Intimacy with GOD by Esher Shoshannah (e book reading free .txt) 📕

foundation is Christ (I Cor. 3:11). It is His redemption upon which we stand. What a joy it is for Him to see the silver of redemption a reality in our life: habits broken; deliverance from bondages; new attitudes and desires displayed. The order here is interesting, "gold" then "silver". The eternal, infinite, glorious God (gold) bought and redeemed us from our deadness to be His forever (silver)! 

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear Bridegroom of my heart, may You alone be seen in my life. Holy Spirit I submit to You and to Your sword of transforming power so that Jesus may increase and I may decrease (John 3:30). May the gold and silver of Your character shine through me! Take my life and continue to transform it, especially the thoughts of my mind. As I submit my life to You in light of Rom.12:1, make Rom. 12:2 and II Cor.3:17,18 real in me as only You can. When I am called to stand before You may there be plenty of gold, silver, and precious stones found in the gift of life You implanted in me. I love You and thank You for revealing so much already to my heart from this love letter to me. I am looking forward to great changes in me as You allow me to experience Your blessed heart! In Your honored name Lord Jesus, amen!"

 

The Bride responds:

V.12 "While the king sits at his table, my spikenard (perfume) sends forth the smell (fragrance) thereof."

The "table" represents fellowship and provision. Sitting implies a ceasing from all activities. If Jesus is your King in reality, then He will invite you to His table. Just you and Jesus together: talking, caring, and sharing. As you adore Him in spirit and through His Word, He, in turn, feeds your spirit with spiritual food from His Word that is too wonderful for description. You are so taken up with Him that a beautiful fragrance emanates from your innermost being. It is the presence of God on your life - the filling of the Holy Spirit.

The story about Mephibosheth and King David in II Sam. 9:1-13 is a beautiful example of what it means to eat at the King's table. We who are spiritual cripples and grovel in fear in our own strength (Mephibosheth) have been made to sit with King Jesus at His table! His food, His intimate fellowship strengthen us (John 12:3; II Cor. 2:15 and Eph. 5:2).

Let me strongly suggest for you to begin to practice the presence of God, with your Beloved. It is not difficult. Say with the Psalmist, "I will meditate also of all thy work...." (Psa. 77:12). "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." (Psa. 19:14). Read Phil. 4:8. Begin by planning a 5 minute time of silence. Make Psa. 16:8 a daily reality, "I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Look at a verse about your Lord. Just sit in His presence thinking about it. Savor it. Practice His presence in light of Prov. 3:6.

Take out a poem or a hymn and just reflect and ponder on the words - maybe just on one stanza only. Sit quietly and in the silence of your heart tell Him, "I love You with all of my heart!" Speak to Him as the Lover of your soul. When couples are in love, many times they sit in quietness, snuggled up close to each other. Why? They are savoring the enjoyment of each other's presence! Love Him with a "first love", love of silent quietness (Psa. 62:5-8).

 

"...sends forth the smell..."

We were never meant to only enjoy Jesus alone. He gives that others may see and know Him. When you are filled with Jesus the atmosphere around you will be filled with His fragrances. Can you imagine the glory of combined fragrances as we Mary’s of Bethany worship Him together? Heaven must be filled with a joyful aroma filled with the love of God!

Again, go to Mary of Bethany's home (John 12:1-7; Mark 14:1-9). Mary lavished all of her love upon the Lord by giving Him what was most prized by her, spikenard worth ten months wages, about $12,000 in modern value! She anointed His head and His feet. She wiped His feet with her hair, her glory. The fragrance filled the house. When you adore and worship your Bridegroom, that anointing fragrance will permeate the very place you live. No matter where Mary went that day, she carried the same fragrance Jesus now had. Psa. 23:6 tells us what fragrances will follow us as we anoint Jesus’ feet in loving submission to Him, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."!

This is the goal of the gospel, to become a Mary of Bethany. Read Mark 14:9. It was so, so important that the Lord said this act of Mary's must be mentioned every time the gospel is preached. Why? A true salvation experience is to lead the believer in an all consuming love for Jesus no matter what others may say. We are to give Him the spikenard of our will - that which is most costly to us.

It is very important to see the order in this verse. Before the "sending" there must be the "sitting"! "Sitting" implies rest, peace, fellowship, and trust. Do you give Him what He wants? O how He loves this! When you sit at His table you cannot help but be changed and the fragrance of His presence will go with you the rest of the day!

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Lord, I will continually make available to You my body, soul, spirit and my time. Actually Lord they have been given to me on loan from You. I place them at Your complete disposal. My will is Your will dear Bridegroom of my heart! Take it all, I want it no other way! I will make time to sit with You at Your table, to have time together in loving fellowship around Your Word, in Your most wonderful name, Lord Jesus. Amen!"

