come to trust in God’s ability through the Holy Spirit to change a situation rather than in her ability in the flesh to change it through her words.

9. Thine head upon thee [is] like Carmel

The Hebrew word for Carmel is [03760] Karmel and means "garden-land". Head in the Hebrew is [07218] ro'sh and means head or chief. Our head is the seat of our intellect which is our mind. As the Lord has renewed the mind of the bride it has become a fruitful place filled with good and pleasant fruit.

Jesus told us:

As our minds become renewed by the washing of the word of God we exchange barrenness and defilement for a fruitful garden.

10. The hair of thine head like purple, the king [is] held in the galleries.

Hair speaks of devotion and is connected with the Nazarite vow were the person would not cut their hair as a symbol of the covenant vow. Purple is found in almost every case in the old testament connected with the temple of God. It is also a symbol of royalty. It is interesting that the King is mentioned in conjunction with her hair. The Hebrew word for galleries is [07298] rahat and means hollow or lock of hair.

This is a symbol that Christ is her covering and her glory. Paul taught us that:

The strength of her devotion is the greatest form of government, the theocracy of Jesus Christ as Lord of her life. The King is "hidden" in her "locks of hair" which is a symbol of their secret or personnel relationship. The secret to Sampsom’s strength was His hair (devotion) and likewise the "secret to the bride’s strength is Jesus Lordship over her life.

The King then pauses and declares:

He then continues into the last two attributes of the bride.

11. This thy stature is like to a palm tree.

Stature refers to the bride being devoid of carrying any burden. People who are burdened or "heavy laden" are bent over in despair. Her stature being straight up is a symbol that she has entered into the rest of the Lord.

No burdens will be allowed to be carried into the holy of holies. Burdens are the work of the flesh. Ezekiel 44 is a passage of scripture that speaks of the ROYAL PRIESTHOOD that ministers in the holy of holies before the Lord.

Linen is a picture of resting in the completed work of the cross of Christ. Any other "garment" that a person would have on would "add to" that work and thus would be a "work of the flesh".

12. Thy breasts to clusters [of grapes].

It is interesting that breasts are mentioned twice by the King. In the first reference breasts were mentioned as a pair and the symbology was in the context of motherly nourishment of the sincere milk of the word of God. In this reference we see grapes connected with breasts. Grapes are what wine is made from and is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the meat of the Word being taught by the bride.

Jesus told Peter:

Thus the lambs are to be fed the breast milk while the sheep need the "strong meat" of the word of God. The bride is able to nourish and shepherd on both levels.

The King, after giving this glorious description of the bride goes further and says:

This is a reference to King Jesus desire to partake of the fullness of the glory and splendor of the bride. I will not give much commentary on this verse. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the level of intimacy that Jesus wants us to get to with Him.

The bride then answers and says:

Earlier in this book we had discussed the three spiritual stages that the bride was to go through. One was the outer court experience, the second was the inner court experience, and the last was her entrance into the holy of holies. The outer court is our place. It is the place were we seek Christ for our desires. The inner court is a place of co-laboring. It is a place for "us", thus those things that we still carry along in the flesh are tolerated by Jesus until we get to the place were He can remove them from our lives so that we can enter into the holy of holies.

In the holy of holies, however, it is strictly a place were the King’s desires and wishes are realized. This is her entrance into this realm as her name is not mentioned in this statement. She is for the King PERIOD. No flesh can stand in his presence in the holy of holies nor will any works of the flesh be tolerated. All of these are "shed" in the inner court before entrance into the holy of holies can occur. The King wishes to partake of the fullness of the bride nad the bride’s declaration is "My entire existence is for Your pleasure".

As she declares this her whole existence is now tied up with King Jesus and His plans and purposes. She is ready to rule with Him as queen side by side for all eternity.

The bride declares:

Her desire is to go into the harvest field and labor for the harvest that Christ has patiently waited 2000 years for. Villages and fields are a symbol of the "highways and byways" that Jesus mentioned in a parable concerning the harvest.

The vine, grape, and pomegranates are a symbol of the harvest itself. The bride then goes on to say "it is there I will give you my love". The harvest is two fold. First it is souls being birthed into the kingdom. Second, it is the "fruit of the Spirit", which is the nature and character of AGAPE love being harvested. Both of these are a product of the LIVING Word of God returning to the Lord with INCREASE.

This is not works here, this is a burning passion and desire to see the King of heaven receive the increase and reward for His labors and to see that Jesus receives His inheritance. This is simply the bride being used as a vessel for the King to pour His glory through. Through this whole book it was King Jesus laboring to see that the bride received the fullness of her inheritance. The role is now reversed as it is the bride who now has a burning passion to make sure that King Jesus receives His inheritance.

