“Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all scented powders of the merchant?”
— Song of Songs 3:6
In the Song of Songs, the third stage of the seeker’s experience begins with coming up from the wilderness. The wilderness is a place of wandering. To come up from the wilderness means to forsake the wandering life and to enter into the rest of the Lord.
The words in this section are not spoken by the Shulammite maiden, nor by the king, but by a third party. This indicates that when we become broken before the Lord, our condition of brokenness becomes manifested to others, and the Spirit is able to testify through the saints, “Here is one who has left Egypt and entered into Canaan. The world cannot occupy her or affect her. She is separated from the world. Now she lives in the riches of Christ.” The saints will recognize that here is one coming up from the wilderness!
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 209.
Tomorrow: “She Who Comes Up from the Wilderness” (4)