The Shulamites in the body of Christ are those who decide to leave everything behind and make their great pursuit in life the full discovery, experience, and manifestation of their union with Christ. Experiencing and revealing His fullness is their great passion and priority. In Song of Solomon 1:3, they are referred to as the “maidens,” and that particular Hebrew word is only used one other time in the Old Testament in Psalm 83:3 and there it is translated “treasured ones.” The exact translation of this particular Hebrew word is “Hidden ones,” and that is a beautiful description of Shulamite because they live their lives behind the veil in the place of Communion and union with Jesus. The heart of a Shulamite can probably best be described by one of the great DNA Scriptures in chapter 7:10; “I am my beloveds, and His desire is for me.”
The last part of chapter 4 eloquently describes the hidden life of the Shulamite when in verse 12, Solomon (Jesus) says about her that she is “a garden enclosed; a rock garden enclosed, a spring sealed up.” These “treasured ones” understand that we were first and foremost created for His pleasure and we bring him the greatest pleasure when from the place interior abiding the well of the water of the Holy Spirit that is deep within springs up in us cultivating the fruit of the character of the life of Christ in us, and when the living water of His life flows out from us that others may drink deeply as they encounter the very life of Jesus flowing out of our innermost being. In verse 15 of that same chapter 4, Jesus says about the Shulamite, “you are a garden spring, a well of living water, and streams flowing from Lebanon.” In the song of Solomon, Lebanon always refers to the new creation that we are in Christ. A new creation is not truly being the new creation that they are apart from pursuing the life of the Shulamite. As fully functioning new creations, we nourish the heart of Jesus through our lovesick abiding, and we nourish the heart of others with the overflow of His life. Christ-likeness is always an overflow of what we are experiencing in fullness. Shining is never an act, but a fact within that overflows without. The divine overflow.
I love the summary of the life of the “hidden one” in full display found chapter 5:1. Solomon is speaking here, and he says, “ I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends drink and become intoxicated Neighbors.” In this incredible verse, we see a beautiful description of the Shulamite ravishing the heart of Jesus because of her lovesick abiding in her union with Him, and we see others being ravished by her heart and manifest life of Jesus. Interior Christ-likeness (holiness) satiates His thirsting heart, and the overflow of Christ-likeness intoxicate’s those who drink from the Shulamite’s walk with Christ. Have you ever been around someone who’s union with Christ was on such display that you became intoxicated with Him, and the lure to pursue the life of the Shulamite yourself. The Shulamite is the normal Christian. We often think of the Shulamite’s in the body of Christ as some kind of super deluxe model rarely found. The truth is, everyone of us are equipped with the fullness of Christ, and are hardwired to discover, experience and manifest that fullness. Every single believer shares the same union with the risen, ascended Lord Jesus but we do have to be captured and captivated by a holy fascination of what it would be like to actually experience the ALL that Jesus is in us. Colossians 3:11 says that Christ is all, and in all. It’s obviously true that Christ is in all believers but it is also wonderfully true that all of Christ is in every believer and that any and every believer can experience the all that Jesus is and has. Never settle for “some” when you can enjoy the ALL. Our call is to bless others (neighbors) with an encounter with Jesus. Those encounters should be a result of His divine overflow in our lives.