Song 1:7 “Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”
Zeph. 3:11 “In that day you will feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
In the times of Solomon veils were also worn by prostitutes, when they were in public, because of shame. In the early stage of the Shulamites journey to The Heights she has to come to to grips with the issue of shame before she can move forward. She is saying that didn’t want to feel left out of what others are experiencing because of never ending shame over past failures. I believe this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks that every believer deals with in their walk with The Lord. We are called to live by faith, but it is impossible to live by faith and walk in shame at the same time. Shame convinces you that you’ve disqualified yourself from having the right to believe God for the Best He has to offer.
Psa. 107:1 ¶ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psa. 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
Redemption means much more than just forgiveness. It also means to restore, and to overrule for good all the loss occasioned by our sin.
Jesus is Our Boaz; Our Kinsman Redeemer, and when have repented, in surrender, setting our hearts to fully pursue Him, then He doesn’t just forgive, He redeems. At a very low point in David’s life, while still in His 20’s, having lived in compromise and lies for several years, David strengthened himself in The Lord, (1Sam.30:6). One of the ways he did that was was to declare the most important thing he had ever learned. In (Ps. 56:9), David says “This I know, that God is for me.” This Psalm was written when he was at that low moment, while living in rebellion, lies, and unbelief, among the Philistines. At this point his heart was turning toward repentance, and it was important that he remembered that God was still, and had never stopped being for him. He could have been paralyzed in shame, believing the enemies lie that he had forfeited any hope of knowing God’s best for his life. Instead, he who who was a man after God’s heart, remembered that God was a redeemer, and that he could pull off the veil, and in faith, go wholeheartedly after all that God had for him. The enemy is going to do everything he can to stop you, or at least slow you down, in your pursuit of Lovesickness, and Christlikeness, and condemnation and shame are some of his most powerful weapons. This is when we have to remember the first thing we learned in His Chambers, and that is that our darkness, and the darkness of past failures isn’t news to Him. He knew it all when He called us to “come away” with Him to live in The Highest Place. After David reminded himself that God was for him, almost immediately Saul was killed and David was established as King over Israel. This was after 7-8 years of “wanderings.” God is a Redeemer. That passage in (Zeph.3), was after Israel repented of a season of rebellion, and idolatry. God wants you to fulfill your Heavenly Calling; and shame is a thief that will rob you of that, if you let it. Strengthen yourself in The Lord by DARING TO BELIEVE THAT GOD IS FOR YOU!!!!