Intimacy with GOD by Esher Shoshannah (the unexpected everything txt) 📖

by another Hebrew. It was to be used for Him alone! So serious was the secrecy of the mixture of the anointing oil that if violated the offending person would be cut off from his people! Interestingly, three of the four ingredients to be used in making the holy anointing oil are found here in the garden of her heart! Oh to be anointed with the spiritual oil of praise (Heb.13:15; Psa.23:5).

The root word for "calamus" means "to stand upright." The oil was used to set apart (anoint) items of the tabernacle and the priests to God. Those chosen to be kings of Israel were anointed with this oil. They filled lamps with oil for light. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus' light shines through us. Oil is symbolical of the Holy Spirit. O dear reader this is the heartbeat of God, to have us separated unto Himself. To stand upright in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and be changed into the image of the Beloved brings great joy to Him. He looks with great pleasure at the calamus in her heart garden.

O how He loves to feast His eyes upon it. It tells Him that His life is her life and His desires are her desires! May you dear soldier of Christ "stand upright" for Jesus. Calamus represents the Spirit led Christian standing against the enemy in the power of His might (II Cor. 1:24; Gal. 5:1; Phil. 1:27; Eph. 6:10-17; I Pet. 5:12). What a glorious sight it is to see the Christian soldier advancing against the enemy (II Tim. 2:3). As the Bridegroom feasts His eyes upon all that is beautiful in her garden, He beholds the cinnamon connected with the calamus and what a sweet aroma it produces. Why is it so important to have the cinnamon with the calamus?

Cinnamon is an evergreen tree from which it is extracted and this is accomplished by cutting away the bark of the lower branches. Calamus represents the power of God. She gives Him the right to scrutinize her inner motives as well as her outward walk. The Holy Spirit begins to mix in the cinnamon and the work of Calvary concerning the crucifixion of the flesh and applies it to her attitudes and daily walk. Cut away from her are weights and sins which so easily beset her (Heb. 12:1,2). Although it hurts to have this process take place she keeps her eyes steadfast on Him, "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of (her) faith". With the cinnamon applied she now stands upright in the power of the Holy Spirit by the Word of faith! O how this displays the glory of God in her life!

 

"with all trees of frankincense…"

O how important is the frankincense (see 3:6 for detailed comments). As you know, it comes from a Hebrew word meaning "to be white". All of the above fruits and spices in her garden are interspersed with the trees of frankincense (holiness) and the separated walk. All that her Beloved sees in the garden of her heart is pure and righteous. He loves purity for He is purity itself! Frankincense was used in the tabernacle worship and it was one of the gifts of the wise men worshiping the child Jesus. Purity must be in the heart for worship to be acceptable to the Lord. It is accomplished by heartfelt confession (I John 1:9) when we do sin, along with continual surrender and submission to His heart found in His Word.

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear Father, how I praise You for the love You have bestowed upon me in Your Son. O how Your beloved Son loves me! Thank You Holy Spirit for opening my eyes to all that will please Him. Continue to work on the garden of my heart so that Your Son's heart will overflow with joyous love because of the spiritual fruit produced there. In Jesus' magnificent name, amen."

  

The bride is astonished with all her Beloved sees in her. Tears begin to well up in her eyes. She has never felt so much love in all of her life. He gently lifts her head so as to have her eyes meet His. What she sees causes her heart to almost burst. She could feel a grateful love flowing from Him to her heart. He whispered, "Thank you My love for giving to Me the most precious gift you possess, total surrender of your will to Me! This is why I died for you! This is why I rose from the grave for you! This is why I sit on the throne and intercede for you continually (Heb. 7:25)! O how this fills My heart with tender affection for you! I am consumed with love for you My bride. The garden of your heart is so, so beautiful My love, for it is a reflection of My very heart!"

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear Lord Jesus, 'Search me...and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked (Hebrew: hurtful, harmful, offensive) way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.' (Psa.139:23,24). I want the frankincense to fill my heart garden so that You will see no spot or blemish which would bring disappointment to You!"

 

V.14 "...myrrh and aloes..."

"My bride, I see you are still wearing the little pouch of myrrh around your neck I gave to you (see 1:13 for comments). She looks up at her Love and says, "I look at it often my Beloved Husband. I can’t tell You how many times I have simply held it in the palm of my hand when the enemy attacked me. It always reminds me of Your complete victory on the cross crushing Satan’s power. It reminds me that I belong to You and Your victory is my victory! It makes me feel so secure.(Rev.12:11)." She snuggled up against His strong arm and was quiet for a moment. With a twinkle in her eye she pulled out a little box she had kept hidden since they had stepped into the garden. The box was beautiful. Without looking up she put her hand out and said, "This is a gift I have kept for You and I would like You to open it my Love." His heart beats faster as He lifted up the lid of this love gift from His bride. In it was one small cup sealed and a piece of unleavened bread.

