I am my Beloved's

 Song of Songs 7:10

 I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.

Before the Bride can come to the place where she utters the above quote, she has quite a journey of getting to know her Bridegroom still ahead of her.

This journey starts in Song of Songs Chapter 1, where He sweeps her off her feet, revealing Himself as King and Shepherd to the shepherdess who sees herself as dark and unworthy of such attention. He assures her that to Him, she is fair and lovely, and she falls head over heels in love with Him.

In Chapter 2 she is starting to see herself as the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley, and she wants to remain in this cosy intimate place where she remembers His kind words and loving attention. He leaves her there but then comes to awaken her so that she can follow Him into the nations. She, however, is not ready, and wants Him to first catch the little foxes (all her fears and uncertainties) spoiling their vineyard. This is where she makes the first of three similar declarations: Song of Songs 2:16 My beloved is mine and I am his; … we can see her spiritual immaturity here, as the accent is on mine, my King, my Beloved.

Chapter 3 shows that He, always the Gentleman Who will never force His Bride to do anything that she does not want to, leaves her there and withdraws Himself. She eventually gets up from her bed and searches desperately for Him, and when she does find Him, she starts sharing all her experiences with her friends and family. He then comes to her as the triumphant King, arriving with her dowry to marry her (Ps 45).

We then read in Chapter 4 how she at last agrees to accompany Him into the high mountains of testing and trials. There are lions and leopards there, spiritual warfare will be necessary. This experience makes her spiritually more mature, and He sings her praises because she had come through all the hardships with her eyes fixed only on Him. He can invite friends (other believers) to eat the fruit that He had been growing inside her – she is now a garden with streams of Living Waters rushing from out of her.

Chapter 5 is where she fails the test. Again. He comes to call her, but she is already in bed and does not want to get up for Him. As soon as she finally decides to get up, He had already left – He had come to bring her the anointing she would need for what would lie ahead. She finds myrrh on the door latch, He had left some there for her, but this time He concealed Himself from her (so that she could learn perseverance) and gave no answer when she went searching for Him. Searching in the wrong places, she went all over town, asking everyone she met where He is, and this intrigues her friends – they ask her why He is different from all others? She responds by describing how lovely He is from the top of His head to His feet! And that she is lovesick!

Her second declaration is found in Chapter 6:3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;.. and there is progression here, the accent now falls on beloved. She finally realizes that she should have searched inside of her, where He dwelt in the intimate confines of her garden. He receives her joyously and tells her again and again how lovely she is. She is a dancing warrior Bride, awesome as an army with banners! This is because she feeds on purity and holiness, lives to praise and worship her Bridegroom and spends many intimate hours alone with Him, a terrible threat to the enemy!

Her friends recognize her beauty in Chapter 7. They have seen her grow from an immature young girl with no confidence, into a lovely princess – someone who spreads the Good News everywhere she goes, full of new wine and milk with which to feed her flock, strong in faith and with great discernment and authority. Her Bridegroom agrees and describes her as a carrier of fruit and milk, His words in her mouth through the Holy Spirit spreading the fragrance of apples all around. And her third declaration in verse 10 shows her maturity: I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me. At last she realizes that it is much more important to know that I am His, than to know that He is mine!

The journey reaches a full cycle in Chapter 8, where the Bride comes out of the wilderness, leaning on her Bridegroom. She is walking with a limp, but triumphantly! She has overcome the enemy and the flesh, she has received healings and deliverance, she relies on Him for provision and direction. He assures her that water cannot quench His love for her. She tends her vineyard diligently, teaching, admonishing, and discipling others. He has only one final request of her: Let Me hear your voice! Meaning, do not get so focussed on your vineyard, My dove, My fair one, that you neglect your own times of intimate connection with Me!

Pearls to ponder: 

In Song of Songs, see yourself as the shepherdess, and Jesus as the Bridegroom. Where in these eight chapters do you find yourself? Be encouraged to know that the Bride follows these footpaths repeatedly, you are not the only one experiencing these things. Learn your lessons from her – do not neglect your own intimacy with Jesus and remember that His desire is always towards you!

I am Your Beloved