Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=1Timothy+001

 

1 TIMOTHY  
Introduction
After Paul was released from prison in Rome, he discovered that leaders in the Ephesian church had distorted the genuine message they had first heard from Paul himself. They had misapplied certain Jewish practices and borrowed some others from the philosophies of the day. They restricted certain foods, forbade marriage and stressed controversial speculations as the path to spiritual progress. At the same time, they tolerated immoral behavior. So Paul sent his co-worker Timothy to Ephesus and wrote him a letter, which he was expected to share with the church. He hoped it would give Timothy the power and influence to set things in order until Paul could get to Ephesus himself.

Paul’s focus is on what true leadership in the church looks like. This would help the Ephesians reject those who weren’t qualified and replace them with those who were. Paul includes a special warning toward the end of his letter about the dangers of greed, which seemed to be at the root of their problems.

Throughout the letter Paul uses the phrase Christ Jesus—that is, Messiah Jesus—which emphasizes the kingly rule of Jesus. This helped remind the church that Jesus is their real leader and is the clearest model of authentic leadership.

www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/1TI.INTRO1.NIV

 

1 Timothy   Chapter 1 (ESV)
¹² I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸ This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, ²⁰ among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

 

REFLECTION:

1. In this paragraph, Paul presented a “before” and “after” of his own life. Before he met Jesus, he was “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (v13). After he met Christ and experienced the overflow of His grace, Paul became a different man. Violence is changed into compassion, blasphemy to praise, persecution to brotherly love.
2. This is what is unique about the truth of the Gospel. It isn’t just a collection of true facts, or a compilation of doctrinal data. The truth of the Gospel is vital, transforming, and dynamic. It can change your life to be more vibrant and more like Jesus.
3. Close in prayer by putting your own name in place of the general word “sinners” in verse 15. Then read verses 16-17 as your own prayer of thanks to God.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Worthy is the Lamb – youtu.be/1gKsPMR00_Y

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+008

 

Song of Solomon 8 (ESV)

She

¹ Oh that you were like a brother to me
who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you,
and none would despise me.
² I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother—
she who used to teach me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the juice of my pomegranate.
³ His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces me!

He

⁴ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.

She

⁵ Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.

⁶ Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
⁷ Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.

Final Advice

Others

⁸ We have a little sister,
and she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day when she is spoken for?
⁹ If she is a wall,
we will build on her a battlement of silver,
but if she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.

She

¹⁰ I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as one who finds peace.

¹¹ Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he let out the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
¹² My vineyard, my very own, is before me;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.

He

¹³ O you who dwell in the gardens,
with companions listening for your voice;
let me hear it.

She

¹⁴ Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.

 
REFLECTION:

• The language of verses 6-7 is rich and beautiful. What qualities of love are named? How are these qualities unique to the long-term commitment of marriage?
• In what ways does marriage require a willingness to give one’s self to his or her partner (v12)?
• The woman desires that the man take full possession of her. She surrenders herself to him, yearning for “one flesh” union. The “seal” (v6) in ancient Israelite society was typically a stamp that was pressed on soft clay to leave an impression that served as a person’s identification. She wants to be marked as belonging to her beloved, with all her inward (“your heart”) and outward (“your arm”) being. However, our sense of individuality often rebels against this idea, and the danger is great in a fallen world. But the woman expresses a desire that we all have to be intimate and safe in the presence of another. Therefore, the ideal relationship between a man and a woman serves so well as a metaphor for our relationship with God.
• When is it difficult for you to surrender yourself to those who love you? When is it difficult for you to surrender to God’s love for you?
• Ask God to make you responsive to His unending love for you.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:
How He Loves Us – youtu.be/QS1d-u3oQp0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+007

 

Song of Solomon 7 (ESV)

He

¹ How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O noble daughter!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master hand.
² Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
³ Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
⁴ Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
which looks toward Damascus.
⁵ Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and your flowing locks are like purple;
a king is held captive in the tresses.

⁶ How beautiful and pleasant you are,
O loved one, with all your delights!
⁷ Your stature is like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
⁸ I say I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its fruit.
Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,
⁹ and your mouth like the best wine.

She

It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
gliding over lips and teeth.

¹⁰ I am my beloved’s,
and his desire is for me.

