DAILY REMINDER – Today, July 27’s Bible reading is Solomon 1-8.
NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, July 28’s Bible reading is Isaiah 1-4.
May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.
Solomon Introduction The book of Solomon, also known as the Songs
of Solomon, is about King Solomon and the love shared between him and his bride.
The first verse seems to introduce him as the author of the book, although some
scholars debate its authorship. The style in which it was written seems to
imply that there was just one author. The date of this book would be around the
tenth century B.C. if Solomon is indeed the author. The Songs of Solomon is
much different than the other books of the Bible and it centers on love and
intimacy. It speaks about the relationship between a husband and wife, but can
serve as a symbolism of Christ’s relationship between He and His bride. The
love that God has for His people is a love that is unyielding, and He always
has thoughts of love for His children symbolic of what the husband’s feelings
are in this book for His wife.
SOLOMON MOMENT – (27JUL19) “Do not stare at me because I
am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I had to neglect” (Solomon
1:6). As a child, I grew up having a very poor image of myself. I did
not feel that I was pretty enough, good enough, smart enough, or liked enough.
I was often called ugly by the kids at school and was teased because I did not
have the latest clothes and shoes. I had a gap between my teeth, a dark spot on
my chin from Impetigo, chubbier than most in my class, and very course short-medium
length hair, which made me feel like the Crypt-Keeper. The teasing that I
experienced was not something that occurred every once in a while, but it was
almost daily during my elementary and middle school years. I had to be strong,
however, because to show any sign of weakness or emotion was the recipe for disaster,
which would have made matters worse. Kids can be very cruel and their joking
emotionally destabilizing. Therefore, I learned to keep my feelings bottled up.
From elementary to high school my self-esteem was on the train tracks where it
was run through over and over again. On top of that, I did not know where I
truly fit in once I was in my teens because I was in the stage of awkwardness
and also trying to find out who I was. It took a long time for me to finally
figure that one out.
The woman in Solomon seemingly had to deal with the issue of her darkness
as it related to being the object of ridicule and scorn in her family. Yet, she
somehow managed to prevent what others thought of her to prevent her from being
positive about herself. She thought of herselfe as being beautiful and a
wonderful attraction. She said this concerning herself, “Dark am I, yet
lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent
curtains of Solomon” (Solomon 1:5). How was she able to have a high
self-esteem regardless of what others thought of her?
Many people struggle with that very question. They have had people to verbally
and emotionally abuse them by telling them what they weren’t, what they were
not going to achieve, what they lacked, and how much of a failure they were. Unfortunately,
this has led to countless people walking around with the unwarranted opinions
of others camping out in their head rent-free. But how do we rid ourselves of
these invasive thoughts and begin to feel good about ourselves? The answer is
in knowing, understanding, and believing what God says about you instead of the
nay-sayers. The Bible says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalms
139:14). The Psalmist wrote that he knew that he was made wonderful
because God was the One who made him. Because we were made in the image of our
Creator, we can know that He does not make mistakes.
Many of us have made the mistake of allowing others to validate us. We
wait for the praise, acceptance, compliments, and approval of others, while we
ignore the One who has already given us His approval. The Bible says, “Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
When we take on the mind of Christ, we will know that God loves us with an
everlasting love and He is the One who gives the ultimate approval, validation,
acceptance, and most importantly LOVE. In this same chapter, we see that Jesus
did not exalt himself, but humbled himself so that the Father would exalt Him.
This is why every knee will bow and confess that He is Lord. Man is often
finicky with their acceptance of others, but God accepts us with open arms, and
for those who are His, there is no type of rejection by Him. Something to
ponder….
QUESTION OF THE DAY - (27JUL19)
“Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love”
(Solomon 2:4). Are you excited to one day go to the wedding feast of
the Lamb? The woman in Solomon was looking forward to this banquet that she
would be led to because she knew that it was one of happiness and love. We live
in a world that can be quite unsettling at times. We hear stories about death,
accidents, hatred, fear, and poverty on any given day. There is so much taking
place around the world and our nation that it can make a person have anxiety
just to turn on the evening news. Yet, for those who are believers in Christ,
we have something to look forward to. One day, all of this will be over, and we
will attend the banquet supper of the Lamb. Jesus rose the banner of love over
us when He died on the cross for our sins. The Bible says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for
his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus paid the ultimate
price for us by giving his life and yet, though many reject him, He would do it
all over again to save just one soul. Jesus is offering everyone the most
precious gift that He could give. That gift is one of Salvation. Why is that?
Because His banner over us is Love. Love is the standard that He has raised for
us as well as what He gave to us. Therefore, we are to share love and the Good
News with others, so that they too may come to the wedding feast and be forever
with Him. Something to ponder….
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