The bride goes on to declare:

The bride has gone into the harvest and has brought back both the pleasant fruit of souls redeemed back to Christ as well as laying the one hundred fold increase of the fruit of the Spirit in her life at His feet.

The parable of the sower is noteworthy here:

As we proceed through this chapter His jealousy for her, which is a product of His love for her, will become evident. Song of Solomon eight begins with the plea of the bride to the unsaved.

The Hebrew word for brother is [0251] xa 'ach, a primitive word and is translated brethren 332 times. The word can either mean brother or simply my people or sibling. The bride here is addressing the unsaved. She is inviting them into the family of God. This is a continuation from Song of Solomon 7:13 were she is going into the highways and byways to bring in Christ’s inheritance.

Her exhortation to them is that you need to be fed the sincere milk of the word of God and it is only God’s people who can feed you. In this statement we see that it is the LIVING WORD that redeems a person, both cleansing them as well as renewing or regenerating their mind.

She goes further to state:

She is further stating that you will not only get the milk of the Word but you will also receive the meat of the word and learn how to move in the power of the Holy Spirit. Wine is a symbol of the Holy Spirit but notice here that it is spiced wine. This is the only reference in the bible were spiced wine is used. Back in Song of Solomon 4 we looked at the King’s spice garden within the bride. Spice in this case referred to the fruit and anointing of the Holy Spirit. In light of this, spice wine refers to coming under the anointed teaching of the word of God to be fed spiritual food. Again, the living word is what renews a person. Pomegranates in the Song of Solomon are spoken of in connection with our renewed mind. The bride’s exhortation to them is that the anointed word will flow forth from the renewed or regenerated mind of Christ that she now possesses.

We get an picture of this from the book of Acts as Peter gave a similar exhortation to the multitudes that were gathered as the power of the Holy Spirit fell.

As the anointed word of God is brought forth from those who POSSESS the renewed mind of Christ, a great revival will occur.

The bride then declares:

We say a similar exhortation by the bride back in:

The Hebrew word for left is [08040] s@mo'wl, a primitive word and means left or by implication north (as one faces east). North biblically is indicative of judgment or better said correction. It was from the NORTH

that correction came against Israel. His hand of correction is under her head because it is her MIND that is KEPT renewed by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew word for right is [03225] yamiyn and means right or by implication south (the direction of the right hand when facing East). South biblically is mercy. Abram went SOUTH when a famine came upon the

land.

Likewise Jacob went south when a famine came upon the land. Egypt is south and in this sense represents protection and provision. It was not the ultimate purpose of God to keep Israel in Egypt, only for a season. There inheritance was in the promised land.

His right hand of mercy or "goodness" embraced her. His mercy or "grace" is what will carry us through trials and tribulations. It is His mercy or goodness that confirms His love to us.

The bride is thus exhorting that she knows both His hand of mercy as well as His hand of correction. They are operating within her in perfect harmony to keep her at all times walking in the Spiritual realm were the anointing flows

Next we see the King once again exhorts the "daughters of Jerusalem":

We have seen this same exhortation two other times by the King in this book.

Notice here that the phrase "by the roes, and by the hinds of the field" is missing this time. As the bride was being raised up, it was the roes and the hinds, those called to raise up the bride, who carried out the command of the King. We see here that they are not mentioned.

The roes and hinds were those called to raise up the bride and thus they were the vessels which carried out the King’s commands. Once the bride has reached full age, it is the Bridegroom Himself who carries out His commands on behalf of His bride.

The daughters of Jerusalem then declare:

This is a picture of the end-time bride coming out of her wilderness of trials and tribulations, which was the Lord’s hand of chastening via the inner work of the Holy Spirit through His Word. The end product of this is that she is now totally depended on the Lord. There is no self will or self sufficiency left in her. She is completely given over to the King of Glory and thus "leans" on Him in all instances.

The King then speaks:

We saw the apple tree referred to back in:

The Hebrew word for apple is [08598] tappuwach and simply means apple tree. This word is derived from [05301] naphach, a primitive root, and means to blow or to breathe. It is interesting because this is the same word used in connection with "breath of life".

Thus by analogy the King is confirming her life source, which is the Tree of Life. Notice that this happened through the church, the one who was responsible for birthing her and leading her to the only source of life which is the Tree of Life and the partaking of IT’S fruit.

