The Fragrance of His Spices
Symbolism in Songs
Alabaster vial - soul of the believer
Cinnamon and the finest spices represent a place / Conner says cinnamon represents fragrance & each spice has their own meaning. Ie: myrrh is a symbol of suffering and fragrance. Cinnamon by the way is sweet tasting, yet hot in high amounts and kills certain bacterias good for bladder infections or against e-coli. The idea being He is our Fragrant One and His spice in us makes us invulnerable to the enemy.
Frankincense fragrant spice, used in making the priestly incense, it represents the intercessory prayer life of the priest ( Rev 8:3-4) and praise ( Isaiah 60:6, Ps 100:4 ) intercession
Hyssop symbol of purification, applied by faith
Myrrh an embalming spice, preserves; used in the anointing oil, speaks of Healing, used for perfume and for beautifying as it helps smooth wrinkles; myrrh and aloes signify suffering love ( John 19:38-40) also it is a burial spice... note: myrrh is effective in killing YEAST in the natural which speaks of pride or sin ( yeast of the Pharisees)
Spikenard symbol of the fragrance of the Bride's love and appreciation for the Bridegroom
1 Chron 9:29-30 NIV Others were assigned to take care of the furnishings and all the other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the flour and wine, and the oil, incense and spices. 30 But some of the priests took care of mixing the spices.
2 Kings 20:13 NIV Hezekiah received the messengers and showed them all that was in his storehouses-the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine oil-his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
Ex 30:22-33 NIV Then the LORD said to Moses, 23 "Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 24500 shekels of cassia--all according to the sanctuary shekel--and a hin of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 26 Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
30 "Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, 'This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other
than a priest must be cut off from his people.'"
Ps 75:8-10 NIV In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs. 9 As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. 10 I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
Song 3:6 NIV Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant? [ Jesus ]
Song 4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!
Song 4:12-15 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. 13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits,
with henna and nard, 14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. 15 You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.
Song 6:2-5 NIV My lover has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies. 3 I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies. 4 You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners. 5 Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me.
[ Solomon, Beloved, Lover= Jesus, Shulamite = Bride of Christ]
Song 5:1 NKJV The Beloved
I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Song 5:13 NIV His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh.
Mark 16:1 NIV When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
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Friends of the Bridegroom - Mike Bickle
www.fotb.com
H. The Fragrance of the ascended Christ
"Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense" (3:6c)
1. He is "perfumed" with two different things, "with myrrh and
with frankincense." Myrrh speaks of Jesus’ sufferings. It is the fragrance of His glorious death. Myrrh was a costly fragrant burial spice. It had a double meaning: it meant death, but it also meant sweet aroma. It was death that worked unto sweet aroma. He has accomplished the finished work of the cross. He is perfumed with myrrh as He ascends back to God the Father’s
throne.
a. "Myrrh" is a spice used to bury the dead. He is perfumed in myrrh. This speaks of the fragrance of Jesus’ suffering and His finished work on the cross. When He cried, "It is finished," the perfume of the myrrh of God drenched Him.
b. If He suffered for her, how much more will He protect her? He is a sympathetic high priest. He experienced the perils of the wilderness He is clothed in the glory of God again. He can make a difference. He is perfumed with myrrh. He embraced the cross. He knows what the cross is about but He is also perfumed with frankincense.
2. Frankincense speaks of the fragrance of His intercession for the saints (Heb.7:25). As the Jewish High Priest went into the most Holy Place with the golden censer of frankincense or incense, so Jesus entered the Holy Place in heaven with His glorious censer, filled with intercession.
a. The bowl of incense of Rev. 5:8 is frankincense. It speaks of the prayers of the saints.
b. He offers to the Father His myrrh, the finished work of the cross, His blood, and He says, "Father, I’m not just perfumed in myrrh. I’m also perfumed in incense (which is the same as frankincense). Visit my Bride! Help her! Send the angels of God! Release your power!" He is interceding for us night and day (Heb. 7:25).
3. When the three wise men came to Him, they came to Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They were coming to Him with three prophetic gifts, signifying what His ministry would be like. The gold spoke of His deity and His kingship. All three of them spoke of His life and ministry on the earth. Some people relate them to His three offices as prophet, priest, and king. He is perfumed with myrrh and frankincense.
