“Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? … Then I became in his eyes As one who found peace.”
Song of Solomon 8:5, 10 NKJV
Richard Allan Hamm. He was my favorite Uncle. I adored him. Maybe it was the fact that he was quite handsome when he was young. He stood over six feet tall, had a head full of black hair, and a trimmed mustache. He was somewhere a cross between Tom Selleck and the Marlboro Man. And, he had a brooding personality to match his fierce looks.
I remember many things about him such as the smell of his shirt after work (he was a bread delivery man for Mrs. Bairds) and him picking me up and carrying me often – he was tall, I was small – I loved the vantage point! I also remember clearly the sound of his lighter. He had an old metal, gasoline type lighter that would make a ‘clink’ sound when he opened it – I don’t know how to describe it, the sound it made as metal tapped against metal – but I remember him sitting on the couch at my grandparents house flipping it open and closed, open and closed. Open, clink. Closed, clink. Looking back on it now, it was like a bell of sorts. It was a familiar sound and though I hadn’t heard it in years, it is one I could easily recognize.
On Monday, January 11, 2021, at exactly 4:52am, I woke up hearing the “clink, clink, clink” sound. I heard it twice before I was up and awake – sitting, trying to identify the sound – then I asked – Lord, what was that? And He replied, “fan into flame.”
On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, I woke up at 4:52am again and clearly heard “fan into flame.”
In the season in which we live, with religious and personal freedom at risk, I hear the Lord awakening His Bride from Her slumber. I believe the “clink clink clink” sound that woke me up is an alarm to awaken from my slumber and stir up the gifts of God in me and my household (2 Timothy 1:6).
I’ve told many friends and my family what I want on my tombstone – it’s a verse that describes how I long to live: “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?” Song of Solomon 8:5
The Hebrew word for “leaning” in this verse is “raphaq” which means to recline, to support oneself, or to rest upon. Interestingly enough, it is used only once in the Old Testament. The picture here is of the Shulamite completely dependent upon the Bridegroom. She has just come out of the wilderness and she is broken. Imagine you see someone on the horizon walking towards you. They are quite a distance away and all you can see is the outline. Their gait is slow but strong and confident. There is something that captivates you so you keep watching and as the figure comes closer, you realize it’s not one person, but two – one is carrying the other. They are so melded together that they look like one person. That is the picture of this verse.
We know from Songs 5:7-8 that the Shulamite was physically wounded by the faithful people – they struck her, they beat her, and the took her veil. Suffice it to say, she’d had a bad night.
I remember the first time I heard a teaching on the Song of Solomon by Gary Weins at a worship night at Shady Grove Church. The message wrecked my heart and my heart cry became the verse above – that I would be so dependent on God that it would be Him you saw first.
Brokenness is a familiar experience to all humans. But the thing is, the Shulamite’s story doesn’t stop there.
In Songs 8:6, the Shulamite asked that the fierce, unrelenting fire be set over her – the kind of fire that cannot and will not be extinguished by persecution or pain.
Then, in v. 8-10, she says this: “But now I have grown and become a bride, and my love for him has made me a tower of passion and contentment for my beloved. I am now a firm wall of protection for others, guarding them from harm. This is how he sees me—I am the one who brings him bliss, finding favor in his eyes.”
In this season, “Sunday” Christianity will not suffice. If we only worship on Sunday or only feast on what is fed to us during a 60 minute message – we will not have enough to sustain us.
Persecution will come. It is a guarantee.
Therefore, it is critical now that I prepare for what is to come. I want the fire to burn so hot in me and in my family that nothing we encounter can extinguish it.
Father – fan the flame in me today. Fan the flame in Vance, Randal, and Alathia today. Fan the flame in the generations to follow us. Blow upon the embers of our heart until the flame is all-consuming and burns up all of the chaff. Awaken us to the truth of who You are! Perfect Your love in us and cast out all fear so there is room for only You. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Song of Solomon 1-8
June 2, 2022
Originally posted 1/17/21