Rabbi’s Reflections – Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Shalom *|FNAME|*,

Hello my faithful RR readers.  Anybody got a word of encouragement or endorsement from last night’s first teaching from SoS?  Just “reply” to this email.  I would like to put some endorsements on the website.  As we said yesterday in the RR and last night during the teaching time, I will be writing in detail on 5 topics each week that need more comment from the teaching on the Sunday night before.  There is a great deal of freedom here, so if you have questions from last Sunday night’s teaching, you can email those too, and I’ll respond to them in the RR.

Today, I’m writing on this… Song of Songs 1:4a Draw me after you.

Whenever we begin to study the Word we have to ask some question to gain context.  Who is speaking to whom?  What are the circumstances at the time?  Who is the author’s intended audience?  And there is plenty more.  Let’s start with this…

So far, there is “me” and “you” in this verse.  Draw “me” (the Shulamite) after “you” (the Beloved).  She is asking Him to draw her.  The Hebrew word “achare” means “after” as in following or afterward.  The picture is one of us asking our Beloved Lord to draw us into following Him.

The Hebrew word for “draw” is even more interesting.  “Mashkeni” is the form of Mashach (Mem-Shin-Kaf).  It certainly means “draw” but the amplified version of the word would be this… “Pull me with attraction.  Rein me in as a leader, and do this continually for the duration.”

Remember that we identify with the Shulamite in this love story.  She is from “Shulam” which is a place of Shalom.  She is attracted to her beloved as we are attracted to the Lord, Himself.  We want Him to draw us with continual attraction and lead us… where?  

We are drawn into the King’s chambers.  This is His Father’s room, His place of intimacy.  And we will run and be glad (nagilah) into His presence.  The Tabernacle in the wilderness had a name in Hebrew.  That name is Mishkan.  It is the place of His presence; the place of His Shekinah glory.  These words are all connected etymologically (Mem-Shin-Kaf).  It is the place where we are drawn after our Beloved.  Run into His arms with joy! 

The things of this world want to draw us out of His presence and away from His arms.  The things of this world have an attraction that is dark and dividing, and it’s not good.  What is drawing you?  2 Peter 3:14 Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him. 

Week 34
Memory Verse: Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

166   8/17      Monday:      John 6 

* 167 8/18      Tuesday:      Matthew 19:16-30
168   8/19      Wednesday: Luke 15-16

169   8/20      Thursday:     Luke 17:11-37;18

170   8/21      Friday:       Mark 10

Question of the day:  Peter is speaking of following the Lord, so we’ll let him ask the question of the day… Matthew 19:27 Then Peter said to Him, “Look, we’ve left everything to follow You! So what will we have?”

And Yeshua is quick to answer: Matthew 19:28 And Yeshua said to them, “Amen, I tell you, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne in the new world, you who have followed Me shall also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

I really can’t improve on Yeshua’s answer.  But I am hearing a song in my ears… “I surrender all…”  Let’s all surrender all.