“My beloved is like a roe or a young hart:
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He looks in at the windows;
He glances through the lattice.
My beloved spoke, and said unto me,
‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away….’”
“Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young hart
Upon the mountains of Bether.”
“By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves:
I sought him, but I found him not.”
— Song of Songs 2:9-10, 17; 3:1
The seeker held on to her previous experience of the Lord, causing it to become a wall separating her from Him. She treasured that experience of the Lord so much that she ignored Him when He called her to rise up, come away, and go on with Him. It was as if she were holding on to something of the Lord while He stood outside her window calling to her.
It seems as if there were two Lords—the one whom she experienced within the wall and the one who was calling to her outside the wall. She could only see the Lord whom she loved so much within the wall. She only cherished this sweet experience and was afraid of little foxes ruining the vineyard while it was in blossom. She did not understand the Lord’s expectation and His need outside the wall. The Lord was calling the maiden again and again, yet she ignored Him, although perhaps not purposely. Therefore, the Lord could do nothing but leave.
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 196.
Tomorrow: “Seeking the Lord on Her Bed” (1)