Jesus, The Passionate Suitor Part 2

In our last article we faced this powerful question: How can God call me beautiful at the beginning of our relationship, before I become mature or do anything for Him? Read on to discover the answer!

In his wisdom and foresight, the king sees the Shulamite as she will be when his love for her has completed its work, and he relates to her on that basis from the beginning. He knows that the power of her true identity and the dynamic of his love will transform her as certainly as the dawn comes in the morning. In the place of intimate fellowship, he can speak these things in such a way that her heart will hear them and believe. And so he invites her to the place of nearness and intrigue, the banqueting house, and there sustains her with expressions of his deepest love.

This delightful and beautiful picture of the love language exchanged by these two is given expression in the life of Jesus, this time recorded for us in the Gospel of Matthew. But in the New Testament portrayal, the heart of Jesus is filled with pathos and grief. Matthew 23:37-39 is the record of Jesus’ lamentation over Jerusalem because the city, as the representation of the Bride of Christ, has refused His invitation to intimacy and instead has continued the historic practice of killing those who come in His Name to draw her to His side. The emotion of the heart of Jesus is palpable:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Matthew 23:37

Jesus is here giving testimony to the passion burning in the heart of God, the same passion that caused Him to speak in such loving terms over the life of His dark but lovely Bride in the Song. He longs to gather His people to the House of Wine, to stir our emotions of being cherished and seen as fervent and single-minded. He deeply desires to speak to our hearts of how He sees us, of the delight that is within Him, of the confidence He has in the power of His love to do the things He has promised.

Those during the course of history who have experienced this “gathering,” this stirring of the Lord’s intimate love, bear witness: Nothing else matters when the touch of Christ’s love fills our hearts. This is why Paul the Apostle could cheerfully consider every other important thing to be so much refuse compared with the pleasure of knowing Jesus. It is why Stephen exulted as he stared death in the face, for he saw the Lord’s glory in the face of his Bridegroom standing at the right hand of the Father to welcome him into eternity. Because of this reality the martyrs of history have gladly given their lives for the sake of a better resurrection—one fully conformed to the life of the Beloved. Jesus fulfills the promise, and He calls you and me to that place.

Jesus, I will receive Your invitation to the place of intimacy in prayer. I long to hear Your voice telling me the truth of who I am, and how You love me. I long to live out of the place of affirmation that comes from Your heart, and that liberates me to love You in return and live in the beauty of Your holiness. Draw me, Lord, and I will follow after You.

Gary Wiens

Jesus, The Passionate Suitor

As I consider my own life before the Lord, I am aware that one of my deepest longings is to be desired, to be cherished and seen as the delight of the heart of another. While this can happen to a wonderful degree at the level of human relationships, the reality is that down deep inside, we have a sense that we were made to love Someone and to be loved by Someone in an infinite way. We know there is something inside us that will not be satisfied until we are able to release our love in a fervent single-mindedness that brings focus and passion to everything we do. The awareness of this longing causes an ache in the human soul that simply cannot be assuaged except by the touch of the infinite Lover, and by our response—a fervent commitment to Him. Only He can go that deep, only He can love that way. Only He can elicit that kind of response.

This is the reality that is at play in the staggeringly beautiful encounter between the Shulamite and the king at the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2 of the Song of Solomon. In verse 12 of chapter 1, having been invited to the place of intimacy in which she could come to know the heart of the king, she begins to express the romantic inclinations of her heart by declaring that her perfume is drawing his attention, even as he sits at the dinner table. She muses on the passions of her heart, giving poetic expression to that which burns inside:

A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, that lies all night between my breasts.

My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms in the vineyards of En Gedi.

Song 1:13-14

The king responds, articulating the very thing she longs to hear, his fiery words instilling in her heart a passion deeper than she has ever known:

Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove's eyes.

