Rabbi Schneider - The Bride and Bridegroom
Now we're going to pick up where we left off last week in verse number 4, of chapter 1, I do encourage you to get this entire teaching. You can get it through the contact information at the end of the broadcast today. I also highly encourage you to get your Bible out every week as we're going through the Song of Songs and get a notebook out; this study beloved can change your life forever, it changed mine.
Here we go. The bride has gotten a taste of the beauty of Jesus, she's been kissed with the kisses of his Word, he's made himself known to her, as a result her heart has opened up to him, she's praising him, she's telling him how beautifully he is, your name she said, is like purified oil, you're fragrance she said, is so beautiful to me in verse number 1, and through 3, there your oils have a pleasing fragrance. Your name is purified oil, therefore the maidens love you. She's had this encounter, she's realized how beautiful he is, and she's captivated by it, she's obsessed with it, she's lovesick over him, she's pursuing him passionately.
Now she continues on in verse 4. Draw me after you and let us run together. And then she says, the King has brought me into his chambers. This is where I left off last week; the first thing she says is draw me after, in other words, deliver me by your power from everything that's hindering love, draw me to yourself, I don't have the power to come alone. There's things in the way that are going to keep me from fully giving myself to you, there's things that I am hanging onto, there's things that I'm afraid to let go of, there's thing's that I'm addicted to, there's generational spirits operating in my mind and subconscious. Draw me after you that there might be nothing that would separate me from your love.
You see, Jesus taught this same thing in John 6, when he said: No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and so Father, we're going, beloved I'm talking to you first; we're going to turn this into a prayer dialogue. This is the way we're going through the Song of Songs together, so let's pray that.
Father, we thank you, Lord Jesus, we thank you that you draw your Church to yourself, we thank you that you're drawing me to you. And now we ask you to continue to draw us to yourself, draw us to you Jesus, draw us into oneness with you and into marital intimacy, because we have been called your bride and we're destined to sit with you at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Thank you Jesus, do it in this life we pray. Reveal yourself to us in this life; draw us to yourself right now, Amen.
And then she continues on and she says, let us run together. Now this has to do beloved, with her assignment on earth. That she interested in the experiencing him, she's interested in being with him, she's interested in partnering with him in intimate fellowship, but she's also interested beloved in running with him. And this has to do beloved, with partnering with Jesus in ministry.
See the Bible says that we are co-labors with Jesus on this earth. That we have been given the assignment beloved, as his church of winning the lost, of seeking the lost, of bringing deliverance to people, of preaching the Gospel, of being instruments of love, and healing, and peace, of being instruments of the Holy Spirit's presence on the earth. The Bible says we're the light of the world; we're involved in doing the works of Jesus and being his witnesses. And so she says draw me to you, but also she says I wanna run with you, I wanna do Jesus what you did on earth. Jesus said: he that believes in me, greater works than these shall he also do.
So we want to have that balance on our life. On the one end we want to be spending time alone with God, draw me to yourself God, we want to spend that time just sitting with him every day, listening to beautiful vertical worship music in every day, spending time just being silent before him every day, spending time reading his Word. Spending time listening to messages preached to the truth. Spending time in fellowship with people; we want to do those things that will draw us into deeper fellowship with Jesus. But we also beloved, want to run with him; we want to be involved in doing the works of the Gospel.
You see that's why we read about the High Priest of Ancient Israel: at the bottom of his robe he had a bell and then a pomegranate, a bell and then a pomegranate, a bell and then a pomegranate; it takes the Fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes to us as we're spending time with Jesus, being drawn to him. But then it also takes beloved, the works of Jesus, which is represented by the bell. You can hear the bell, you can see the bell.
I think of a story that just took place a few weeks back, I went to a restaurant with a Pastor friend of mine and he had been going there for some time. And he had developed a relationship with the waitress over the years, but he never got to the place where he told her about Jesus. She sensed there was something different about him. She sensed the love in him; she sensed the positive plus factor of God in him. When we walked in the restaurant, she actually gave him a hug. When she got to the table, she already knew what he was going to order, she just wrote down his usual.
So they had this beautiful relationship that came from the love of God. I had never met her before; when she got to me I'd spend a little time just talking with her briefly and then at the end of the meal when she came back towards the end, I pointed to my bracelet that I wear and this called a "What do you think of Jesus?" bracelet, it is, it says, W-D-Y-T-0-J, for more information you can order the series, What do you think of Jesus? But the Lord gave me this question prophetically in a dream, when he revealed to me in a dream that he wanted me to be asking the world the question and he wants you to be asking the world a question, those of you that are his children that are watching right now, the specific question, "'What do you think of Jesus?".