Placing her hand under His she said, "I have so long wanted to have communion with You. Would You mind if we just sat down in this pleasant spot in the garden of my heart and have communion, just You and me my Husband?" Quietly they sat down together. He held both the little cup and bread in His hand. “My Bridegroom, the bread is so precious to me. Not only did You infinitely love me and have all my sins placed in Your holy body but that piece of bread says that I am Your body today (I Cor. 10:16,17). I share being Your body with all the others You have redeemed! Wow, what a glorious thought my Love!"

You could see how much it meant to Him in all she shared. O how He loved to be loved! Still holding His hand a floodgate of His attributes and character came forth – on and on she spoke – "You are my Shepherd, Friend, King, God, Deliverer, Keeper, Forgiver, Encourager, Burden Bearer, Healer and Provider...!" She spoke about each one in detail. All the Lover of her heart could do was quietly squeeze her hand. So ravished was His heart by her love and glances He could not speak. Hours passed but it only seemed to be a moment. Then all was quiet, He placed the bread in her hand and said, "Thank you so much for loving Me! There are no words to express what this gift of yours means to My heart. I can see the myrrh has become a pouch of loving remembrance to your heart! Thank you My bride!"

When she took the bread the Holy Spirit filled her with joy unspeakable. So blissful was this intimacy it was as if the world and all its cares did not exist. Intimacy with Him was a little taste of heaven. Taking the cup she quietly gazed upon it for the longest time. Lifting her head up, tears of thankfulness welling up, she looked into His eyes and said, "Thank You for every drop of Your life’s blood that fell from the cross for me!" She drank it and they just sat there noticing the beautiful flowers springing up all around them in the garden of her heart. He said, "I am so blessed that you have allowed My Abba Father to cultivate it in your garden (John 15:1). The crucified life is the blessed life! It takes away those things that would keep us from enjoying this kind of special intimacy."

After this they often had communion together. It was a time for reflection, remembrance, repentance, rededication, loving, adoring, worshipping and praising Him. We are to never forget the reason for all the miracles, conversions, healings, revelations! It was all because Jesus was crushed for our iniquities – He was the myrrh. There would be no room for selfpride or exaltation!

The myrrh was coupled with the aloes. Interestingly, in John 19:39 both were connected in the burial of the Lord Jesus’ body. Aloe was highly valued and used for incense and perfume. One reason for wearing perfume is to be noticed or have someone else attracted to you. Let the sweet aroma of a heart filled with Jesus be your attraction! The aloes were obtained from the inner core of that particular tree. The process they used was to bury the aloe tree logs. I understand that the reason for this "burial" was due to the hardness of the wood. The outer part would decay making it possible to get to its heart and extract the inner core of resin. The result revealed a beautiful grain and it could be highly polished. O how this sounds like the dying daily to self so that the fragrance and beauty of the new man may be released (Rom. 6:6-14; II Cor. 4:7-18).

In chapter 1 she kept the myrrh between her breasts. It is a reminder of His eternal protection even while she sleeps. Her heart needed to be kept safe from nightmares or attacks from without while she rested. In Psa. 45:8 aloe is mentioned in connection with the garments worn by the Son of God. We know that this Psalm speaks of the Son of God because v.8 is quoted in Heb. 1:8 by the Father concerning His only Son! The Lord has clothed us with His garments of salvation and with His robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10). How appropriate that the last of the plants and spices mentioned should be the aloes (the inner core of our spiritual being). Her heart is filled with the incense of adoration and the perfum e of holiness. O what joy this brings to His heart! What pleasure to His eyes!

 

"...with all the chief (finest) spices."

Finally, the Lover of her soul reveals that her garden is producing the finest of spices. Spices are added to various foods to make what tastes good taste great. One never ingests spices by themselves. Each spice is to be used with care in order to enhance a particular food. So it is with us, members individually in the body of Christ, your life is to touch others, to enhance and make beautiful their own walk. This bride's heart has been made ready to fellowship with other lilies. Prior to this she only wanted to be with Him alone.

She knew that her Beloved loved to be with other lilies (2:16). Now her garden is ready to bless Him and His lilies. He will take from