Draw Me Away! Pt.5

Song of Solomon Chapter 5 “Knocking”

“I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one.” (v.2a)

The desire of the Shulamite is greatly increasing. She said “I sleep, but my heart is awake.” This is being in love. It may seem odd or even wrong to some but we can be in love with Jesus. It can be so intense that it keeps us from sleeping. Jesus will always respond to this type of affection. Now we see the Beloved responding to her heart that is awake. Oh wait, before we go on, is your heart “awake” toward Jesus? We can go on in religious tradition and not have a heart that is awake. Jesus, quoting Isiah 29:13 said

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.” (Matthew 15:8)

But that is not us! Our hearts are awake and alive toward God. Now, see how the Beloved responds to the Shulamite’s (and ours!) awakened heart:

He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one.
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.” (v.2b)

Its amazing that they are married and yet He is still knocking. No matter how long we walk with Jesus He is forever the gentleman. He is never forceful. He simple knocks and with great anticipation waits for a response. We know know from this verse that he was outside knocking for a long time. Dew does not cover someone’s head who has been outside for a short amount of time. We know of another verse where Jesus is knocking.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Rev 3:20)

Jesus is still knocking. He is waiting for a response. And sometimes He comes at inconvenient times in order to test our true affections, as we will see with the Shulamite. See her response:

“I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I defile them?
My beloved put his hand
By the latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.” (vv.3-5)

We have to understand in this time people most likely had dirt floors. If she got up she would dirty her feet. It was also late at night (or very early morning) and she was tired. Jesus, like I said, will often come in the inopportune times to see what is most important to us – our comfort or being with Him.

The Beloved’s desire was so intense toward her that He went a step farther than knocking. And He will do this with us also.

“My beloved put his hand
By the latch of the door.”

He will never turn the knob but He will put His hand on it, bidding us to respond and open the door. I pray we be quick to open the door when are heart is aware of His nearness. Now finally she gets out of her comfortable bed and opens the door.

“I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.”

Myrrh has significant historical and prophetic meaning in the Bible. It was used for many things but it had to main purposes: 1. for perfume and 2. for embalming the dead. In the book of Esther we find myrrh was one of the beauty treatments for Esther. (Esther 2:12) The wise men brought 3 gifts to baby Jesus and one of them was myrrh. It might seem like an odd gift to give a baby but they were prophetically declaring He would die for the sins of the world.

I believe this twofold purpose of the myrrh is still an active ingredient in the lives of believers. We are the fragrance of Christ. (“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” 2 Cor 2:15)

The myrrh in our lives also proclaims the death and resurrection of Jesus in our lives!

So, the myrrh on the Beloved’s hands on the latch of the door was meant to draw her into those two purposes. He wanted her to lay down her comfort and come away with Him. If we say, as she did in the beginning “draw me away” we can guarantee He will come knocking. It might very well be at an inopportune time though.

She finally opened the door but He wasn’t there.

“I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My heart leaped up when he spoke.
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
 The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.” (vv.6-7)

He had turned away. The Beloved was hurt by her selfishness and left to return another day. We must not think of Jesus as a robot. We were created in the image of God and share happiness and yes even grief. In the gospels we see Jesus joyful but also greatly grieved by certain people. Now, we know He is gracious and His mercies are new every morning. But we still must not treat Jesus like He has no emotions. I think of when entering Jerusalem He said

“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)

That is not a stoic, emotionless Jesus!

“The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.”

The watchmen represent other believers in the church. Often times its the people in the church that hurt us the most. But perhaps this happens more often when we find ourselves in the wrong place like the Shulamite. Maybe we not be found out and about looking for Him when we had the opportunity right before us.

How does this play out in our lives? Often times when we sense the presence of God it is Him knocking. His initial presence is just a taste of what is to come. Then we open the door and He comes in his glory, revealing Himself, giving revelation, opening the scriptures and so on. May we, by God’s grace, be quick to open the door when we hear Him knocking.