Song 1:15

To be considered fair by the king! In his words are the power of life and death. And he calls her fair! The power of it grips her soul, entering deep within the secret chambers of her heart, the places of insecurity and fear that have not been completely healed. She is not yet the mature bride who will emerge later in the Song. She is still the immature maiden who knows there is weakness in her, who is painfully aware of her propensity to unfaithfulness and sin.

His words begin to change that. He speaks of her as having “dove’s eyes.” To us, that sounds poetic but sort of meaningless until we understand that a dove has the capacity to focus its eyes on only one thing at a time. It sees only one thing. And when the king is speaking this reality over the Shulamite, he is declaring to her that in his view she has already reached the single-minded fervency of love that her heart desires. He sees her as fair and faithful, and this at the very beginning of their relationship. How can this be?

In our article next week we will explore further the answer to this burning question: How can God call me beautiful before I’ve done anything for Him? Blessings on you all!

Gary Wiens

Prophetic Pictures of the Bridegroom God

In the next several articles I will focus on a number of snapshots of the bridegroom king in The Song of Solomon that are fulfilled in the Person of Jesus, as documented in the gospel accounts of the New Testament. 

The Inviting Shepherd

The dimension of Jesus’ character that I call “The Inviting Shepherd” is found in the prophetic picture of the invitation of the king (the picture of Jesus) to the Shulamite shepherd girl (the picture of the Bride of Christ) in the first chapter of the allegory. The young maiden opens the text of this Song with a startling expression of desire: “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth—for Your love is better than wine.”

It is essential right from the beginning to understand that the imagery here is symbolic. Our interpretation is allegorical; the story is a picture of Jesus’ relationship with the Church. Therefore, “the kisses of His mouth” refers to the touch of the Word of God upon the human heart, empowered by the Holy Spirit.  When His Word pierces through the emotional and theological barriers of our hearts, and touches us with the truth of His love, it is a kiss that is better than any other, the reality of which a human kiss is merely a dim reflection.

As the Shulamite speaks about the king, she inquires concerning His presence (v. 7): Where is that predictable place in which she might feast upon His beauty? She has decided there is no reason she should remain veiled in His presence. Why should she hold herself back from intimacy when he is present specifically to release such a dynamic? It is in the king’s reply that we see the face of the Inviting Shepherd:

If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow in the footsteps of the flock,

and feed your little goats beside the shepherds' tents.

Song 1:8

We contemporary evangelicals must fact the fact that throughout history countless human beings have experienced the reality for which our hearts are longing. In the king’s invitation to the Shulamite, I too am being solicited to join the procession of those who have pursued Him with extravagance and passion, and my answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Jesus extends the same invitation to real men to come and join Him in living out this relationship. John 1:35-39 gives the account of two disciples of John the Baptist. These men see Jesus walking along and they begin to follow Him. He notices, and turning to them, asks what they want. In their response we find the poignant echo of the heart of the Shulamite, spoken by men of the first century: “Teacher, where are You staying?”

Can you hear the reverberating sounds of her heart-cry? “Tell me, O You Whom I love, where do You feed Your flock?” And the incredible reality is that on an actual day in history, at about four o’clock in the afternoon, the Bridegroom-God Who from ages past has desired intimate relationship with human beings—gazed upon these two men, men like me, and gave the Bridegroom’s answer: “Come and see.” And so they followed, and their lives were never the same.

The Story Of Isaac and Rebekah

One of the clearest representations of the Gospel in the Old Testament is in Genesis 24, the story of Abraham’s search for a suitable wife for his son, Isaac. Through the lens of the bridal paradigm, this story is an astonishing prophetic picture of what God had in mind for His people as He pursued them for the sake of His beloved Son.

Abraham declares that his longing to have a suitable bride for Isaac will not be fulfilled in the land of Canaan, but among his kindred people, his family. The old and trusted servant, Eliezer, is commanded by the father not to settle for one of the local girls, but to go to the home country, among his own people, there to find a wife suitable for his son.