The king then continues:

The Hebrew word for seal is [02368] chowtham or chotham and means signet as in the King’s official seal. When the King wanted to make a document "official" it was sealed with the signet of His ring. The King exhorts the bride to set Him as a seal over both her heart and her arm.

Our heart speaks of our motives and is what controls our actions. We are taught:

It is our heart that needs to be guarded and sealed by the Holy Spirit in order to protect us from being defiled.

Arm speaks of strength.

The seal here is again the Holy Spirit and refers to the bride’s strength being in the Holy Spirit and not in the flesh.

Thus both our motives and our strength must be completely SEALED by the Holy Spirit. This sealing is a picture of Song of Solomon 8:5 as the bride is completely submitted to the Lordship of King Jesus by the Holy Spirit and all things being accomplished by the Holy Spirit THROUGH her.

The King then continues:

See, the Lord Jesus has such a burning passion and desire for His bride that He will literally move both heaven and earth on her behalf to protect her, keep her, provide for her, and raise her up to full stature.

His jealousy is cruel as the grave, as coals of fire, and as a most vehement flame against those who seek to raise their hand against His bride. The Lord will destroy all who seek to touch His bride.

The bride then answers:

The bride has come to the place in earnest were she STANDS on the word of God and believes whole heartedly that ALL that is written therein will come to pass. Her relationship with the King is secure and thus she is secure because she ABIDES in the vine and is HIDDEN in the cleft of the ROCK which is Christ her LOVER and best FRIEND.

There is no greater power than the power of love. A love that CANNOT be quenched. A love that bore our sin at the cross while we were yet enemies of Christ in that by His display of love our hearts would be broken and turn to the one who died for us. A love that keeps His covenant with us and pursues us relentlessly until His work within us is complete or until we have utterly and completely rejected Him. An AGAPE divine love that never fails!

In this last chapter we find the character and nature of the apostolic ministry by divine allegory via the bride.

Paul declared:

Instructors have no ability to "impart life", they can only bring forth facts and present them. Paul said here that you have many, many who can do this, but few who can impart life. It will be the apostolic that will lead the entire church into the fullness of it’s inheritance which is IN CHRIST. It will be the apostles who spiritually equip the saints to press across Jordan and take the land.

In the book of Acts, it was only the apostles who were able to impart the HOLY SPIRIT through the laying on of hands.

The impartation of the Holy Spirit is what gives a person the ability to overcome this world for this world is overcome through SPIRITUAL POWER and not self discipline. With all this in mind lets pick up in the Song of Solomon.

The bride’s brethren reply:

Breasts speak of coming to maturity. Since breasts contain milk they contain LIFE, thus the ability to impart the Holy Spirit or LIFE via the LIVING WORD. Those who are immature in the body of Christ are not yet capable of mothering or nurturing other people. Note here that it says "little sister". The implication is that she is not yet of age to have breasts but can mean one of two different things.

First, the little sister by analogy is "young" in age, not yet having reached "puberty". Thus little sister represents those who are running after the Lord and are on that pathway but simply have not come to full age yet. They are growing but have not come to maturity. These are being raised up and will come to maturity. The wedding feast and the marriage supper of the Lamb are only for those who have come to full age.

Second, the little sister by analogy is "younger" in age, those who have reached puberty or beyond but still have no breasts. In this case little sister represents those who have somewhere along the line stopped running after the King. They should have breasts, they should be capable of nourishing and caring for others but because they stopped abiding in the vine they have not come to "full age".

The question asked by those who represent the little sister’s relatives is what shall we do when she is called by the Lord to the wedding feast? Jesus is marrying a WIFE and not a CHILD! Only women have breasts, not children. The danger is being found unworthy to be at the wedding feast.

Jesus warned us:

Those who are called to be the wife of Christ make the proper preparations in order to be found worthy of such a high honor. These have made themselves ready by allowing the Holy Spirit to complete His work in them.

When the bridegroom returns for them, these will have their lamps trimmed and burning brightly with extra oil on hand READY for their bridegroom to take them in marriage. The foolish will be unprepared, which in this context is not of full maturity, for the bridegroom and thus found unworthy to be His wife.

The little sisters relatives continue:

Walls and doors speak of specific callings.

Walls speak of FOUNDATIONS since they say that they will build on her a palace of silver if she is a wall. Silver speaks of redemption and in this case those who were redeemed from among men. The palace speaks of the "house made without hands" which is the church. It is a house made of living stones which are the children of God. Those who are called to be WALLS or the FOUNDATION are apostles and prophets.

