“By night on my bed I sought Him whom my soul loveth: I sought Him, but I found Him not.” (Song of Solomon 3:1)
Solomon wrote Song of Solomon. It’s poetic and is included in the Bible because of its portrayal of the love God intended in a marriage and because it symbolizes the marriage between the church and Jesus and our relationship with the Lord.
In this Scripture, the wife awakes to discover she is alone and that her husband is not with her. In the following verses she searches for him and finds him and clings to him. It’s unthinkable that our Lord would depart from us for some transgression. But, in our inclination toward the world and the flesh, we may lose that close relationship with the Lord. Like the Shulamite, we might wake up some day and realize that His Presence is not with us because we have chosen to do what we want to do, because we have placed ourselves on the throne that belongs to Jesus alone and because we have disobeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Like the Shulamite we might, panic stricken, search for Him and not find Him where we search. “I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.” (Song of Solomon 3:2) This is not an argument against or for once saved always saved. This is about how our flesh and worldly ways separate us from our love of Christ. We will be panic stricken like the Shulamite because only with our Lord do we know true peace. Only with our Lord is our soul satisfied. Only with our Lord do we know the way because He is our light, and He is the Way. “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:13-17)
Paul in his letter to the Ephesians writes “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead...” Arise from dead works, from your dead ways and dead companions. Awake and realize you have made yourself king and you are walking with companions who are sinful. The very thought of it is dreadful. But so many children of God have chosen to place themselves as rulers of their own lives and follow those who are in darkness. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians these wayward brethren are saved. Paul writes, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” (Ephesians 5:8) Paul urges them to awake and separate themselves from those who are sinful and in darkness.
How do we find our way back? Paul tells us. “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” (Ephesians 5:14) The Holy Spirit has not departed. Come to your senses and take a stand in righteousness. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,” (Ephesians 5:15) Get smart and do right. “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16) Use your time wisely. My suggestion would be in repentance and seeking the Lord’s face. “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17) Seek the Lord’s Will and to do it.
Soon after the Shulamite finds Him. “It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go...” (Song of Solomon 3:4) He wasn’t far. And He is never far from us because we are His. He promised He would not abandon us. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) The wayward brethren have to but repent and He is there, ready to take His place as King.
Our merciful and glorious Lord never forsook His promise to the Jews. Much is yet to be fulfilled and will be fulfilled at the end of time. “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” (Genesis 28:15) And He will not abandon His children of the New Covenant neither. He has made a promise to complete His work in us. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrew 12:2) Jesus will complete the work He began in us.
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