It’s been awhile since writing plainly about the Song of Songs, but lately I’ve been studying it again as much as possible, and honestly, this book never ceases to light a fire in my spiritual life.  It’s like nothing else on the planet. :-)

Here’s just a little something to share…(Well, actually it’s a bit lengthy so you are going to have to click through to read it.)

The book has three obvious characters: The woman, (the bride or the “Shulamite”) The man, (the bridegroom or “Beloved”) and the Daughters of Jerusalem (younger, less mature friends of the woman).  It’s not always clear who is singing what, but they are definitely the primary voices.

But there is one mysterious voice in the middle of the book that is different from the others.  It happens right after the provocative text of chapter 4 in which the King is tenderly romancing his Bride, and she is finally receptive to him.  Suddenly in the midst of this most sacred moment, a quiet observer appears and shouts out …. 
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My own vineyard I did neglect, Song 1:6
But my vineyard is mine to give…and I give it to you, O Solomon, Song 8:6

There is no situation in life that the God of Hope cannot come into, and abundantly fill with divine presence and overcoming fruitfulness.

I read about a woman bound to her hospital bed, with no medical hope of getting better.  She gave this desert wasteland to her husbandman/bridegroom, and by faith asked Him to turn it into a garden that He would be delighted with.

And He did.  Her heart became free, her emotions ran deep, and her prayers were effectual.  Joy and peace abounded, and there was no place she could not go in the Spirit, and no one she could not affect from afar.   She always testified to those who visited her, “Do not feel sorry for what you see on the outside with me. My insides have been turned into a paradise!”

It is people like this that are likely the ones keeping the universe together, from exploding, imploding, or self-destructing.  They have small gardens, but they are giving off spiritual oxygen and fragrances that the entire world depends on without even knowing it.  

Never underestimate the possibilities in a limited and constricted life.  We will find out someday how important these little ones really are.

Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the LORD will display his glory, the splendor of our God.
~ Isaiah 35:2