Eliezer fills a dual role in this picture of the Gospel. At first he stands in the role of Jesus, coming to earth as God incarnate, yet not presented in the regal disclosure of His power and majesty, but in the hiddenness of the Servant’s identity. He takes with him gifts from the father’s house to woo the prospective bride, gifts that indicate the wealth of the father’s house without overwhelming her freedom to accept or reject the offer of a husband.

The servant sets out on the long journey to the bride’s country (a picture of the incarnation) and meets her in a place designed to reveal her spirit of servanthood. He arrives at the well near Rebekah’s hometown at about the time the women come to draw water. His test for the prospective bride is that she be not only beautiful, but that she also have the willingness to serve with gladness of heart. This part of the picture is very important, for the Lord also is looking for a Bride with a servant’s spirit. This is not because He is a taskmaster looking for help, but because He Himself is the Servant and is seeking a like-minded partner. Only a Servant-Bride completes the picture adequately.

Of course, Rebekah serves him gladly, going the extra mile of watering his ten camels until they are satisfied. Eliezer meets Rebekah’s family and joins them for a meal, another picture of Jesus’ willingness to have fellowship with human beings. Upon disclosing to them his identity and mission, Eliezer inquires about the possibility of Rebekah going with him to become Isaac’s wife.

Although the girl has never seen Isaac, she realizes that something has happened in her heart through this encounter with the servant: She loves Isaac. She is eager to go with Eliezer to realize her destiny. In the same way, Jesus came to the Bride’s country in the guise of a Servant, sharing the gifts of the Father’s house: healing, deliverance, the truth about the Kingdom of God. The Servant-Bride, having seen the Father’s heart through the life of the Servant, falls in love with the Son. And she loves Him even though she has not yet seen Him in His eternal power and glory. She’s only seen the disguise of his humanity, which by comparison has no form or comeliness that he should be desired at all.

Rebekah takes the long journey with Eliezer back to meet the son face to face. This journey is a picture of the Christian life, a journey through the wilderness, the bride making herself ready in the difficult context of riding through the desert on the back of a camel. Could there be a better picture of the preparatory journey of the believer’s walk of faith on the way to heaven? At this point, in my imagination, Eliezer takes on the role of the Holy Spirit, functioning as Rebekah’s guide and friend, keeping her focus fixed on the beauty of the son so she will have the grace to endure the journey.

Finally, the ordeal is complete, and Rebekah sees Isaac walking in the field near Abraham’s home. She finishes her preparation just in time to be introduced to the son. He is delighted with her, and his heart is captured by this beautiful woman (“Rebekah” means “snared by beauty”!) who has been provided for him by the desire of the father’s heart. Their union is a picture of the culmination of human history, when we will meet our Bridegroom. The veil will be taken away. We shall see Jesus as He is and we shall be like Him, forever joined with Him as His Bride.

Sports and Entertainment: Our Nation's False God

I wonder how many are as outraged as we are, regarding the Penn State Sex Scandal. Or, will you disregard what we are about to say in this article for the sake of a keeping a forty five year legacy and football sacred? You may think we are being dramatic but our souls are at stake here, for Scripture speaks of God’s judgment on a culture that did not repent from such things.

As Coach Joe Paterno, President Graham Spanier and two vice presidents are fired for a cover-up of over fifteen years involving retired defensive coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing eight young boys, protests are breaking out on the Penn State campus. Shocking as this may be, much of the outrage is not for the victims but instead for the firing of Coach Paterno who knew of the abuse and did nothing. A freshman student that was interviewed said this, “It’s like where do we go from here? We no longer have a president, we no longer have a 45 year legacy.” One individual close to the program was primarily concerned about the impact of the situation on future recruiting for the football program. Has this young generation come to this? The sister of one of the victims is a student at Penn State and she is having trouble attending class because so many are making jokes about the trouble.

