Song of Solomon 6:2 The Garden of Communion (Church)

This is good Truth Network treasures of the song of songs, which is so how long we get to go down into the spices today. This is the bet verse of the sixth chapter of the second verse of the six chapter of the song of Solomon and is often is the case that letter bet has to do with understanding, but also with very much with our identity. And so it's really cool that in this tickler versus you recalled to go back in the story. What happened was, you know, the daughters of Jerusalem, the just ask you know where we can find your beloved, and in spite of the fact that she went about the city and always different places looking for them. She now recalls where he said he would be as you remember the very beginning of the fifth chapter which the six chapters very much an extension of the fifth chapter he told her where he was going to be right have come into my garden right and so here and I've gathered my murder with my fries and all that. It's all right back here so she goes and realizes oh my goodness he's been in my heart the whole time in his own way.

It's absolutely beautiful, celebrated in English it says my beloved is gone down into his garden to the beds of spices and feed in the gardens and to gather lilies and so here you have a beautiful amazing understanding of the church okay because this is not only your hard, but it is also the church to a great extent, and so were getting three different aspects of what our heart should be what the church should be and so you you can help it put this together that best this is what the garden was originally supposed to be what God had in mind right was communion. That's all.

That's exactly what the church is supposed to be communion and is exactly what the garden is supposed to be and is exactly what our heart is supposed to be in all three cases and so when we get that we get it in three different beautiful different places. The first one is in the beds and don't miss that in the beds is remember to hold his bed. Bed is brought out throughout this entire book and it is so much a place of communion of deep intimacy of a place where fruit can become about right and so here we have beds of spices and an idea of spices.

I really doubt dug deep into that.

This morning as I never have before.

I thought about you know what are the spices in the first spices used in almost anything that you would make is salt and certainly was used in all the offerings and is very, very much a big part of the culture and it's a huge insight I feel into what Jesus is doing and what is looking for in his church, and which by the way that both Matthew Henry and Rossi both agreed on course. Rossi said this is this this is the temple, but you know and obviously Matthew Henry referred to it as the church and I think it's all the above clearly and is also our heart. But when it comes to spices. The first one is salt and when you think about salt.

Obviously, Jesus talked about it a lot, but it really is a picture in so many different ways of hospitality people would share salt and neighbors would eat salt together and it was certainly part of all the offerings right there.

There they were salted with salt and you know when you think about that.

It's fascinating to know when you look at the word salt is very much a kingdom word. In fact, it starts with MM and alarm in which every domain to confuse anybody by the Hebrew but when on what those two letters when you hear the word Malik, which means King when you put when you put a member and alarm and together you get this idea of a royal thing and salt is certainly a royal thing. So why was lots wife turned into a pillar of it and what what's up with the Dead Sea.

Why is it you know, because it seems like you know there's something going on there so I I studied this a lot this morning and and like what is behind that and saw that there is in the midrash and and again this is not in the Scriptures, so to speak, but I think it's good information and some to ponder that Sodom was known for its in the hospital in the hospitality were Abraham was known for his hospitality and when you think about the story of Lot and the Angels that they came in and obviously the people Sodom were very inhospitable to them, but Lot was trying to be hospitable to them like he learned from his uncle, Abraham was known to be the most hospitable person and what of what a picture of the father that he would be, but he would always open his tent others and and interestingly, in one of the spices that were that was mentioned here is the root of the word tent okay but anyway, getting back to the story of of lots wife. So as Lot as Sodom was known as a place of great in-house bullet in the house totality, you can't help but note that is interesting that in the midrash lots wife was a sodomite according to what they said. The legend in our lab you want to put that and that she despised her husband, hospitality one of the big ideas here is that, obviously, salt is a picture of hospitality so he took what little salt she had in her and made her into a pillar like an image of the here's the problem with Sodom. Here's the problem with lots wife is when she looked back on Sodom and how they treated others horribly.

You know this is a picture of they needed to be salted cake. They were rotten and so they are made there made sure with hospitality and in the what a neat thing to think of the church is having salt is as developing a taste right is is making people want more of this taste of the word of God and and so you know what a neat thing when you think about the first price being salt that the other spices that are mentioned, you knowing that when they talk about in the fourth chapter where he goes in the calamus and cinnamon and and and campfire will if you listen all three of those. They all start with a C and the reason is is that they they have that letter Cliff in an and in the original language. I find it fascinating that all three feature that letter Cliff which has to do with being close in, in proximity to one another, which has everything to do with the church and has everything to do with. By the way we've been doing this to think about statutes, which is a hat and a cough. And so when we take that cough and this idea of proximity and closeness and it is the first letter in all three of those spices. I don't think that's a coincidence because the idea of the church is where two or more gathered right. I mean, it is communion and where people come together and in both cinnamon and calamus.

The second letter is a none which has to do with faith. And so you know you have this idea of communing in faith that is very much a bed of spices. I mean how beautiful is that the think about what our churches need to be in our hearts need to be a bed of hospitality and spices in a place of communing with both God and others. And that's very much a statute I mean you can help it see it so moving on to the second thing that's mentioned so he came into the beds of spices and then to feed and the gardens were that word feed is exact same word as to shepherd in the gardens and so when you think about him shepherding in the gardens.

You can't help but think of the 23rd Psalm right and where Jesus is there. Once again, to lead his sheep tend to you know all that is talked about in the first chapter 2nd chapter. In other words, we know that that he is all about being the good Shepherd and ends and feeding us and making us lay down in green pastures and all those and then I'd love of love. The last one when it says he gathers lilies well to gather is to be chosen right and to be picked like you know been in the PICC line and and to be picked and picked as a worshiper because that word Lily is a shin, and of of Anna Chin and and and and and those letters when you put them together. That's worship okay and when you look at the Lily. You can certainly see is worshiping and so here is his idea person choose to translate that word rose but whether it's a rosary Lily it still says the same thing.

It's a flower that is saying I want to be pollinated out a flower is meant there to be good to produce fruit. I mean that's what it's for.

But it's also showing how much it is all open to communion right is what is wanting it's wanting communion from the only one that can make us fruitful and apart from us. We can apart from him.

We can do nothing, but in the way that we do that is through worship and so you and you see this place of deep communing and shepherding and worship and and again you get this picture of where Jesus where you can find them and you can find them in church and you can find them in community and you can find them in your heart and this is where she tells you know, the daughters of Jerusalem that we can find our beloved.

So how about you, you know you know what is that look like well II I'm so delighted to have so many different wonderful communities. I mean I have a band of Brothers is just off the hook. Wonderful.

And as you may know, you know, I spent the week fishing with that band of brothers. I came back and then in our neighborhood. We also have a Bible study and we watch this video this week, actually on Sunday amongst a group of believers, and as I listen to them, you know, just talking about their love life with Jesus. I mean, it was just amazing. Each of their prayer lives in all these different there that there no 456 couples at times that we just share life together and and it's just it's a sense when you're there of deep communion like they really care about my family and I really care about their family and and we've lived life together for some time in the same neighborhood. I mean is pretty neat debate within the same neighborhood. Obviously, we share salt and by the way, we all brought dessert which featured salt and all sorts of spices, calamus and cinnamon and saffron anyway. You know it's a very, very neat thing that when you sit down with your neighbors. You break bread with your neighbors, especially in a Bible study or something that comes under the heading of Jesus and you pray together all my goodness I mean is like a picture of heaven. I hope you have that in your life.

Many times this week and I hope you spend time thinking about the garden where we know Jesus is right, he's in the beds of spices. He's shepherding and we know that is gathering lilies the year's first pick.

When you worship.

Thanks for this