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There must be repentance as deep and genuine as the transgression.<br />
Time must be redeemed.<br />
A search must be made for the face <strong>of</strong> God.<br />
All other matters in life must be set aside.<br />
Every means and every person must be used and appealed to in the process. King Jeroboam<br />
asked the man <strong>of</strong> God to pray for him and so must you and so must I (1 Kings 13:6).<br />
Praise and worship will move the heart <strong>of</strong> God and help restore spiritual fellowship.<br />
The Daughters <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem<br />
9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women?<br />
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?<br />
5:9 charge us. The Daughters <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem are left wondering how the Shulamite maiden came to<br />
need their help. Why has she allowed her communion with her lover to be interrupted? The same<br />
question can be asked spiritually. Why does the heart <strong>of</strong> the Christian allow sin to disrupt<br />
fellowship with the Lord? No answer for the “why” <strong>of</strong> sin is satisfactory. Because any sin is an<br />
irrational act it is almost impossible to give a rationale explanation for evil. Undergirding the<br />
mystery <strong>of</strong> sin is the will to power and the principle <strong>of</strong> personal pleasure. Despite the fact the<br />
pleasure does not last and there is shame and guilt on the other side <strong>of</strong> the moment the heart<br />
continues to do wrong and the horrible question is asked again, “Why?”<br />
The Shulamite Maiden<br />
10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.<br />
11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.<br />
12 His eyes are as the eyes <strong>of</strong> doves by the rivers <strong>of</strong> waters, washed with milk,<br />
and fitly set.<br />
13 His cheeks are as a bed <strong>of</strong> spices, as sweet [fragrant] flowers: his lips like<br />
lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.<br />
14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory<br />
overlaid with sapphires.<br />
5:14 beryl (ber'-il), refers to a precious stone, probably golden or yellow in color.<br />
15 His legs are as pillars <strong>of</strong> marble, set upon sockets <strong>of</strong> fine gold: his<br />
countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.<br />
5:15 Lebanon (le-ba'-na; white), refers to a mountain range <strong>of</strong> Syria. The area provided some <strong>of</strong><br />
the best building material which was supplied to Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine (1 Kings<br />
5:6, 9, 14; 2 Chron. 2:8).<br />
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