The Way of the Wilderness
6Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of
frankincense. (Song 4:6)
I. CONTEXT
A. In chapter 1 the Shulamite, intoxicated by the initial encounters of Jesus’ love for her, declared that she would “run”
with him in ministry. She would give herself to wholehearted commitment and obedience to His will.
Draw me after you and let us run together (Song 1:4 NASB)
B. In Chapter 2 she is overcome with fear as she sees him leaping on the mountains, challenging her to leave her
comfort zone, leave her fears and move forward in 100% commitment and obedience to Him, partnering with Him in
releasing His purposes on the Earth. She does not yet fully trust Him, is not prepared to leave her compromises and
she turns Him away.
Turn (away from me), my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of Bether
(separation) (Song 2:17)
C. Jesus wants us to come away with Him so that He can remove all the props and so that we can partner with Him
in the great harvest. His vision for us is that we will say yes to Him “whatever the cost.”
D. In chapter 3, Jesus shows Himself to be the Safe Savior - the suffering servant who gave all for the sake of His
Bride and came up from the wilderness of the world victorious over sin and death He shows her by both his actions
(3:6-11) declarations of love (4:1-5) that He can be trusted with her whole life.
E. In 4:6, she responds to the revelation of His commitment to her. He has captured her heart by His words and
actions and she says, “I want to go with you. I must have you, whatever the cost. Song 4:6 is a five-part declaration of
all she is signing up for.
II. A COMMITMENT TO FULLNESS
Until the Day breaks (Song 4:6)
A. The Bride declares that her commitment to Jesus is “until the break of day.” This speaks of a commitment to
pursue Jesus wholeheartedly until fullness – until the presence of God is released in her life in power. She is saying,
“I will contend for your presence until you break in with all that you have for me.”
B. Break of day also speaks of the return of Jesus. She is making her commitment to go wholeheartedly after Jesus
for the long haul (until He returns). She is not prepared to live without Him.
C. She has been gripped with a longing for eternity. She has seen His commitment to Her and this world holds no
love for her any more. She is saying, “I have set my heart on a pilgrimage – the highways to Zion are in my heart”
(Psalm 84:5) and I am not turning back. I understand the way He feels about me (Psalm 45:10-11) and I must be with Him.
D. The Lord wants to give us a vision of the “break of day” (all that He has for the human heart.) Paul had it. He says
he considers everything loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.
8Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. …12 Not that
I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ
Jesus has also laid hold of me. (Philip. 3:8-12)
III. A COMMITMENT TO VICTORY OVER SIN AND COMPROMISE
Until …the shadows flee away (Song 4:6)
A. She confesses the weakness and compromise in her own heart (the shadows). She is saying, “I will not wait until
I have victory over sin until I pursue you wholeheartedly. Sin and compromise will not deter me. I will pursue you until I
have victory over sin, knowing that I will be transformed in the process.”
B. Maturity is not necessary to say yes to wholehearted pursuit of God. The Shulamite refuses to use her immaturity
as an excuse to stay away from Him. As she says, “yes” to Him in weakness He will transform her from Glory to Glory.
18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into
the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
IV. A COMMITMENT TO GOD’S PATH FOR HER LIFE
I will go my way…(Song 4:6)
A. God has a distinct path and purpose for each believer. She says, I will go my way. I have to pursue my own journey
of obedience and intimacy with the Lord. We cannot live off another believer’s walk with the Lord. The Lord has a path
marked out for each one of us which we must pursue if we want to be conformed into the image of His Son
(Romans 8:28-30)
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
B. There is a journey for each of us to pursue in the Lord. I cannot pursue the Lord for you and you cannot pursue the
Lord for me. The Lord wants us to be faithful in the way He has marked out for us. It is tailor made for each of us and
cannot be improved upon.
V. A COMMITMENT TO SHARING IN CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS
I will go my way….to the mountain of myrrh (Song 4:6)
A. She is saying yes to the mountain of myrrh. Myrrh speaks of suffering and death. It was a burial perfume and very
costly it was bitter to the taste but fragrant to the smell when crushed. It speaks of embracing the fellowship of His
sufferings - taking up the cross to follow Him (Matthew 16:24)
B. The only way to perfected power is the fellowship of His sufferings. It is costly. We often want to power without the
gory. Paul was well aware that the fellowship of His sufferings was the doorway to fullness (resurrection power). The
mountain of myrrh is the place where sin and compromise are dealt with once and for all.
10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death, 11if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10)
C. The fellowship of His sufferings is not a “season” but the place we live the rest of our lives. Just as Paul had to
deal with his thorn and Jacob his limp.
Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested
in our body. 11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may
be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:10)
D. The bitterness of suffering always leads to the revealing of our weakness and the revelation of our own weakness
(to our hearts) is the doorway to prepare us for resurrection power. God knows that we are so prone to boast and that
we would get corrupted so quickly if He released His power on our flesh outside of an awareness of our weakness.
8Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9And He said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will
rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak,
then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)
E. The Lord revealed to Hosea that the route to fullness was through the wilderness. The wilderness is the place of
trial, testing and suffering. It is the training ground where we learn to lean into His strength and He perfects His power in
us. It is the place where all compromise is dealt with.
14Behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness [mountain of myrrh]…I will speak tenderly to
her [hill of frankincense]. I will make the Valley of Achor [seasons of suffering] a door of hope… will give
her vineyards from there [fullness of her inheritance/break of day/my power is made perfect in weakness]
(Hosea 2:14)
F. Our commitment to the mountain of myrrh is about being conformed into His image and likeness (attaining the
fullness of our inheritance). The Valley of Achor (trouble) becomes a doorway of hope.
VI. A COMMITMENT TO PURSUING INTIMACY WITH JESUS
I will go my way….to the hill of frankincense (Song 4:6)
A. The Hill of Frankincense speaks of ministry to the Lord in worship and prayer. Incense in the Bible speaks of
ministry to the Lord. It is talking about a new level in her prayer life.
B. Sheer willpower will not sustain us as we say yes to the mountain of myrrh. We must give ourselves to the reality
of cultivating intimacy with God. It is the strength of our heart as we enter the fellowship of sufferings.
C. This is what the Lord is talking of when he says through Hosea, “I will speak comfort to her (or “tenderly” to her) in
the midst of the wilderness seasons. It is encountering the Lord in the wilderness that releases grace to our hearts to
persevere.
D. No matter how committed we are we will not persevere up the mountain of myrrh without the sustaining kisses of His
Word (Song 1:2) (fresh communion with Him.) Unless we maintain a vibrant prayer life, we will give up on the mountain of
myrrh. It is too hard without communion. We must give ourselves to prayer and fasting and the Word. This will sustain and
protect us from burnout and bitterness as we ascend the mountain.
E. We cannot ascend the mountain of myrrh and embrace the cross, based on someone else’s prayer life. We must
have our own encounter with the Lord (prayer life) in the wilderness or we will burn out and get bitter.
VII. THE BRIDEGROOM’S RESPONSE – THE RAVISHED HEART OF GOD
9You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; you have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes,
with one link of your necklace. 10How fair is your love, my sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is
your love (Song 4:9)