The Bride Gives Her Love

¹¹ Come, my beloved,
let us go out into the fields
and lodge in the villages;
¹² let us go out early to the vineyards
and see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
¹³ The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
and beside our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.

 
REFLECTION:

• The lover offers his beloved praise in exquisite detail in verses 1-9. What does this reveal about their love?
• In verse 10, we see another variation of the refrain of Song of Solomon 2:16 and 6:3. What truth about love and desire do you find here?
• How does sexual love within a marriage involve discoveries “both new and old” (v13) that a one-night stand does not? In what situations are you likely to be led astray by the media’s depictions of love?
• Married love is exclusive. Spouses belong to one another in a way they do not belong to any other person on earth. The exclusive fidelity of a marriage is a form of chastity, a sacred commitment. However, this exclusivity can sometimes be eroded as time passes and betrayed.
• Here is a suggestion: copy out your marriage vows or verse 10 on an index card or piece of paper. Place it somewhere that you will see it often – in your Bible as a bookmark, in your wallet, on your smartphone, etc. Each time you see it, reflect on how well you are honoring your vows.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

How Great Is Your Love – youtu.be/_LevVVq8uRA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+006

 

Song of Solomon 6 (ESV)

Others

¹ Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?

Together in the Garden of Love

She

² My beloved has gone down to his garden
to the beds of spices,
to graze in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
³ I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he grazes among the lilies.

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

He

⁴ You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
lovely as Jerusalem,
awesome as an army with banners.
⁵ Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me—
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
⁶ Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins;
not one among them has lost its young.
⁷ Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
⁸ There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,
and virgins without number.
⁹ My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the only one of her mother,
pure to her who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.

¹⁰ “Who is this who looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
awesome as an army with banners?”

She

¹¹ I went down to the nut orchard
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
¹² Before I was aware, my desire set me
among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.

Others

¹³  Return, return, O Shulammite,
return, return, that we may look upon you.

He

Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
as upon a dance before two armies?

 
REFLECTION:

• In verse 3, the woman says, “I am my lover’s and my lover is mine,” while in Song of Solomon 2:16 she says, “My lover is mine and I am his.” What does this statement and the variation in wording tell you about the relationship?
• Think of someone close to you—perhaps your spouse, a parent, a child, or a very close friend—that you need to affirm. How can you do this?
• Ask God to make you a channel of love and affirmation to those you meet.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Power of Your Love – youtu.be/p6yQzQc0lnA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+005

 

Song of Solomon 5 (ESV)

He

¹ I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,
I gathered my myrrh with my spice,
I ate my honeycomb with my honey,
I drank my wine with my milk.

Others

Eat, friends, drink,
and be drunk with love!

The Bride Searches for Her Beloved

She

² I slept, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved is knocking.
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
my locks with the drops of the night.”
³ I had put off my garment;
how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet;
how could I soil them?
⁴ My beloved put his hand to the latch,
and my heart was thrilled within me.
⁵ I arose to open to my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
⁶ I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
⁷ The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
they took away my veil,
those watchmen of the walls.
⁸ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
I am sick with love.

Others

⁹ What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus adjure us?

The Bride Praises Her Beloved

She

¹⁰ My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
distinguished among ten thousand.
¹¹ His head is the finest gold;
his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
¹² His eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
sitting beside a full pool.
¹³ His cheeks are like beds of spices,
mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are lilies,
dripping liquid myrrh.
¹⁴ His arms are rods of gold,
set with jewels.
His body is polished ivory,
bedecked with sapphires.
¹⁵ His legs are alabaster columns,
set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
¹⁶ His mouth is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.

 
REFLECTION:

• Sometime after the wedding, the woman failed to respond encouragingly to her lover’s demonstration of affection. This led him to withdraw from her, and she realized that a gap had opened up between them. They were no longer as intimate as they had been.
• Prompted by the friends in verse 9, the beloved describes her lover in verses 10-16. If he did hear her words, how would this have been meaningful to him? Why is it important to make praise specific and concrete as in verses 10-16?
• This is a picture of a couple who is actively adoring, courting and pursuing each other. What is the value of this in a marriage? What have you seen happen when this aspect of the relationship is neglected?
• How does this passage speak to you about your attitude toward those you love? How might you ask for God’s help to change?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Open the Eyes of My Heart – youtu.be/idQ1n3cdgfo

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+004

 

Song of Solomon 4 (ESV)

Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty

He

¹ Behold, you are beautiful, my love,
behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
² Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them has lost its young.
³ Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
⁴ Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in rows of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
⁵ Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that graze among the lilies.
⁶ Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
⁷ You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
⁸ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.

