“Tell me, O you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?” (Song of Sol. 1:7).
Remember how Jacob, when he travelled to Succoth, made booths or shelters for his sheep (Gen. 33:17)? Here we have the Shulamite asking the Bridegroom where he housed his sheep because she didn’t want to wander about looking like she was an outcast. In ancient Israel, it was the lepers or prostitutes who were veiled (eg Lev. 13:45, Gen. 38:14-16).
So the Shulamite is looking for the shelters the bridegroom has built for his sheep so that she may find him there. She doesn’t want to find herself in the wrong haven with the wrong sheep.
When Jesus was on the earth so many people didn’t see Him as the bridegroom, not even His closest followers. Sadly, they were looking for Him in the wrong places.
When Lazarus died, Mary, who had been aware of countless miracles done by Jesus, was weeping inconsolably when she met Jesus. Her brother had died and she chided Jesus for being too late to heal him of his sickness.
The Bible records Jesus as seeing her weeping and that He groaned in His spirit and was troubled (John 11:33). Jesus was feeling strong emotions – the word means “to be moved with anger, to admonish sternly”, literally, to snort like an angry horse (Strongs 1690). Why?
Here was Jesus seeing His beloved and loyal follower not believing in Him but choosing to believe the story of others. She wasn’t sheltering with Jesus, she was turning aside to the flock of his companions. She may have declared Jesus was her Saviour, but her actions belied her confession.
This is why Jesus later said when standing in front of her brother’s tomb, “And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me” (John 11:42).
How many times do you listen to the voices of others and refuse to hear what Jesus has done in the past and believe in what He has promised to do for those who believe? If you’ve been sheltering in the wrong place of refuge, return to where you hear the voice of your Shepherd who tells you: “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).
NKJV used throughout
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