 

V.13 "A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he (actually "it") shall lie all night betwixt my breasts."

When her Beloved had to leave on a journey, He gave her the myrrh, a part of Himself, so that sweet perpetual thoughts of His "first love" love for her would be close to her heart until He returned! She kept it "between her breasts", so that the "myrrh" would be right next to her heart. She never wanted to forget the cost of the fragrance! She went to sleep enjoying the fragrance that spoke of Him; a constant reminder that "He loves me and I can hear His quiet voice even now speaking it to my heart". She would wake up in the middle of the night and smell that fragrance; a reminder that He will be back soon to hold her.

But why "myrrh", what’s so special about it? "Myrrh" is obtained by crushing (or piercing)! Read Isa. 53:5,10. Think about it, Jesus, your Bridegroom, was "crushed" (Heb. word for "bruised") for His bride's iniquities. "Myrrh" was used as part of the ceremonial purification of the women in the King's court (Esther 2:12).

Thus, it is symbolical of being set apart for your King (the meaning of sanctification, holiness). O to be set apart for Jesus so that your daily activities have true meaning (Col. 3:23,24). "Myrrh", also, was used as a beauty aid. Is that not the glorious work of the Holy Spirit in your life while you sojourn down here, to change you into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29; II Cor. 3:18; Gal. 2:20)? Why? So that He could enjoy looking at your heart, that new creation, reflecting His beauty in those intimate, private times with Him alone. God, who is all beautiful, imparts His eternal beauty to you. It is being all dressed up in Jesus (Gal.3:27). "Myrrh" was used by royalty as a perfume for their garments (Psa. 45:8) and we are royal priests (I Pet. 2:9)! Praise God, He not only makes us His bride but also a holy priest to offer up Spirit-filled sacrifices of love, joy, praise, adoration and worship to our Abba Father! It also was used to alleviate pain (Mk. 15:23). Glory to God, He took all your eternal pain due your soul, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows..." (Isa. 53:4). And He still carries our daily emotional and spiritual pain and sorrow even now (I Pet. 5:7; I Cor. 10:13; Heb. 4:14-16). Glory to God, the "myrrh" is complete for everything we need! How appropriate the Holy Spirit chooses "myrrh" (Col. 2:10). What is the secret of having the "myrrh" spiritually placed nearest our heart? Simply surrender each situation to Him. It’s all about surrender. When you surrender, the dear Holy Spirit places the bag of Jesus’ "myrrh" around your neck! He saw this happening to you while He was on the cross. This is the joy which was set before Him (Heb.12:2).

What about you dear believer, do you have a spiritual bundle of "myrrh" next to your heart? Jesus is physically away right now, but O to wake up in the middle of the night and realize, "He's coming soon to get me and take me home." You smell the wonderful fragrance as thankful thoughts from the Holy Spirit flood through your soul. A precious pouch of "myrrh" has been given to you to remind you that He will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5)! He still speaks softly to you through His powerful anointed Word! Just one verse in the middle of the night brings peace! Thoughts of thankfulness pass through your Spirit-filled mind such as: your Beloved's death for you; the pure heart He has given to you; the healing of painful memories and sicknesses; the beauty of peace He has brought into your life! Praise Your Holy name Lord Jesus!

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Holy Spirit, stir up the fragrance of His 'myrrh' over my heart so that I’ll always be faithful to keep my eyes on Him alone. Cause the voice of the 'myrrh' to speak to my heart! May all know Lord that You alone are the satisfaction of my life. Lord, the night is almost over. I anxiously await Your coming! In Jesus' name, amen."

  

V.14 "My beloved is unto me as a cluster of Camphire (henna blossoms) in the vineyards of Engedi."

Henna was a plant that grew to a height of seven to ten feet and was very valuable in the making of an orange-red dye. It produced beautiful white fragrant flowers which the ladies loved to wear and to use in decorating their homes. This same Hebrew word also has the meaning, "the price of a life or ransom". What a cost for us to be resurrected in spirit and soul! We were ugly, dead weeds owned by another! Then our Beloved paid the price and planted us in His garden where He, the water of life and the nutrients of His living Word, turned our life from a barren wilderness into a resurrected garden.

Flowers speak of new life, beauty, testimony, resurrection. It is interesting that Jesus prayed in a garden (Mt. 26:36); was crucified in a garden, was buried and rose in a garden (John 19:41) so that our heart would become His garden. What kind of garden will it become? The Holy Spirit will reveal all the glorious details to you in 4:12-15; 5:1!

Praise God, Jesus is the "henna blossoms" of your heart! You, who loved darkness, now have been transformed into His lovely bride! Hallelujah! The "myrrh" in v. 13 was hidden, representing that intimate private devotional life you have with the Beloved. The henna flowers were