⁹ You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
¹⁰ How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
¹¹ Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
¹² A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.
¹³ Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
¹⁴ nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all choice spices—
¹⁵ a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.

¹⁶ Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

Let my beloved come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.

 
REFLECTION:

• What do the lover’s explicit words describing his beloved’s physical beauty (vv1-7) reveal about their relationship? What words and phrases help you understand how Solomon feels about his beloved (vv9-15)?
• How does the woman respond to the praise and adoration that is lavished upon her? What does their dialogue reveal about their attitude about themselves as sexual beings?
• If God’s view of sex in marriage is conveyed here, then why do so many couples experience nothing like it? What does it say to you in your relationship with your spouse?
• God pursues you like the lover pursues the beloved in this passage. Praise God and thank Him for His love that never lets us go.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:
You Never Let Go – youtu.be/y83-vMeWc9E

 

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+003

 

Song of Solomon 3 (ESV)

The Bride’s Dream

¹ On my bed by night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not.
² I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but found him not.
³ The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
⁴ Scarcely had I passed them
when I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him, and would not let him go
until I had brought him into my mother’s house,
and into the chamber of her who conceived me.
⁵ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

⁶ What is that coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
⁷ Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!
Around it are sixty mighty men,
some of the mighty men of Israel,
⁸ all of them wearing swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh,
against terror by night.
⁹ King Solomon made himself a carriage
from the wood of Lebanon.
¹⁰ He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
by the daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹ Go out, O daughters of Zion,
and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.

 
REFLECTION:

• True love requires time—and hard work. It may even include times of searching and insecurity. Verses 1-3 describe some of the insecurities that love can bring. Why would love make us feel this way?
• Do not “stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (v5) is repeated from 2:7. What wisdom do you see in this saying? When are you likely to feel insecure about those you love?
• The wedding procession (vv6-11) in this passage is a time of publicly declaring love before others. What experience in your life confirmed the love someone (that is, the romantic love of a spouse or the love of a friend or family member) has for you? How should you better show your love to those you care about?
• What factors enter into an engaged couple’s decision about how BIG to make their wedding? What was (or would be) the determinative factor in your case?
• On your Big Day, what made your heart skip? Do you still feel that way? Why?

 
PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:
Beloved – youtu.be/6CUGTIWCFyo

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+002

 

Song of Solomon 2 (ESV)

She

¹ I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.

He

² As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among the young women.

She

³ As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
⁴ He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
⁵ Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
⁶ His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces me!
⁷ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.

The Bride Adores Her Beloved

⁸ The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
⁹ My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
looking through the lattice.
¹⁰ My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
¹¹ for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
¹² The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
¹³ The fig tree ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.
¹⁴ O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
¹⁵ Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom.”

¹⁶ My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he grazes among the lilies.
¹⁷ Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.

 
REFLECTION:

• “His left hand is under my head” (v6). Throughout the Song, the woman does not hesitate to express her hope for physical intimacy with the man, and vice versa. The whole book of Song of Solomon acknowledges human yearning for intimacy—in community with others. After all, God created Eve to dispel Adam’s loneliness. And this Song illustrates this yearning at its deepest and most intimate level.
• Verses 10-13 talk about the coming of spring: “the winter is past; the rain is over and gone”. Springtime is the time for love. It’s a time to be outdoors in a private garden. It is a time of new growth and fertility, as well as fragrant smells. Again, the desire to be with the beloved is expressed.
• How does knowing that the Song of Songs is included in Scripture affect your view of married relationships?
• If this lover’s song were an allegory, what image of God and Israel, or Christ and the Church, do you see here? Are you camped under his banner of love (v4)?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

King of My Heart – www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jkMnq2Hfzo

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+001

 

Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs)

Traditional wedding celebrations in the Middle East cast the bride and groom in the roles of a king and his queen. The festivities include love songs and also special songs that praise the physical beauty of the bride or the handsomeness of the groom. The custom has a long history and is reflected in the anthology of wedding songs we know as the Song of Songs. The individual songs may have been used repeatedly in marriage celebrations and eventually gathered together, just as the psalms were collected after years of use in worship. The title Solomon’s Song of Songs can be taken to mean that King Solomon, a renowned composer (see 1 Kings 4:29-34), was the author of its songs. However, it could also be a reference to Solomon as the kind of glorious king the groom represents.

