Seasonal Times
Song of Solomon 2:9-13
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
My, this passage reminds me of the windows of Heaven opened for the official in 2 Kings 7:2 which did not believe it could be so. Here we see Solomon as a wild thing contained kept only for his Song. The lasting effects of generational trauma can also be seen in the roe and young hart that is Solomon. This sort of behavior is as one unsettled and unresting. Some of you might be saying to yourself, 'I grew up this way and survived; so can you.' But God is not like you. He does not minimize the effects of trauma on those who have suffered at its' hands. Maybe you have met someone with trauma related anxieties. Maybe you even care for someone with those issues. Maybe that is not the case at all, but you know someone who once was lost but now is found. How many of you know that the lost habits stay with you for a while until the found catches up. That is why you can no longer hang out with the people you used to or go where you went before. Even in this state, the Song cares for her beloved. So also, he keeps himself for her. There is eagerness and anxiety to please in this kept behavior. The best thing she can do at this time is to love him through it. Even when he resembles a caged deer, she can still love him for to her he is tame. With her within their lattice, he feels safe enough to show himself. Such a love is wonderful to have indeed be it old or new.
My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
"My beloved" spoke and said something to the Song. Thankfully we know what he said, for God saw fit to share it with us just as he did the prior situation. You might be wondering how I can be so sure. I know because this is their testimony. He had complained about how God and the people treated him before; now he has himself a testimony. He called the Song to himself just as the Lord had called him out of his mess and distress. Leadership, even broken and imperfect, always starts with the Lord. The little Song complains not but follows with her whole heart. They are rising to come away from the situation that we will soon see. It is for this reason that God promised not to judge Solomon for his chasing after other gods in his lifetime. 1 Kings 11:11-13 says it is because of his father David; but for this cause will the kingdom most certainly be torn apart. Yet the judgment will not be in Solomon's lifetime but rather in his sons. At the same time, the judgment speaks of tearing the kingdom apart and leaving a Godly portion remaining unto himself. If you will recall, the nation of Israel did indeed become divided into the northern and southern portions during future rebellions. At the time of the captivity, will God bring all things Solomon has suffered to an end. But for David's sake is he longsuffering. More than Solomon has suffered just as there are other deer and other trees of the woods. How faithful is God to know our frame and remember we are but dust as in Psalm 103:14. Now come away with Solomon and his Song also as the Lord telling the disciples to take their rest as in Matthew 26:45 and leave the Garden of Gethsemane. God is doing a new thing for which the time has now come. Come on now, this is a transition, a shift if you will. It is that of the atmosphere when seasons change from hot to cold and back again. Let us see what will happen here.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
See, some of you cannot praise God appropriately because you do not know what you are praising him for. It is nice to whisper about the winter and the rain as though they are nice, soft little things that change as do the seasons. Everything is lovely; you are in love. We therapists call that the honeymoon phase of relationships. But what happens when the winter was so bad the wolves moved into your house, and you almost starved to death. What happens when the rain was so bad that it washed out your whole village? What happens when there is nothing left but God. Then he speaks to you and calls you beloved. But you are like, 'I don't feel very beloved right now. You have got to be joking, go fetch someone else besides me.' See, faith is what happened that allowed you to see that the past has gone. This is as faith made sight not just a 'honey, it'll get better soon.' Sometimes it takes some time for it to be fully worked out in this life as it is decreed in Heaven. God is creating a new thing for those who perceive it in Isaiah 43:19. There are streams in the desert and flowers blooming where they were not planted. Solomon has such a beautiful praise if you only knew what it was for. See the goodness of God overflowing in the dry land. The Song herself must have felt that those days of hiding and fearing for his life would never end. But now as in times of Ecclesiastes 3:11 God has made all things beautiful. The winter and the rain have disappeared. Sometimes God rebukes the storm and sometimes calms the child. At others, he removes those things in Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west to trouble you no more. This is one of those situations here as we will soon see. Just hold on, the therapist has not updated his notes yet.
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
As the Lord has comforted me so will I comfort you. He makes all things beautiful in their time according to Ecclesiastes 3:1. Even Solomon and his Song which were not before now appear as the roses of Sharon and the lilies of the valley. If you only knew what God was about to do. He can open the windows of Heaven for he alone keeps them. Even Solomon would later look back on his life and say that there is a time for every season under Heaven. Some things we will go through in this life because we and this world are not yet redeemed. Redeemed by Jesus' blood and cleansed from our sin, yes. Romans 8:22 tells how creation still cries out to be delivered from its' present bondage. We suffer much from sin, the curse, and at the hands of other people. One day there will be no more crying, nor sorrow, nor any pain for God will wipe away every tear in Revelation 21:4. You will no longer remember the pain for the God that makes all things new is here. Look at this testimony. You will one day feel like singing, dancing, and feasting. Even the turtledove which is the most plaintive of all birds will still have a song. He will put a song in our mouths as in Psalm 40:3 because that is who God is. Solomon and his Song will walk together in this new land and enjoy the flowers blooming beside the path. They will pass by wood where the cooing of birds is heard. They will make love under the trees of the wood in peace and safety for the goodness of God. Some of you need a different set of eyes to see God's promises by faith. In him as in 2 Corinthians 1:20 are these yes and amen; he is faithful.
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Had it not been for the fact that Solomon was beloved of God, judgment certainly would have been his portion. Matthew 24:32 speaks of the lessons taught by the fig tree; tender leaves signal the coming of summer as when judgment is delayed. God is giving things time to ripen on the vine. Had the Song quit then, she would never have seen the goodness of God in the land of the living. The spring has come when all things are made new. Soon there will be summer and then the harvest. There are green figs and tender grapes to be seen here. If you go out in anger, you could mess up the harvest God has prepared for you. This is why God must let both wheat and tares "grow together until the harvest" of Matthew 13:30. Young love is best not given up too early. Soon it will flourish under God's hands. Leave the results to God as Solomon says and allow him time to work. The sowing, growing, and reaping seasons are his alone. Here and now, there is much to be done in his house. The growth of the figs and grapes on their vines are the Lord's to bring forth. The trees remind me of those wise men and women of Psalm 1:3 which grow by the still waters of God. Then the vines grow together and entangle each other like some of us are prone to do. Regardless of which you are, God will bring about the harvest in his time. Soon the Song and Solomon will see better days. Had they not believed in Psalm 27:13 during the winter and the rains, they would have lost hope in the harvest to come. Soon, it is time to with them come away. Let God do his work; this is his time now.