We as a nation have made football a god. Let us demonstrate this. In 2002 assistant coach Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky raping a nine year old boy in the showers at Penn State. Instead of calling the police he went home to his father who agreed they needed to tell Coach Paterno. The coach then reported it but nothing was done, and he let the matter drop. Sandusky continued his privileges at the college and maintained his access to young troubled boys and it was allowed for the sake of the football game and a so called “Squeaky clean football program”. How close as a nation have we come to Genesis 19, and Sodom and Gomorrah?

The word “Sodom” means “cesspool, den, and pandemonium.” Does this sound similar to what is going on at Penn State? What has happened to us that students would protest and destroy things for the sake of keeping a coach on staff who covered up rape? Is this an example of a generation that is in jeopardy of losing their souls? Let’s take a look at Genesis 19. Here is a quote from a commentary by Matthew Henry. “Thus many that are under some convictions about the misery of their spiritual state, and the necessity of a change, yet defer that needful work, and foolishly linger. Lot did so, and it might have been fatal to him if the angels had not laid hold of his hand and brought him for, and saved him with fear.” In Jude 23 it is said “the Lord was merciful to him; otherwise he might justly have left him to perish, since he was so loth to depart. The salvation of the most righteous men must be attributed to God’s mercy, not to their own merit.”

Are we righteous men and women and are we outraged because of the abuse of these boys? Or, do we turn our heads and say it does not involve us? How close are we to destruction because we have allowed entertainment such as football to become an idol and a distraction from Jesus? When the two angels appeared to Lot and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah did you know to this day that area remains a great lake called the Dead Sea or the Salt Sea? There is no living creature in it and it stinks, literally. Also, when Lot hesitated, the angel grasped his hand and rushed him to safety. Lot did not want to abandon the wealth, position, and comfort he enjoyed. It is easy to criticize Lot for being hypnotized by Sodom when the choice seems so clear to us. To be wiser than Lot we must see that our hesitation to speak out about how far we have gone with idolizing entertainment stems from the false attractions of our culture’s pleasure and we would sacrifice innocent boys for the sake of a college and a game.

Two facets of God’s character are His great patience and His fierce anger towards unrighteousness and sin. If there is true repentance, God will have mercy on anyone who calls on His Name, even those who commit such overt and criminal acts. He has had mercy on us, and our sin put Jesus on the cross. Fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much and the very presence of God-fearing men and women in a place helps to ward off judgment. We must pray for these men and the children whose lives were ruined through this behavior. And we must pray that the Holy Spirit will bring true repentance and revival to an idolatrous culture that sacrifices our children on the altar of entertainment and sports. The time has come for us to wake up and see what we have done and what we have become. The Lord is calling us to holiness and our time is drawing short. The Lord Jesus is drawing near.

Gary and Marie Wiens

The Joining of Adam and Eve

When the Lord God first set man in the Garden, He did an interesting thing. He allowed the newly formed human to experience what it was like not to have a counterpart right from the beginning as all the other creatures did. It was the only thing in the whole of creation that God said was “not good.” Why did the Lord follow this plan? Why did He not establish man and woman at the same time, and give them to one another in the fullness of intimacy that He intended humans to experience together?

Was there something churning in God’s heart that could only be understood by Adam through the sense of being incomplete, knowing first-hand the experience of loneliness and deprivation? Why the man’s sense of exhilaration and wonder at the completeness he realized only when the woman came on the scene? Surely from his observation of the animal realm, he sensed there was something “wrong,” something “missing,” and yet how could that be, since Adam had known no other existence? How can one long for something that does not exist?

C.S. Lewis wrote that the fact that a man is hungry does not ensure that he will be fed, but it certainly indicates that somewhere there is food designed to meet his need. In the same way, the fact that Adam knew he was incomplete demanded the existence of a fulfilling reality. Adam’s longing had to have its root somewhere other than in his own experience.