The songs are arranged to tell the courtship story of a man and woman, of their marriage (described as a royal wedding) and its consummation, and of the beginning of their new life together. After a short introduction the book presents six episodes, each typically ending with a reference to the friends of the man and woman. This may refer to others attending the wedding to join in the celebration. Together the songs celebrate the delights of married love and the beauty of the human body, using vivid imagery from the natural world to show that these things are part of the creation that God declared very good.

 

www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/SNG.INTRO1.NIV

 

Song of Solomon 1 (ESV)

¹ The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

The Bride Confesses Her Love

She

² Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
³  your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
⁴ Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.

Others

We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.

She

⁵ I am very dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶ Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
⁷ Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

He

⁸ If you do not know,
O most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds’ tents.

⁹ I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
¹⁰ Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.

Others

¹¹ We will make for you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.

She

¹² While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
¹³ My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi.

He

¹⁵ Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.

She

¹⁶ Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
¹⁷     the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.

 
REFLECTION:

• This chapter begins with the love song between two lovers. What sense do you get from this passage about how the “Beloved” and the “Lover” regard one another? From the images they used to describe each other, what do they reveal about their relationship?
• What fears and insecurities does the Beloved feel (vv3-4, 5-7)? How does the Lover reassure her (vv9-11)?
• This demonstrates a wonderful way to celebrate God’s good gift of sexuality to us. The entire book of Song of Solomon is a beautiful description of young lovers taking great joy in each other. Take some time writing down or telling your spouse how you delight in and appreciate him or her.
• Reflect on your own sexuality and how you respond to this picture of passionate physical love. Talk to God about how you are feeling.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

You’re Beautiful – youtu.be/aky-FkqH6Ng

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ecclesiastes+012

 

Ecclesiastes 12 (ESV)

¹ Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ² before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, …

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. ⁸ Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity…

¹³ The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Ecclesiastes tells us: Without the spirit given by God, our body is nothing but dust; without God’s will, our work will be useless; without God’s love, our ministry will be in vain. We must put God first in everything we do and keep God as the center, because without God there is nothing. A God-centered life is bound to be fulfilling. Even when the “evil days” come, that is, when one cannot enjoy life due to disability or illness in old age, there is still satisfaction because of the hope of eternal life. Young age is beautiful, but if young people just enjoy the pleasure of a moment and abandon things of eternal value, the vitality of youth can also become an obstacle to getting close to God. Consecrate yourself to God while you are still young and strong. Don’t waste your youth on evil and vain activities, and fall into bad habits that make you insensitive. Start trying to seek God now!
2. In the conclusion of the book, Solomon once again warned those who have lost their purpose and direction in life to fear God and obey God’s commandments; to exhort those who believe that life is full of injustices, and remember that God will examine our life. We admit that the world is full of evil, ignorance, and unfairness, but we still have to live our lives with a positive attitude and have strong faith in God. Everyone will stand before God’s judgment seat and be judged for what we have done in our life. We cannot use the ups and downs of life as an excuse for living a frivolous or passive life. To live an upright life, we must (1) admit that all human efforts are futile if we leave God; (2) put God in the first place now; (3) receive the good and perfect gifts from God; (4) know that God will judge all good and evil.

 

PRAYER:

Pray to God for your relatives and friends who have lost their direction in life. Ask God to work through you so that they can know God and reorganize their life direction, seek the value of God’s kingdom, and receive the blessing of eternal life. Ask God to give you the heart to love your neighbour as yourself, willing to sacrifice yourself and be a precious vessel of God in preaching the gospel of repentance.

 

HYMN:

My Worth Is Not In What I Own – https://youtu.be/05jKxv8ApuI