“My beloved spoke, and said unto me,
‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past;
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land;
The fig-tree ripens her green figs,
And the vines are in blossom;
They give forth their fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the covert of the steep place,
Let me see your countenance,
Let me hear your voice;
For sweet is your voice,
And your countenance is comely.’”
— Song of Solomon 2:10-14
In this portion of the Song of Songs, the Lord asked His seeker to come away, but she responded, “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes, that ruin the vineyards while our vineyards are in blossom” (2:15). She was so satisfied with the sweet experience of the vineyards that she ignored the Lord’s calling. Therefore, the Lord departed.
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 196.
Tomorrow: “Holding on to Past Experiences”