Mountain of Myrrh

Song of Solomon 4:6* "Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the moutnain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense."

The Song of Solomon is a book that has absolutely transformed my life. It's a prophetic demonstration of the love between Christ and His bride--the church--and to make it even more personal, between Him and me. Ephesians 5:22-32 describes marriage, and culminates with Paul's declaration in verse 32, "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church". God has established marriage to point to the deep, unimaginable love that He has for us. Song of Solomon, then, as a beautiful poetic picture of biblical romance, is likewise a demonstration of the love of Jesus Christ.

There is so much that could be said for this book that I can't post it all here. But this verse, 4:6, has been especially near to my heart lately. I interpret this to be the voice of the bride, saying to the One she loves, "Until the day breaks... I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh..."

I wanted to name this blog for the mountain of myrrh because of how the bride says, "I will go my way." I cannot walk out someone else's journey. God is infinitely huge and wise, and knows precisely how to win the heart of those who say "yes" to Him. The path He leads me on will not look like the path He leads another on. His character is never once compromised, and He always upholds His Son as the only Way, Truth, and Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). Yet within that, we each have our own journey, our own way to go as we follow His footsteps. Some may be called to the mission field. Others are drawn away in secret into their prayer closets for many long hours at a time, day after day, year after year. Some are set in full-time ministry, and others are sent into the marketplace. All are called to the unbelievably amazing journey into the depths of the heart of God, encountering Him in His word, in prayer, in fasting, and in worship. I hope to use this blog to catch a few glances along the road as I go my own way to the mountain of myrrh--and I pray it will provoke you to embark on your own pursuit of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Myrrh was a burial spice in ancient days, and is used throughout the Bible to speak of suffering. It makes this verse almost frightening to pray--the mountain of myrrh sounds much less enticing when we see that we will most assuredly bump into pain along the way. But the language is no different than what Jesus Himself used.

If we desire to follow Him, we must let go of our life. We must not cling to what we hold to be so valuable in this world. Everything on this earth that we could work for and strive for--wealth, success, a great name, or even a noble cause--is fading away before our very eyes. In truth, what is seventy years in light of eternity? It's only a breath and a vapor. We all waste our lives on something, and I want to waste mine in pursuit of the eternal God, to know His heart, experience His emotions, and have His Word written on my heart.

The bride declares she will go her way, "Until the day breaks..." The break of day, to me, speaks of the coming of Jesus to this earth once again. (See Psalm 46:5; Malachi 4:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:8b; Revelation 1:16c) So until the day breaks, until I at last see His face, until He returns to establish His kingdom on the earth, I will pursue Him with everything I have. I want to love Him with all of my heart, my soul, my mind, and my strength. I want to be tenderhearted to His touch. I want my heart to be moved when I hear His name mentioned. The only thing of value I can do with my time on this earth is to seek His face, to love Him, and to behold His beauty (Psalm 27:4). This is my ultimate purpose in life, the one thing that I desire...



*(All Scriptures referenced are New King James Version, unless otherwise noted)