Doors speak of those who give entrance into the kingdom of God and are thus the evangelists and teachers. The Hebrew word for Cedar is [0730]'erez and simply means cedar. This word is derived from [0729] 'araz, a primitive root, and means to be made firm or strong. That enclosure with cedar is the strength is our dedication to the Lord. Sampson's strength was His hair (dedication) and thus our STRENGTH is our dedication to Him.

The bride then declares:

We now get a picture of the calling of the bride of Christ which is apostolic and/or prophetic in nature. She declares that "I am a wall". She further states that she has come to full age by declaring "my breasts are like towers". A tower is a place for the watchman to sit. It will be the apostolic that elevates the prophetic and gives place to it in the body of Christ in the days ahead as the "watchman on the wall".

She then declares that she was "in His eyes as one that found favour". She found favor because she simply chose to run after the King whole-heatedly. But her declaration is that of Paul because she knows in her heart she is simply a sinner saved by grace and unworthy apart from His grace.

See, the end-time bride will know both who they are IN CHRIST and also who they are APART FROM CHRIST. The bridal company will not have hearts lifted up in pride because they know were they came from and what they would be if it were not for His grace.

The bride continues:

The Hebrew word for Baalhamon is [01174] Ba`al Hamown and means "lord (possessor) of abundance". Those who keep His vineyard are working for the one who is the LORD OF ABUNDANCE!!! His vineyard will produce fruit in much abundance, you can count on it. Vineyards are kept to product grapes and grapes are for the production of wine. Wine being a symbol of the Holy Spirit and thus LIFE and the ANOINTING. I believe here that the vineyard is a symbol of His Word and those who are "keepers" of His vineyard are those who labor in His Word so that it will bear much fruit in the lives of those who hear it.

Thousand represents the Lord raising up the humble and meek, giving them their inheritance.

From this we see the value of the "fruit of the vineyard", those who through His word have become "little ones" who are meek and humble before the Father. It is only the "little ones" who will inherit the kingdom of God.

The bride goes further in declaring:

Back in chapter one the immature bride declared:

Her vineyard represents her laboring in and ABIDING in the word which is to produce the fruit of the Spirit, that fruit being the attributes of love.

It is noteworthy to compare this with the parable of the sower.

In this passage we are taught that there will be one hundred fold producers in the kingdom from the spiritual seed sown into their hearts. In the Song of Solomon text, we see one thousand mentioned.

In the parable of the talents, both the one who was given two talents and the one who was given five talents gave back DOUBLE what they were originally given.

Whether one thousand in our text is directly related to the numbers in these passages in Matthew is hard to say. The spiritual principle is applicable though. Jesus is coming back to receive a return on His investment at the cross and receive the increase of His labors, both fruit in terms of SOULS birthed into the kingdom as well as the SPIRITUAL FRUIT of love being multiplied in our lives. Both of these types of fruit come from laboring in the vineyard of HIS WORD.

We also see the bride declare:

We see in this a promise to those who labor in Christ’s vineyard, which is His word. Two hundred is twenty percent of one thousand. The first fruits tithe is ten percent. The levites were to receive the tithe of ten percent because they had no inheritance in the land.

Numbers 18:21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, [even] the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Those who labor FAITHFULLY in the vineyard will receive the double portion anointing or twenty percent.

Those who will be "priests of the Lord" are those who allowed the Word of God to complete it’s work in them. God’s word in these did not return void but rather gave Him a significant return on His investment in them. Thus these shall receive a double portion.

The brethren of the little sister now speak:

The Hebrew word for companions is [02270] chaber and is translated companions, fellow, and knit together. This word is derived from [02266] chabar, a primitive root, and is translated couple, join, couple together, and join together.

Their reply to the bride is their acknowledgment of the truth that she speaks to them. These now show their willingness to hear and respond to the truth that she speaks.

The King then exhorts the bride:

Biblically, mountains refer to the nations. Spices refer to the harvest or fruit. This last verse in the Song of Solomon is for the bride to quickly go and reap the harvest from the nations.

As we close this chapter and book we get a clearer picture of the Lord’s end-time plans and purposes, which is in raising up a bride that will be fit for use by the Father to gather in the harvest. We see here that the bride is the apostolic ministry upon which the Lord plans on building and completing His church.

I believe that there is an invitation in all this. An invitation to know the King, to be His best friend, and to know His love. As we simply strive to love the Lord with all our hearts we see from this book that the Lord will complete that which He has began in each one of us. As His work is completed He will then be able to use us as worthy prepared vessels fit for His apostolic anointing to flow through.

I pray that this book has been a blessing to you in some way.