Song of Songs 2:3 -Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed – Robert H. Schuller

This is the Truth Network treasurers of the song of songs, which is dig into some apples today.

We in our quest to understand that Psalm but also to dig into the song of songs on this beautiful wonderful love story between Jesus and his people, and so we are in the second chapter and today we are on verse three. So as the bride has described herself and then the Jesus character described her back. Now she goes back to describing him and what amazing description. She gives us as she says in verse three as the apple tree among the trees of the wood so is my beloved among my sons.

I sat down under his shadow with great delight in his fruit was sweet to my taste, so as you know, he compared her to the daughters she compares him to the sons and the fascinating thing is just the on the onset is the contrast right that she compared herself to a lily of the valleys you know and we talked about that even Sharon was down in the lower elevation that even swamps at points, you know that that's where that was warily apple trees in that area.

If you've ever studied apple trees, but I did a little bit in the original apple trees were up on the mountains and apples. To this day grow more frequently in mountainous regions and so we went from down the valley to up on the mountain and we went from a of flour a beautiful flower to an actual tree and we went from that, you know, just the idea of beauty. Our getting fruit and all sorts of beautiful fruit and were also getting shade so the contrast is spectacular and the thing you'll note I've noted through the whole song of songs is is he wasn't of the Holy Spirit through Solomon was a master of contrast and so the fact that he uses a tree here or that she described him as a tree is spectacular when you think about how important the tree is number one it. It has that Zadeh which talked about righteousness and trees being at right angles and we know that it was wood that made the ark and it was wood that may be Ark of the covenant, and we know that Jesus was crucified on a tree and so so many things are connected to this idea of a tree and clearly hear Beth what she uses and she is even talks about the trees of the wood that of all the trees you know he is that tree well you know a lot of people talk about the tree of life which, again, it is something I don't think we should mishear that she clearly is giving us all these pictures as if she's describing this and would be the most beautiful tree in the garden and then you know what she does with it is that this unbelievable so it's obviously a beautiful tree and is among all the sons but then she sat down under the shade with great delight. Okay well believe me, this idea of covering is all about what Jesus does right. He covers of us with his blood and it's a consistent theme throughout the whole of Scripture is Jesus has you covered. You know be surety for my servant for good. As we talked about in the hundred 19 Psalm whether it's financially or emotionally or however you look at Jesus shade is a gigantic part of who he is and the beauty of that particular tree and a course you know then it gets into his fruit and and you know certainly the fruits are unbelievable when it comes to our relationship with Jesus and the beauty of that fruit is that inside of every apple. There are seeds that give you the same kind of tree and so I got you and all of the imagery could not be more spectacular. But I guess the question you know is is I recently heard a podcast Stacy Eldridge talked about this amazing prayer that she had were Jesus had her in the garden had her lay up against a tree and then put his hand on her heart and prayed for you know all that that goes on in that imagery of trees is is it goes back clearly to the garden of where we can get our life right where it where we can get our life and are we going to get it from the tree of life or when you get it from the tree of knowledge and even as you study these things, you know so often undoubtedly somehow or another I'm trying to study the word for knowledge rather than for life.

So I think about my own life and I know that that Solomon did a whole lot about under the setting sun, and so the idea of the shade, you know, I don't think we should miss it all that in that area you know to get out from underneath the sun is to keep from getting dark and that is we labor under the sun. This is the know that these are all things that we have a tendency to do even if were laboring when were studying the word of God, but I think about how Jesus was my shade. You know, in his own way he delivered me from the work that I used to do in order to get ahead that that work under the sun care you. You're just laboring to try to prove that your something or try to make your place in the world and you feel like you are somebody how are all that works. I certainly was in that my car business never felt like you just being a salesman was enough. I needed be a manager that I need to be a general manager than I need to be an owner and all those things were what I served right they were my God and and Jesus came in a meeting through process it didn't happen overnight. He he began this tree that would grow into this unbelievable shade and the more that I ate of the fruit of that tree, the more it built that idea that to get out me out from underneath the sun to wear when need family relieve me from you know of of pursuing all those things.

I pursued all those years and was able to sit in that delight of his shade and realize that we could just have this relationship and eat of the fruit of of that which he was giving me with my own family with my friends of all the communities that I have the delight to be with you know each of those has in it as seed for another apple tree, and another apple tree that can provide shade for the next person that needs it so desperately big help them get out of the sun just like the Sheila might woman had become dark because her mother's children were angry. Whether you know here's our opportunity as we you know eat of this particular fruit that has that seed if we share it and as we share with our communities. To me network were like Johnny Appleseed were spread in those trees will love her. I love the contrast and I'm good at you on this raffle for the rest of the day