And so I said to the waitress at the end of the meal, I said, if you can guess what my bracelet means, I'll give you $5.00 additional for your tip. Well she couldn't do it, we had a good time and I told her what it meant, I said this is what it means. It means, what do you think of Jesus. I said the Lord told me prophetically in a dream that he wanted me to be asking people that question. And then I explained to her the point is this, that the Lord loves people individually and specifically, and purposely, purposely. I want, I wanna, I wanna ask you I said to her, what do you think of Jesus? And then she said well I'm going to think about it and I'm going to come back.
So then she came back, and as she came back she said, you know, you really asked me this at a good time. She says cause I've just started thinking about these types of things. She really didn't know who Jesus was, she thought he was just one of many, but I began to share with her who Jesus was. I began to bring her through the some of the great foundational truths of salvation and the good news of the Gospel. And then after I had taken about seven minutes or so, I said you know I don't want to, I realize you have other tables that you need to be waiting on here. She said no I really don't, I'm free right now. I mean she was so hungry, she was so ripe, she was so prepared and basically beloved, I believe that she was brought into the beginning of a salvation experience that day.
The point is, it took both the love that my friend had, that he had developed in his life from spending time alone with God and being with God, but it also took the verbal working of my mouth in specifically asking her what do you think of Jesus, for her to come to this salvation encounter, the beginning of her salvation experience I believe, God's drawn her in through that. The point is beloved, we share in the assignment of Jesus, so she said I want to run with you. So the running was that it was out there listening now, being a witness. Jesus said to his disciples at the end of the Gospel, he said: Now I want you to go wait in Jerusalem, in Yerushalayim, until the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And the Holy Spirit's going to be come upon you, and you'll be clothed with fire, and power, and you shall be my witnesses.
And so this is part of running with God. We're his witnesses now, as the Father sent me Jesus said again, so I also now send you. You see, I was running with Jesus when I said to this waitress, what do you think of Jesus? So if we're going to partner with Jesus, if we're going to know him intimately, we also need to be partnering with him beloved, in running the race of ministry on this earth, because Jesus beloved, has an assignment in this world; he came to the world to do the will of the Father and now that he's ascended to Heaven, he's given his Church the mission of carrying this on. So we want to be drawn to him, but also run with him in carrying on the assignment, Amen, of the Father.
So we'll read that again, then we'll continue on to the next verse. Are you with me beloved? The Lord, the Father loves you, Yeshua loves you, I just felt the Spirit of the Lord communicate that to you. Here we go again. Draw me after you and let us run together. And then she says this: the King has brought me into his chambers, draw me after you and let us run together and then she says, the King has brought me into his chambers. Now remember, this was a song of divine romance, this is the song of two lovers, this is a bridal chamber, and so she's talking about an intimate encounter. She is talking about, you know what: I've experienced the beauty of my Bridegroom King, I've experienced intimacy with him, I've experienced his joy and his love. And we spoke about this in some of the earlier broadcasts.
One of my favorite Scriptures is John chapter 14:21 and 23: Where Yeshua promises this to us, he said if you love me you'll keep my Word, and then he said, and then I'm going to come to you, listen now, and disclose myself, reveal myself, manifest myself, make myself known to you. I'm going to make you feel me, so if you love me he said you're going to obey me and then I'm going to come to you, and my Father is going to come to you and we're going to reveal ourselves to you. This is what she's speaking of here; the King has brought me into his chambers. When Jesus reveals himself to us, manifests himself to us, communicates himself to us like he tells us about in John 14: 21 and 23, this is a bridegroom chamber experience.
Aren't you thankful beloved, that God is going to reveal himself to you during the course of your life journey on this earth? It's true that now we just see through a glass dimly, but it doesn't mean we have to wait to go to Heaven to experience anything; no we've been given the Holy Spirit now according to the group of Ephesians as a pledge of our inheritance. Even now the Holy Spirit is revealing to us these bridal love experiences in Jesus. You see the Holy Spirit beloved, has been given to us to reveal unto us the beauty of God, the love of God, the mysteries of God, how the Father feels about us, the joy of unity with him.
So the Bible says that the Holy Spirit has been given to us and is revealing to us those things that have been given to us by God. In other words, that eye has not seen, and ear has not heard. Neither has it ever entered into the heart of man the things that are ours and the Bible says, and the Holy Spirit's been given to us that we might know these things. And so the Shulamite bride here, who's the shadow of you and me, a shadow of the Church, she's had some of these experiences. She said the King brought me into his chamber, and I want to encourage you to begin to pray to Jesus that he will continue to give you intimate bridegroom chamber experiences.
Some of you may feel like you've never had one. Others of you have had encounters with Jesus, but it's been a long time. It could be many different ways; maybe you just suddenly feel the presents of the Lord come over your life one day, maybe it lasts for a minute, maybe five minutes, maybe longer. Maybe you're reading the Bible and all of a sudden you just start to weep something's come over you. Maybe the Lord revealed himself to you in a dream, maybe he revealed his heart to you through another person it could be any number of ways, manifold ways, but the point is that Jesus makes himself known, he makes himself felt to us in a very real and intimate way and these are called bridegroom chamber experiences. Let's turn this into a prayer dialogue right now and ask the King Jesus, to reveal himself to us in chamber experiences that we might run after him. Because his love beloved revealed is what gives us the passion to seek him and destroy every obstacle in the way.
