Song of Solomon 1:5, “I am dark but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tense of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon.
Rom.7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
I want to look at this verse a little deeper starting today, and it may take us a few days to finish. What we have said so far, is that even though there is darkness in us, He still loves us. That is a glorious truth, that gives us security and hope in the journey towards lovesickness and Christ likeness. But there is more in verse five that I want us to see, and it is very foundational for our journey. Quoting the whole verse, “I am dark like the tents of Kedar, and I am lovely like the curtains of Solomon.” The tents of Kedar are the tents of a nomadic tribe that could be seen along the hillsides of Palestine. They were always dark in color because dark goat skins were used. These tents of Kedar speak to us of the Outer Man, the Flesh. The curtains of Solomon were the curtains of the Holy Place. They are interior curtains, as opposed to the outer material that made up the tents of Kedar. Solomons curtains speak of the Inner Man, the New Self, the New Creation, the new heart.When you became a Christian God made you a New Self, and gave you a New Heart. 2 Corinthians 5:17, says that we are New Creations. Colossians 3:9 – 10 says that we have laid aside the Old Man and that we have put on the New Self. Romans 6 says that we have been raised up to newness of life. Ezekiel 36:26 says that He has given us a new heart, and has put a new spirit within us. This is a description of the new covenant person. In our Inner Man we are new creations, and have been given a new heart that longs for the things of God. Our struggle is with our Outer Man, that is our flesh, which is not our truest self. I hear Christians all the time quote from the Old Testament that our heart is evil and deceitfully wicked. The problem with that, is that this is a statement about our unregenerate self. If God gave you a new heart, He wouldn’t give you one that’s evil and deceitfully wicked would He. That makes no sense at all. It’s important, that you know, even in your struggling, that those longings in your inner man to be pleasing to God are recognized by God as your true New Self. He affirms our longings for holiness as our true identity. Again, the achings within us for Christ likeness, God recognizes as the sounds of our New Self and new heart. It is the true you. It is true that there is an evil principle in our flesh. The Scripture calls it the law of sin, but that’s not who you are in your Inner Man. Listen to what I’m about to say. It will change your life and fill you with hope. In every true believer there is a desire to do the will of God. When you were born again you were given a new set of holy inclinations. Someone called this a divinely implanted disposition that always delights in doing God’s will. Yes, your flesh is dark, and can never be trusted, but you do have a new heart that is part of a New Self, which is the true you, the deepest and real you, that longs and loves to please God, and was built for fellowship with him. Behind the struggle, YOU ARE A LOVER OF GOD that is waiting to be affirmed and released.