Longing To Be With Jesus

Perhaps no scripture shares the sentiments of “longing” to be with someone more than the Song of Songs that was Solomon’s.  I have taught this song many times over the last 10 years, and I love what the song sings to us.  I believe the song tells a story of a young woman who is one of the many who have been taken into the house of virgins in the palace of King Solomon.  The King notices her above the others and offers her the “world” and all the glories it holds.  I believe this song then tells the story of this young woman who longs to return to the shepherd and the shelter, stability, and protection he has provided her in her former days.  You see, she knows the shepherd who the others in the palace do not know.  And her knowing him drives an undeterred longing to return to him, to dwell with him, and to be forever with him.  That is what love does; it produces a longing.

My belief is that this song is included in scripture (and still read each Passover in Jewish Synagogues) because it describes the devotion and longing we must have for our own God, and in our case our Shepherd and Lord Jesus.  When the world is presented to us in so many ways, we must know the one who loves us with complete devotion, faithfulness, and mercy, and we must draw ourselves closer to Him in times of temptation and trials and in the face of offers made by our world.  

Throughout the song, we see the sentiments of this young woman.  In Chapter 2, we begin to see her assessment of his character.  Her perception of this shepherd is that he “Leaps on mountains, skips on hills, makes flowers appear, has the voice of a turtle dove,” and “hides [her] in the cliff and clefts of the rock.”  How do we see our Shepherd, I wonder?  You would certainly long for the One who turns a night-to-day, brings beauty after sadness, and has the power to skip upon the hills and leap upon the mountains.  We deeply love the One who can hide us in the cleft of the rock when the storms of life come, and we search for Him in times of trouble. 

She has several dreams that quickly turn into nightmares for her when she believes that she has lost her shepherd, and he is gone from her life forever.  

In Song of Solomon 3:1-3, the young Shulamite tells us of a dream that reflects her determination to find him:

“By night on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
‘I will rise now,’ I said,
‘And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.’
I sought him, but I did not find him.
The watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said, ‘Have you seen the one I love?’”

This young woman risks everything, and with courage and strength that is driven by the love of her wonderful shepherd, she will search in the dangerous and dark night to find the one she loves.  She will ignore the dangers, forget the comforts of her home, expend all her energy and resources to explore the dark streets of the eastern city to find her shepherd.  After all, what would she do without him?  She longed to be with him. 

Through the years I have heard a lot of conversations about how hard it is to attend mid-week Bible studies, to attend Gospel Meetings every night, to have a life of prayer, to serve others when we have jobs, and children, and obligations.  I think of the sentiments of the young Shulamite woman and consider how much energy and time, how many personal resources, we expend with determination for those we love.  When we lived in the Washington DC area, I heard a lot about how hard it is to drive in busy traffic in the city to attend a mid-week assembly of the saints, get to home studies, visit others, etc.  I remember asking the young women -  if you “fell in love” with a handsome young man on the other side of the city, and he asked you to drive around the beltway three times to see him on a Thursday night, would you gladly get in your car and start driving?  Isn’t that what we do when we long to be in the presence of another?  Do we long to be with our Lord?  Do we long to hear from Him?  Do we long to be with His fellow heirs?  Do we long to petition through Him? Do we long to serve Him? 

And when we do not have time for Him, when He knocks and we do not answer, when He calls and we ignore, what then of our longing?  In Chapter 5 of our Song of Solomon, the young Shulamite tells of another dream that quickly becomes a nightmare.  She is comfortable at home, she has bathed her feet, she is dressed for bed, the chores are done – it is “me time” – when her shepherd comes and knocks on her door:  

“I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
‘Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night’”   (5:2).

And she immediately begins to make excuses about why it is not convenient for her to open the door.

“I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I defile them?” (5:3).

She says “No, you have come at a bad time, it is not convenient for me, I had not planned on you needing me tonight, I am not ready to serve you right now.  Where was her longing now?

When she finally decides to open the door, she has lost him. He does not beg; he does not demand; he does not make us answer.  

“ I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone” (5:6).

And so, it is with our Lord and Savior, our Shepherd.  He tells the lukewarm church in Laodicea to be warned; He reminds them of a love that has lost its longing.  As we know, this church is in danger of completely losing their relationship with our Lord.

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne”  (Revelation 3:20-21).

We must love our Shepherd in a way that draws the constant longing which never forgets, never gives up, and is never derailed.  When we love - that love drives our motivations, our activity, and our dedication.  Our love and our longings direct our days, our thoughts, our dreams, and our refusal to be deterred.  

But, in a final warning we must remember that our love can change, and our longings can be compromised.  Taking our minds back to our song, we remind ourselves of the young Shulamite who never allowed her mind to wander far from the fields at home.  She never allowed herself to be too distracted by the wealth, popularity, and charm of a King.  Each smell, each sound, each conversation, each trial, each temptation, each event only took her mind back to the peace and stability of her time spent with her Shepherd.  We must long to see our Shepherd as a young bride longs to see her groom, we must long to hear His voice in our daily studies, we must beg “Lord, come quickly,” we must long to serve Him and all who belong in His household, and we must long to speak to Him, praise Him, and petition Him each day.  

For one day, one sweet day, just as our Shulamite is received by her bridegroom – so we will be also.  There will be no more separation, no more sorrow, no more temptation, no more loss, no more uncertainty, for we will be with the one we love and long for.

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).