So King Jesus we praise you today, we thank you for everything you've already done; we thank you for wooing us, for drawing us. We thank you for bringing us to this place and to this encounter today. And we're asking you King Jesus, our Bridegroom, to reveal more of yourself to us. Even as the Shulamite bride Lord Jesus said here, the King has brought me into his chambers, I'm asking you Lord Jesus, we're asking you great Yeshua HaMashiach, our King and our Bridegroom God. We're asking you by your Spirit, by the Holy Spirit, to give us bridegroom chamber experiences, to give us fresh manna, we're praying Lord the way you taught us to pray give us this day, today our daily bread, make yourself known, make yourself felt, that we would repent of all sluggishness, from all slothfulness in seeking you; that we would discover in a brand new way that your name is more beautiful than purified oil, that you're a pleasing fragrance, that we would gain such a love and appreciation for you that we'd be able to run the race towards you forsaking everything else. It's in your name we pray, reveal yourself to us I pray King Jesus, Amen and Amen.
Let's continue on, the King has brought me into his chambers and then she says, we will rejoice and be glad. What's really interesting is this language here that she uses at the end of verse number 4: The King has brought me into his chambers and then she said, we will rejoice and be glad. This is the exact same language beloved that's used at the marriage supper of the Lamb, in Revelation chapter 19 verses number 7 and 9. Let's go there together; I just want you to see this. Remember I'm teaching that the Song of Songs is also, is a prophetic shadow of our marriage relationship to King Jesus; it's about the church's relationship to King Jesus as the Bride being presented to the Bridegroom. So she says once again: The King has brought me into his chambers and then she says, we will rejoice in you and be glad.
Now listen to Revelation chapter 19 verse 7: Hallelujah, for the Lord the Almighty God reigns. And then in verse number 7: let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him. Notice that, let us rejoice and be glad; this is same thing that the bride said in the Song of Songs. We will rejoice in you and be glad, Song of Songs, 1:4, now Revelation 19:7: Let us rejoice and be glad, and give the glory to him for the marriage of the Lamb has come. And then in verse number 9: Write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, these are the true words of God. So you, can you see now that the Song of Songs, it's all about the bridal paradigm? You know John the Baptist; he was the friend, John the Baptist revealed himself as the friend of the Bridegroom. He was referring to King Jesus as the Bridegroom; he said I am the friend of the Bridegroom.
And often times in the church today, we hear a lot of doctrine about the legal aspects of salvation, we hear about grace and faith, we hear about repentance, we hear about end times and all of these things are critical, but what we don't hear enough about beloved is the bridal paradigm. That ultimately where the plan of salvation is going is the marriage supper of the Lamb. And the Song of Songs beloved, is the revelation of this bridal love that the Father, that Jesus has for his people and that we have beloved, as his bride for him. Let's continue on. She says: We will extol your love more than wine, rightly do they love you.
Now the next verse is crucial, verse number 5, she says, I am black but lovely. She's been touched by the love of God, she's been touched by the love of Jesus, she's encountered him and when she encounters God in his light, she has a twofold revelation about herself. Look with me again, very, very critical verse, verse number 5. She says: I am black, but lovely; critical twofold revelation on, she's saying two things: she's saying number one, I'm black, meaning that there is sin in my heart. Of course in the natural sense, she was dark from being out in the fields all day, but we're looking at it from the prophetic sense, because remember, this was written by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit's purpose is to glorify Jesus.
So this is all about Jesus. This bride, this Shulamite bride is a prophetic shadow of the Church. I am black: this speaks of the fact that we have sin our life. The Bible says, he that says he has no sin is a liar and the truth is not in him. Jesus said let he that is without sin, cast the first stone. So we have sin in our life, we know that, it's not that we're, it's not that we're tolerating sin. No, we declared war on sin, but there's still sin that we're dealing with and once we come up to the next level, God puts more light in our lives so that we see even deeper levels of sin.
But she also said this; we'll talk about this more in next week's broadcast. But she also said this, she said, but I'm lovely. She realized she had sin; I'm black she said, but I'm lovely. You see God loves you beloved, and he loves me right where we're at. Right where you're at, right where I'm at; God loves us. You're black, you still have sin in your life, but you know what? You're in the process of repentance and you're lovely to God right now. He will never love you; he will never like you more that he does right now.
Father God, we want to thank you that although we're black, we're lovely to you. That you don't love us Father, just when we get perfect, but you love us right now. You love us while our faith is still maturing, while our obedience is still growing. Father we thank you for your love, in Jesus name and for Jesus fame.