And what of the strange idea that a man must therefore leave father and mother, and cling to his wife? Adam left no one to cling to Eve. Was this merely the starting point for future reference, or was there already a reference point in place, one that stretched backward beyond the boundaries of time? The understanding comes much later through the writings of Paul the apostle. In Ephesians 5, he quotes some of the same phrases as the basis for commitment in human marriage, then shows us that the reference point for these ideas is none other than Christ and the Church. The statement about leaving and cleaving was an early reflection of God’s plan for Jesus to come in the flesh, leaving the heavenly home of the Father to cling to a human Bride.

Adam’s longing, his sense of being unfulfilled, his exhilaration at the discovery of his counterpart, had its genesis in the heart of Christ and His desire for the Bride that was the standard before mankind was ever created! Adam’s experience of longing was, from the first moment, a reflection of the chosen longing in the heart of the Triune God to have a counterpart suitable for His beloved Son, the living Word in Whom was formed everything that exists.

The taking of the woman from the side of the man, out of his very flesh and bone, must have seemed to Adam a bizarre methodology compared with the one God employed for the rest of creation. We see it now as a picture of the Bride taken from the riven side of the crucified Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He identified permanently with her humanity without negating His divinity, thereby leaving Himself with no alternative but to exalt her to the incredible place of fellowship and partnership in the triune life of God. Truly a magnificent picture! And it’s only the beginning.

A New Way Of Seeing

Back in the early 1980s my wife and I were privileged to be associated with John Wimber and the emerging Vineyard movement, with their emphasis on the release of a new style of intimate worship, and the release of the healing power of the Holy Spirit as normal in the Christian life.

In order for us to move freely into those kinds of experiences, we needed to make some adjustments in the way we perceived reality. We needed to have a way of seeing that made room for the incursion of the miraculous into what we called “normal” life. In short, we needed a paradigm shift, a way of re-defining normalcy that included opportunities for the power of God to invade our usual experience.

The wonderful thing was that as we developed this new perspective according to Biblical patterns, we began to experience that power more regularly and some of our experiences began to resemble the dynamic of the New Testament accounts. Through subsequent years, more and more believers began to experience new dimensions of God’s miraculous presence in their everyday lives.

I believe we need a paradigm shift once again among God’s people with regard to prayer. In the activity-addicted, performance-oriented entity that is the Church, we have largely lost sight of the experiential intimacy with Jesus to which we have been called, and we need a restoration of that understanding. The new perspective makes room for believers to define their lives before God not on the basis of what they do for Him, but on the basis of the declarations of His ravished heart as the Heavenly Bridegroom.

We need a shift in the way we read the Scriptures, with a resultant shift in our theological thinking and ultimately a shift in the way we relate to Jesus, to ourselves, and to what we do in His Name. Our experience of the Christian life needs to be deepened and changed. The path the Holy Spirit is opening into this deeper experience is the way of intimacy with Jesus as our Bridegroom. My goal in these articles is to begin building a foundation of biblical understanding that will enable believers to see with new eyes, to begin to experience the presence of the Lord in new and sweeter ways.

I readily acknowledge at the outset that this “bridal paradigm” is not a new thing. It has been a central part of biblical theology all through history, and has been preserved through the life of the Church in marvelous ways in the experiences of mystics and contemplatives, most of whom have lived within the Catholic and Orthodox expressions of Christianity. There have been, however, only a precious few saints within the Protestant ethos who have gone deep into the understanding of Jesus’ love for His Bride, and whose personal experiences of these depths have enabled them to write in helpful ways.

Like Martha of Bethany, Protestant Evangelicals have been concerned with many necessary things, to the point that we have excluded the needful thing Mary chose—sitting at the feet of the Bridegroom to hear His heart and voice. But God is changing that, and my prayer is that this little contribution to the process will be of assistance to those who read it.

Over the next weeks we will look at this theme of bridal relationship as it is presented through the Scriptures, beginning with the Old Testament record, that we might know and believe what is in His heart.

Blessings,
Gary Wiens