A disciple of Jesus outside religion, and blogging about the Song of Songs.
Feb 19 2020
There are some biblical scholars who can’t reconcile the way Solomon is portrayed in the Song of Songs. How can a great king, with all his kingdom responsibilities, be romping the hills outside Jerusalem, checking vineyards, and even moving sheep around like a lowly shepherd? I would like to ask them, “How is this not a most beautiful representation of Jesus Christ?” He is the King of kings, the “last Adam,” and our “Good Shepherd” — all in one person.
Besides, why wouldn’t Solomon have experience with things like shepherding? His father David was one by trade, and would have encouraged the young king-to-be to play outdoors and learn animal husbandry. It is recorded Solomon had astounding wisdom about nature.¹ And he owned many animals and vineyards that he put into the care of others.² Would he not check his flocks, and even for recreation spend time with his shepherd friends?
Anyway, this is where the next scene in the story begins: The Woman wakes up one morning to discover Solomon is not in bed beside her. He’s on a shepherding mission, she finds out — and she wants to know where…
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/a-seek-and-find-mission/
Feb 10 2020
Recently I watched the movie, A Star is Born. For those with more sensitive ears such as myself, it has raw language, and a little bit of sexual content. But the acting was so good, and the story so powerful, that I was personally left only with the impression I had just watched a metaphorical masterpiece.
What struck me, as it often does in classic love stories, is the resemblance to the greatest love story of all time…the Song of Songs. One just can’t escape it. An unknown and disadvantaged young woman is discovered by a man of great status, who falls passionately in love with her, and gives her a new life. In this case it is a woman named Alley (played by Lady Gaga) singing in a small-town bar, and a very famous musician named Jackson Maine (played by Bradley Cooper) stumbling in on his way through town, and hearing her sing for the first time.
He’s intrigued, to say the least. But what happens next …
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/a-star-is-born-a-movie-a-meaning/
Feb 06 2020
Do you know the song Artificial Flowers by Bobby Darin? It’s about an orphan girl forced to make paper decorations for rich women’s hats. She dies and finds out that God has a special garden just for her, with real flowers she doesn’t have to abrade her little fingers on.
This touching song was shared with me several years ago, and then recalled this week when reflecting on the Shulamite’s story. I’ve also been thinking about my own past and wondering what to share about it. We all have them, I know: stories of abuse, regrets, or both. The Shulamite woman talks about hers briefly, because she has moved on.
❀∙❀∙❀
🥀 … One of the things I’d like to mention is …
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/artificial-flowers/
Jan 24 2020
Jay Ferris had a striking analogy that was not always understood at first.
“The Kingdom of God is like a drop dead gorgeous woman
who walks into a room full of women….gender neutral.”
The point was not this woman is beautiful, or that she is confident in her beauty, but rather the reaction she gets from the other women. Jay went on to explain the “gender neutral” part:
“A man generally has to either say something or do something to get the same effect. And if a man either says something or does something that is prettier than what the other men in the room are saying or doing, it’s the same dynamic that goes on. It’s seen best when Jesus came to Jerusalem.All the experts who were experts before He got there, wanted to kill Him.”
What a poignant image this is, considering there was a houseful of women in …
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/black-tent-beautiful/
Jan 22 2020
A brief pause here, to share a lesson I learned this week. As it often happens, it’s related to where we are in the Song of Songs. It is:
Telling others too much, too soon.
Doing so may feel good in the moment, but the results do not!
Think about it. Declaring “he brought me into his chambers” (1:4) was a true statement for the Shulamite, but it brought out the immaturity and hidden jealousy of the young women who heard her.
They immediately scanned her for faults. They judged her unworthy of a high calling. And they were closed off from rejoicing with her.
In the next post we’ll look at the stunning way she responded. (Sorry, I don’t mean to keep dangling that!) :-)
But meanwhile I got to thinking…
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/pausing-to-think-about-friends/
Jan 16 2020
Did you know there is a “mark” for the people of God? Ezekiel 9 and Revelation 7 are a couple places that speak of it. It is not the “mark of the beast,” or the “mark of Cain,” but a mark of identification with Christ. It is the reproaches of Christ Himself, by which He bore loss, rejection, ridicule, and misunderstandings.
The Shulamite woman in the Song of Songs was a “marked” woman as well. What little information she does reveal is intentional. Consider the following points:
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/gods-stigma-dark-secret-2/
Jan 14 2020
I believe we can assume self-consciousness was a temptation for the Shulamite at some point in her life, perhaps as soon as she came out of the chamber room of the King for the first time.
It’s not that Solomon made her feel that way. In his gaze she felt vulnerable, yes, but loved. He was ever so kind in how he dealt with her. A “consummate gentleman,” as the old saying goes. :-)
Rather, as soon as she came out of the King’s chamber she found herself suddenly under the judging eyes of her very own friends. At first they seemed to be encouraging to her, but now they are finding fault with her suntanned skin, which was an undesirable trait in those days. It was most likely because it looked even darker now, in contrast to the “glow” she was wearing on her face from being in the Beloved’s bed!
How did she respond to her friends? What can we learn?
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/being-gazed-upon-2/
Jan 12 2020
The last post about “being brought into His chamber” was heavy, I know, and long. I don’t make any apologies for it, as everything isn’t for everybody, and it helped bring things together for me, in my Spirit. I’m not always able to make things easy for other people to understand. Call it a writing style, or whatnot, but sometimes after the fact I hear someone else put it into less, more succinct words, and I’m like, “Ahhh, perfect! So much simpler!” :-)
Like the following, which I give credit to another author for writing. Forgiving some of the religious language whose overuse has become problematic in my opinion, I think you’ll get the overall gist.
Permanent link to this article: https://intimatekingdom.com/clearer-chamber-part-2/
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An Absolute Captivation by T. Austin-Sparks
Journey of Tears
Upping the Torch Flame
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