“Draw me! We will run after you!” 4th week: Song of songs 1:4

Picking up where we left off, we have seen how the girl treasures and delights in her shepherd, but today we see how she longs to be drawn closer to her shepherd.

That the love he has given her makes her feel special.

“Draw me! We will run after you! The king brings me into his apartments! We be glad and rejoice in you! We will recall [when we were favored with] your love, more fragrant then wine.  The upright [are not offended by you choice, but sincerely] love you.” AMP

  What a wonderful, passionate request.  How many people have said these words to God and meant it?  Do you desire God to draw you to Himself?  Or do you, as many act, only want Him near in hard times when you “really” need Him?

  Don’t misunderstand me, we should ask for and require His help in hard times, but when the girl says this, she gives no indication that she is in a hard situation.  She recognizes that we all desperately need God in the good, the bad, and in everything we do.

         

“Draw me!”… an action.

   The girl doesn’t want the love that she feels towards her shepherd to stand still.  In fact, quite the opposite.  She wants Him to draw her to Himself more.

  Notice in this verse there is cause and effect.  The “Draw me” part is the cause, and the “We will run after you!” is the effect. 

It always starts with God first- “Draw me! We will run after you!”

  

  We always react to what God does.  When God draws us,  we respond by desiring or pursuing Him more.  I find this increasingly true the more years I live.

The more I learn of God = the more I long to learn more.

The more I experience Him = the more I want to experience.

The more I pursue Him = the more I find Him worthy of my desire.

The more I long to be drawn to Him = the more I desire Him.

 Because God is desirable and He longs for you to be favored by Him

“The king brings me into His apartments.” AMP or “The king hath brought me into his inner chambers” YLT

 

  Let us picture for a moment a rooms in a rich castle; perhaps something similar to one out of the Arabian Nights or King Arthur.   You are a poor girl in the local village that happens to be looked upon with favor by the king.  He spots you in a crowd and he finds you attractive and desirable.  Because of this, he orders his men to take you into his castle, straight to one of his most private rooms: the room we just mentioned.

Upon looking around and being in the midst of all the splendor of such a room, what would you think of yourself and your situation?  I am sure you would at first feel a wonder at what you beheld; looking at the beauty of the rooms before you.  Then you would probably feel humbled, because you were unworthy of such honor.  When the king finally enters, you would probably say, "my lord, I am a simple peasant woman.  I do not deserve your kindness nor such honor."

  But instead of agreeing, the king states that he is pleased with you and because of that, you deserve such honor.  His kindness begins to grow a love in your heart for the king because you owe him so much for giving you love and honor that you don't deserve.

That is how Jesus is to us.

 

  We are not worthy to be brought into Gods wings of protection, yet He has revealed himself to us and favored the least favorable.  The only worth we have is that we have been looked upon with love by our King.

  Because of all He has done for us, love should naturally grow in our hearts, along with a desire to praise His holy name-“We will be glad and rejoice in you”

“We will recall [when we were favored with] your love, more fragrant then wine.”  

 

  Notice the tumbling movement: Revelation = reaction = humility = responding in a praise filled, thankful, meditative heart.   

  God wants us never to forget what He has done and we should never forget what we truly are and have been given through Jesus' blood.  By recalling what God has done, our desire and love towards Him increases.  When we recall what He has done, then we glorify Him in all that we recall-“We will extol your love more than wine.” NISB  

         

“The upright [are not offended by your choice, but sincerely] love you.”  

 

  Do you remember what Jesus said? "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants."

 
  Through the wonderful things God has done in our lives, the upright see (those who are saved by Jesus Christ) that the Father is wise in His choice, because He is glorified through revealing Himself to us: the lowest of the low.  They see this as a choice of God: to draw us, bring us into His inner apartments, and to shower love upon us.  This choice is not only good for us, but glorifies God immensely.

  Throughout Gods word His overarching desire is to glorify Himself because God is worthy of being glorified.  That is one of the many reasons why sin separates us from God.  When we sinned, we dishonored God and basically said, "We want to glorified as much as You are."

   Adam and Eve ate the fruit because they wanted to be like God; they wanted the glory that only God deserves.

  Idols also takes away the glory and honor that belongs to God and gives it to something that we, in reality, created with our own hands or hearts.  Idols do the exact opposite of what this verse talks about.  They draw us away from God, they create a false sense of happiness, and they encourage pride instead of humility.  Don't let idols get in the way of you being drawn closer to God.

  Through Jesus, we are made pure, perfect, and worthy to glorify God once more.  Jesus took the wrath of God for us and perfectly glorified God through His death.  He made it possible for us to truly say, "Draw me! We will run after you!"

May we desire Him with all of our hearts and know that we are special to Him!

How about you? Do you have any idols in your life that are keeping you away from drawing near to God?  Those idols don't just come in wood anymore. Maybe it's a certain behavior like pride or self reliance that is getting in the way.  Maybe it is an activity like video games or TV that is distracting you or creating the wrong attitude in your heart.

God is worthy of all the attention we can give Him... remember the kings apartments? Jesus longs to love you with all that He is.  We need to remember that we are special because He loves us. Not that He loves us because we are special.

 

Also, be sure to comment below any questions, comments, or concerns you might have.  

I would love to hear from you.

 

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