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23rd May 2025
FridayReflection
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Kathryn Warmstrong
My goal in writing is to encourage and
uplift every person
'The banner of love over me'
Song of Solomon 2:4 GNT
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"He brought me to his banquet hall and raised the banner of love over me."
Are you married?
If so, I hope you're still very much in love.
I can't think of anything that is at the same time more difficult and more rewarding than surrendering our hearts to another person with the promise to love and cherish them for the rest of our lives.
What is it that draws us into marriage?
During our look at the Song of Solomon 2:3, we saw that the bride's great attraction to her husband was related to his ability to protect and provide for her, and she drew near to him, resting in his care.
Are you resting in the care of Jesus?
He wants you to!
However, from verse two we see that the husband truly was attracted to her first and perceived her as uniquely desirable.
To me, one of the greatest mysteries of all time is how God could love me ... or any human, imperfect as we are.
As I've watched the world go by, this inexplicable attraction and response also seems to be the most common human experience: a man finds a woman compellingly attractive (not simply physically, but from a constellation of lovely qualities) and is drawn to reach out to her in love; in turn, the woman responds to his attention and grows to admire his strengths, drawing near and allowing him to meet her needs.
(Of course, as a healthy relationship develops, both partners go way out of their way to meet one another's needs.)
What a perfect picture of God's love for us!
As Jesus said,
"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him"
..... John 6:44
God draws us to himself because he loves us!
And yet, in our conscious experience, we draw close to God because we respond to his love and see him as uniquely able to meet our needs.
(At least, that's what happened to me.)
In Hebrew, the term
"... to the banqueting house," is more literally rendered "house of wine."
Wine always speaks of joy in the Scripture.
"... and his banner over me was love."
The banner, or ensign, was (and still is) a display of possession and victory.
His banner was a sign of having conquered her ... but he had conquered her through love, and she loved him all the more for his victory!
He who wooed and won his bride now brings her into the heart of his joy with a banner of possession over her.
But this is not a "triumph over" but a "triumph in."
Christ does not triumph over us, as if we are a defeated foe; he triumphs in us and through us!
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ"
..... 2 Corinthians 2:14
"His banner over me was love."
It was love that conquered.
Blood is the price of conquest, and the conquerors of this world literally wade through the blood of their enemies to win their thrones.
But, our conqueror, in love, gave his own life and waded through his own blood to purchase our redemption
..... 1 Peter 1:18-19
And then, did God make us his slaves?
No!
In love, he
"raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus"
..... Ephesians 2:6-7.
Our heavenly conqueror defeated our foes so that we could partake of his throne and be taken into his banqueting house ... so that we could take joy with him in all the exceeding riches of his grace and kindness!
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!
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This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
Kathryn Warmstrong
I'm a woman, wife, mother, and grandma, but best of all, I'm a child of God by faith in Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
My goal in writing is to encourage and uplift every person who reads this blog.
Where I fail or offend ... please forgive me!
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