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Doors of the Heart

“I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, open for me, my sister, my love…” Song of Solomon 5:2

Before we delve into this most beautiful portion of scripture (and a few of the verses that follow it), we will make some comments here that may bring further life and insight into the Song of Solomon.

The Song of Solomon is a very misunderstood book by most Christians, because this is a book that cannot be read by the carnal (un-renewed) mind, nor even understood by the natural mind or the heart that is turned away from the Lord.  It can only be understood in the Spirit and with a mind that has been renewed by the word of God.  Most Christians will have a difficult time grasping it until they have been thoroughly grounded in their walk, their word-life, and their commitment to the Lord.

For the entire book deals with a Christian’s life from new-birth (initial salvation) to the consummation (full maturity).  And if you will read it carefully and prayerfully with a contrite heart and a spiritual mind, you will find yourself in the pages of this divine love affair.  You will also find yourself on the time-line of this divine love affair. In other words, your Christian walk before the Lord can be found in one of the verses.  For the book (as is everything in all of scripture) is a progression of your spiritual journey.  I encourage you to find your place in its pages and then you’ll be able to see what lies ahead for you if you continue on with the Lord.

It took me many years and thousands of tears to come to see these truths.  What truths are those, some may ask?  The truth of the human heart being in love with the God that first loved him and sought him out diligently.  A love that left the 99 and came to the mountain of my sins, to the forest of my iniquities, and to the cave of my cold and darkened heart and loved me with a love that no pen could scribe even if an “ocean were my inkwell” and my eternal heart the parchment.

In my latter years of walking with the Lord, all that has really mattered to me is my position in the pages of this book.  As I turn its pages, my heart is being turned; as I fill up my mind with its divine truths, my heart is being filled up with THE divine truth…”of Christ in me, the hope of glory“.  I come to see just how much patience, long-suffering, forbearance, and forgiveness mixed with mercy has been bestowed upon me.  And I realize that “he who has been forgiven much loves much.”

This book (the Song of Solomon) has become the most tender and precious books of the entire bible to me.  Can you see it yet with your heart?  It is a narrative of not only Christ seeking out His beloved; but also of the Shulamite woman desiring Him on her own without being told or coerced. In the beginning of the book we see the law at work drawing her to Christ, we see her “working” and trying to please others, we see her working trying to please God, we see her trying to find Him on her own terms with her mind instead of her heart.  But in the end, we see her walking with her Beloved and leaning upon Him.  This is truly a book of the spiritual progression and upward journey of a seeking Christian.

When someone tells us now (and I’m not talking about a newborn Christian) that they just have no idea what the Song of Solomon is about, this should be a spiritual indicator to us of where they are in their walk spiritually.  For a serious Christian who is really living right and seeking Him will be experiencing the truths of the Song of Solomon even if their knowledge of the book is limited.  Their life will portray the depths of its hidden gems and the spiritual man can easily see the light of its revelation shed abroad in their hearts, lives, and speech.

For those of you that really desire a much deeper walk and you really want to understand the book much deeper, then I would refer you to Watchman Nee’s book entitled “The Song of Songs.” Madam Guyon has a book out also but I feel it is too wordy and doctrinal and lacking in life.  When we study the deep things of God, we should not be after mere knowledge, but life.

Let’s get into the study now.  You will notice in the textual reference that I listed at the very beginning of this article that “He knocks, SAYING, open for Me…” One cannot knock unless he is standing on the OUTSIDE of a door waiting for it to be opened.  Let’s notice some divine nuggets of truth hidden away here.  Most people don’t need to say to you “Open to me” when they knock on your door, do they.?  The proper way is to knock and wait for the person to come to the door.  To knock and then say “Open to me” is a sign that someone is at home but they are refusing to open the door, therefore requiring the seeker to raise his voice and ask.

Now why would this happen?   Why would this person not want to immediately open the door?  Could it be that there are some things that need to be hidden away, cleaned up, and tidied up?  Yes, this is probably the case.  Notice a statement by the Lord (that I personally think is taken from this section of scripture in the Song of Solomon): “And you yourselves (don’t worry about your neighbor) be like men that wait for their Lord, that when He returns from the wedding: that when He comes and knocks, they may open the door unto Him immediately.” Luke 12:36.

