Loving Devotion
A Lord Worth Loving • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 33:56
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· 19 viewsMorning 23 April 2023
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18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
12 While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance. 13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts. 14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi.
Introduction
Come to the second part of the dialogue between the Shulamite and Solomon.[There are three sections, Loving Care 1:9-11; Loving Devotion 1:12-14 and Loving Fellowship 1:15 to 2:2.]In this the Shulamite expresses her loving devotion toward Solomon. It would seem that she is certainly beginning to see him as King, the fulfilment of what she had expressed in verse 4 or it could be that he to her is king
This action takes place in the residence of Solomon and probably in private.
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1. A Wafting Fragrance v12
1. A Wafting Fragrance v12
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12 While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance.
Spikenard (pure nard) is a scarce and expensive perfume extracted from a plant from the Himalayan region of India. Its fragrance has been described as exotic. When Mary of Bethany anointed the feet of Jesus with spikenard, ‘the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil’ (John 12:3). Brooks, R. (1999). Song of Songs(p. 39). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.
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2. A Lasting Fragrance v13
2. A Lasting Fragrance v13
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13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts.
Myrrh is a resin/gum which comes from a species of South Arabian tree. It is familiar to us from the Scriptures, being an ingredient in the holy anointing oil used in the tabernacle (Exod. 30:22–33), and appearing in connection with the birth (Matt. 2:11) and the death (Mark 15:23; John 19:39) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Brooks, R. (1999). Song of Songs(p. 40). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
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[Myrrh] is describing her present devotion to her lover and anticipating something future. One day the king will lie with her, and even now he is close to her heart in that he is always in her thoughts. As they were unmarried at this point they would not have become physically intimate. While having a strong attachment to one another, unmarried couples must take great care to avoid inappropriate intimate physical contact…this is how prospective wives should think of their prospective husbands. When those strong desires and this hearty devotion are absent, there is something wrong. Commitment is vital. Brady, G. (2006). Heavenly Love: The Song of Songs Simply Explained (pp. 70–71). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.
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3. Overwhelming Fragrance v14
3. Overwhelming Fragrance v14
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14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi.
EN-GEDI A vital oasis on the west side of the Dead Sea about 35 miles (56.3 kilometres) southeast of Jerusalem. Allotted to Judah’s tribe for an inheritance (Jos 15:62), En-gedi contained a hot water spring coming from the side of a limestone cliff, producing semitropical vegetation. The area became known for its palms, vineyards, and balsam. Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 431). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[Henna] A shrub that produces extremely fragrant white flowers. Henna petals can be ground and made into a paste to dye the nails, the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet a reddish-brown. This is considered a mark of beauty in some cultures. Moore, M. B. (2000). Henna. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (p. 575). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
The mention of Engedi is rather like the mention back in verse 9 of the mares of Pharaoh’s chariots. Just as those were the finest and choicest horses, so the spices and perfumes produced from the plants of Engedi were the finest perfumes. Engedi itself has been described as ‘the place of the wild goats’, a lush oasis about halfway down the western shore of the Dead Sea. Brooks, R. (1999). Song of Songs(p. 41). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.
28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. 29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi.
Psalms 57 and 63
We turn now to what we see of Christ’s love for us
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4. A Wafting Fragrance v12
4. A Wafting Fragrance v12
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12 While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance.
Spikenard (pure nard) is a scarce and expensive perfume extracted from a plant from the Himalayan region of India. Its fragrance has been described as exotic. When Mary of Bethany anointed the feet of Jesus with spikenard, ‘the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil’ (John 12:3). Brooks, R. (1999). Song of Songs(p. 39). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.
John 12:1–8 (ESV)
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
three hundred denarii - 1 denari = a days wages - £25k
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The true meaning of what happened here will never be grasped until it is realised that when Mary was pouring out her perfume, she was also pouring out her heart, filled with genuine religious love, gratitude, and devotion. The vessel in which the perfume was stored generally had a rather long and narrow neck. This bottle could have been opened or even broken at the top in such a manner that the perfume would have trickled out. But that would not have satisfied Mary. So she broke it in such a manner that the ointment came gushing out over Jesus. Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (Vol. 9, p. 899). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.
8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.
28 “But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
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5. A Lasting Fragrance v13
5. A Lasting Fragrance v13
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13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts.
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
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6. Overwhelming Fragrance v14
6. Overwhelming Fragrance v14
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Song of Solomon 1:14 (ESV) — 14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi.
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2 Corinthians 2:14–17 (ESV)
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
Colossians 1:9–11 (ESV) — 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Hebrews 10:22 (ESV) — 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Conclusion
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1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,