Song 1:5 ¶ “I am black but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
Song 2:14 ¶ “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your form,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your form is lovely.”
The word “lovely in verse 5, and 2:14 is the same Hebrew word. It means “to be fitting, to be a right fit, something comfortable and inviting.” It carries the idea of “Home.” God created you and me to be a Dwelling Place for Him. Ps.132:4-5, “I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Jesus came to restore things to their rightful place, and your rightful place is to be a temple not made with hands, where He can dwell. “Do you not know that you are a Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you.” 1Cor.3:16. “…in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God.” Eph. 2:22.
You were fashioned to be a Lovesick Dwelling Palce, where the Presence of Jesus can abide and be on full display. When the Devil comes and speaks of your failures as if they identify who you are as a person, you have to Stand Firm in agreement with God, that even though you failed, and that your flesh has darkness, the truth is that you are God’s Abiding Place. It’s His presence that establishes your worth. The Devil will tell you how horrible you are, and what a loser you are, and that you have no value, with nothing to offer. If I put the worlds largest diamond in a plain clay pot, the pots identity would be elevated to the value of that which it contains. Jesus transformed the simple, and unclean stable into a place of Glory, because He was there. The feeding trough became a Throne because The King was dwelling there. This is you. Jesus wrapped in the swaddling rags of your fallen humanity transforms the rags into His abode. Yes you have rags, but you are His dwelling place, where He feels comfortable. You are His perfect fit. He is so at home in you. You have the greatest of treasures in your Earthen Vessel, which makes you as priceless as the One who lives in you. Yes, you are lovely. He says you are the Most Beautiful of all. Start telling the Devil that, and he will stop having the conversation with you.