The Shulamite woman replies to the Lord upon His knocking and verbal request to open, “I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; how can I defile them?…I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone…I sought Him, but I could not find Him; I called Him, but He gave me no answer.” 5:3-6

Notice her weak excuses for not opening up the door to the Lord.  But then she realizes that they are weak excuses and she gets up to go open to Him…but He is gone.  He came and went; but not before He pleaded with her to open the door that He might come in.  You see, the Lord is a perfect gentleman and will not force Himself upon any.  He does not work that way.  He asks, yea…He even pleads with much patience.  But if you choose to not open because of sin in your life, then how can he come in and help you clean your house?  He wants to come in and wash your feet for you – not for you to wash your own feet.  This shows that you are trying to work and do these things for yourself. He wants to put the best robe on you, but yet you have taken your robe off.

This kind of sounds like Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice (refer back to our opening verse from the Song of Solomon: “it is the VOICE of my Beloved”) and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”  Can you hear His voice today SAYING “open to Me”?  By faith, can you see Him standing outside in the cold and knocking and pleading?  Can you open to Him immediately or are there many things to do first, many things to clean, many things to hide, many excuses to give?

He won’t wait for too much longer.  He’ll move on to those whose hearts are for Him and towards Him.  Remember what I said a few articles back…that when God “drove” out Adam from the garden, that God divorced him.  That word “drove” in the Hebrew is the same word for divorce!! What are the only scriptural grounds for divorce? Adultery!! Therefore God sees sin and disobedience as spiritual adultery.  Are you committing adultery against Him?  Do you sleep around spiritually with sin?  Are you like Gomer who spiritually sleeps around while married to another?

If you’re living in sin, then you’re committing adultery against your Husband!!  No one wants a defiled bride that has slept with countless men (sins and transgressions).  Wake up!!  WAKE UP!!! For why will you be married to another when Christ has paid it all, and has purchased you with His own blood?  I fear there will be many writings of divorcement being handed out here pretty quick.  For His days of “winking” are over and He “commands all men in every place to repent” Acts 17:30.

Let us sum this up by saying that the 2 doors being spoken of here in the Song of Solomon and Revelation are the doors to your heart.  This door can only be opened from the inside.  For no one will enter another man’s house uninvited or without prior permission to enter when he does come.  For it is unbecoming to enter when someone really doesn’t want you to come.  As it is written, “Many draw near unto Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.” They say to Him, “come and visit” but when He really does come they will not open to Him.  May this not be said of you in that great day! But I think many will be surprised and ashamed and found naked and “caught in the very act of adultery” in that day.

One of my latest Facebook posts reads thus: “Saints of God…let us really appreciate Him & love Him today with the same love that Peter had when he jumped out of the boat (Jn. 21:7), and swam 100 yards (Jn. 21:8) in cold water (Jn. 18:18) just to love and to hold Him.  Throw open the door to your heart (yes…even tear it off the hinges and throw the door into the fire) and let this great and merciful God, the Lord Jesus Christ, come and heal you, restore you, forgive you, and then really let Him love you…let Him love you.”

To sum it up – what are some things we can learn from today’s briefing?

• The Song of Solomon is an allegory of your life maturing with Christ.
• The door to your heart can only be opened up to Him by you.
• No excuses will work in God’s court in that day.
• That sin is spiritual adultery and can and will be accounted for by a writing of divorcement. And the New Testament clearly teaches this in many epistles.
• God commands you to repent of all known sin and iniquity and keep your marriage vows to Him pure and holy; chaste and clean.
• And if you really love Him, forget opening up the door…just throw the door in the fire and let Him come and go as He pleases.

 

I really feel that this weeks poem needs to be one that I wrote awhile back.  Think about the words of the poem as you read it.  It was written with much experience and inspiration.

http://roberthammondministries.org/2011/11/a-divine-love-affair/

 

See you on the front lines.