Matthew 24: 44 “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
In the Song of Solomon, Chapter 5, the Shulamite woman was not ready for the Beloved when His hand was on the latch of her door. Though she was intimate with Him, her spirit stirring at His very presence, her soul failed her as she did not want to be inconvenienced in having to get back up from bed. It is similar with the five foolish Virgins. All ten virgins in the parable had a level of relationship with Jesus Christ, yet only five were ready to meet their Bridegroom at His arrival. The other five allowed other things to take priority over their Beloved. When the call came for their Bridegrooms soon arrival, they found they had little oil left in their lamps.. They never made a point to cultivate their relationship with the Holy Spirit, and had never gone beyond receiving Jesus as not only their Savior, but also the Lord and King of their hearts. When the Bridegroom arrived, they cried for Him to open the door for them, but it remained shut. He never knew them., because they never allowed themselves to get to know HIM.
Getting back to the Shulamite woman in the Song of Solomon, there is a prophetic correlation between her experience and the disciples’ experience of sleeping in Gethsemane while Jesus was asking , “Could you not watch and pray with me for one hour?” At the end of verse 1, Chapter 5, we read: “Eat, oh friends, and drink; drink deeply, oh Lovers.” This verse seems prophetic of when Jesus broke the bread and offered His disciples wine in the upper room. “Take , eat- this is My body broken for you.” With the wine, He said, “Drink of it; all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” This intimate moment between Jesus, our Bridegroom and His disciples was truly a sacred event.. no doubt with tears of emotion shared between them as they shared that bread and wine.. in rememberance of Him, and His Sacrifice He was about to do for all mankind’s sake. Jesus, full of tenderness , could truly say with passion to His disciples, and all who sincerely take Holy Communion, “Eat, oh friends, and drink; drink deeply, Oh lovers!”
In verse 2 of Song of Solomon, the Shulamite woman continues: “I slept but My heart was awake. Hark! My Beloved is kneeling. “Open to Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My perfect one- for My head is wet with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.” Her Beloved had just endured the labor of spiritual battle against the Enemy. It was so intense that His hair was wet with perspiration .. from the events of the night. No doubt, He sought solace and encouragement from the one He loved, but she was too comfortable to get out of her bed to open the door for Him. When she finally made the effort, He had departed
In Gethsemane, Jesus , also, endured great spiritual attack from the forces of darkness, where His hair and body was drenched with His own perspiration.. as though drenched in blood. (and it is quite probable that His perspiration was also mixed with actual blood). “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” He cried to the Father after falling on His face in agonizing prayer. Scripture continues: “And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping and He said to Peter, “so could you not watch with Me for one hour?” “Watch and pray that you may not enter temptation. The spirit, indeed, is willing but the flesh is weak.”
Just as with the Shulamite in the Song of Solomon, Jesus’s closest disciples gave into their flesh and failed to be available when their Bridegroom needed them the most. Notice how the scripture is worded, “He Came” to the disciples. Just as the Beloved CAME to the Shulamite at an inconvenient time for her, our Lord often comes to us.. when we least expect or are ready for Him. There are many visitations Jesus gives us, before His Final Return on this Earth.
In verse 6 of Song of Solomon, we read: “I opened to My Beloved, but My Beloved had turn and gone. My soul failed Me when He spoke. I sought Him but found Him not. I called Him but He gave no answer.” In Matthew 26: 45-46, we are shown how Jesus was taken away from His disciples. Seized by the temple guards right after they awoke from their slumber. Ready to surrender Himself to His enemies, and knowing they were about to take Him, verse 45 reads: “Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” While His disciples were not ready or prepared , Jesus , Himself, was always alert and prepared for His Father’s will. Nothing caught Him off guard.. no matter how inconvenient the situation was. So abandoned is He to the Father’s will.
After Jesus surrendered Himself to the temple guards and was taken away, His disciples could then say with the Shulamite woman: “I opened to My Beloved, but My Beloved had turned and gone. My soul failed Me when He spoke.”… And after the three long days of hiding after Jesus was put to death by crucifixion and His body had “disappeared” from His tomb, they could also say, ” I sought Him but found Him not. I called Him, but He gave no answer.”
After Jesus’s resurrection, He came to them again.. behind locked doors., and there was much rejoicing. He, in His mercy, came to them, even though they had left Him alone at His most vulnerable moments before His death.
How ironic and typical our human nature is that we get so easily offended in God when it seems HE is being quiet, and unresponsive toward us, yet when HE knocks on the doors of our hearts, we have no problem ignoring Him. Recall the incident when Jesus was asleep on the disciples boat during a storm over the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was asleep, but His spirit was very much awake, and was aware of what was going on. In fear, the disciples awoke Him with a tone of resentment, “Master, do you care not that we perish!?”, they said. He calmly sat up in the boat, rebuked the sea and the waves, and asked them, “why are you still afraid. Do you still have no faith?”
I just now asked Jesus in prayer, if He would allow me to open up to something of His recorded words from “He and I” pertaining to this topic (since this is HIS blog).. and wow, here is what He had me open up to! :
“…In the very place where I want your love, beyond and above all things. Above all things- that is where I Am. Rise to meet Me. Always.”
Jesus- King in Exile 