SONG OF SONGS – MIKE BICKLE
SESSION 10: A Fresh Revelation Of Jesus – a Safe Savior Page 9
4. Jesus’ deeds are scented.
All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia,
out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad. (Ps. 45:8)
a. All of Jesus' deeds were scented with myrrh. He died to His own
will to do the will of God; thus, His garments are scented with myrrh. The
Lord's desire is that our garments, our deeds, be scented with myrrh, which again speaks of that sweetness that comes out of dying to ourselves to do the will of God.
b. When He cried, "It is finished", the perfume of God’s myrrh
drenched Him. He was drenched in myrrh on that day when He hung on the cross saying, "It is finished."
5. This language is consistent with the dimensions of the Old Testament sacrificial system.
I. Jesus’ commitment to the Bride. "With all the merchants’ fragrant powders?" (3:6d)
1. The Holy Spirit described a third aspect of His divine fragrance. He ascended with the pillar of smoke, perfumed in myrrh and frankincense. He also was perfumed with all the merchant's fragrant powders.
2. There are two applications in interpreting the merchant in the parables of Jesus. He spoke of the merchant as the one that sold everything to obtain the treasured inheritance. The merchant found a pearl and then sold everything for this pearl. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, (Matt 13:44-45)
a. First, Jesus is this merchant who saw the pearl and sold all to have it. The pearl is His Bride, which cost Him everything to purchase. He paid the whole price, including His death upon the cross.
b. Second, we are the merchants who sell everything to follow Him. This is a secondary way to interpret the parable of the merchant.
3. The fragrant powders sold by the merchant scented the merchant with perfume. The merchants were scented as a result of handling the expensive powders in the marketplace. This speaks of the fragrance of Christ to God as He embraced the cross. The fragrance of the merchant is all over Jesus.
J. SUMMARY - Jesus did all to secure our safety. He is doing everything to bring us into safety. He is not negligent. He is not overlooking anything. Jesus’ incarnation and death prove He has our good in mind (v. 6-7a). If He suffered for her, how much more will He protect her in this season (Rom. 8:32)? He is a sympathetic high priest. He knows how to get us through the wilderness. As believers, we are protected by His work on the cross (myrrh), and His continued intercession (frankincense), during our journey in the wilderness. The point is that He is safe because He is the merchant who gave up everything to redeem us. We have no need to be afraid to follow Him.
1. First He is perfumed in myrrh, the finished work of the cross.
2. Secondly, He is perfumed in frankincense. He is committed to intercession
3. Thirdly, He is perfumed in the merchants’ fragrant powders. He has total resolution and commitment to us.
B. Manifestations of grace
( From Mike Bickles' Book on Song of Songs )
"My beloved has gone to the beds of spices." (6:2b)
1. "Spices" - speak of different manifestations of grace on different people or ministries of the Body of Christ. Some streams or denominations, or networks of churches in the Body of Christ have one spice while others have another spice in the grace of God.
2. "The beds" - The specific plots of ground (plural) within the one garden (singular) speak of the different parts of the one garden. The distinct areas where flowers and spices grow within the larger garden.
3. His whole church is one garden. There is one church in the earth, but there are so many diverse beds of spices. His cheeks were like a bed of spices. There are so many different reflections of Jesus’ personality in the church. Nobody has the capacity to contain all that God has to give. There is no one little group of a million people that have the capacity to embody everything that the Godhead can give in fullness.
a. The garden of God has many beds of spices, or many streams (Ps. 46:4). The different streams within the larger body of Christ are like beds of spices.
b. Some of the "beds" in the garden have an exceptionally rich fragrance of Christ that is distinct from other beds of spices. Jesus loves the whole church, but He manifests Himself differently to different parts of His church at differing levels of intensity.
C. Jesus' purpose in manifesting His presence is to feed and strengthen His flock. "To feed His flock in the gardens." (6:2c)
1. His purpose is always in feeding, whether He is withholding His presence or releasing it, He's always feeding His Bride to cause her to become stronger. Whether it's a strategic withholding or a strategic manifestation of His presence or whether it's a discipline of withholding…He is feeding His Bride.
a. He is always bringing us forth from strength to strength if we will go with it. One way He feeds us is that He pours the sweetness of affirmation and intimacy on our hearts (Ch. 1&2).
b. Another way He feeds us is by His discipline. He takes His presence away because of sin, (Ch. 3).
c. Another way He feeds us is by withholding His presence again because of obedience (Ch. 5).
d. She says, "When I was in the bad times I knew that it was working together for my good. I knew that He was enlarging my heart in love, Rom. 8:28. He was feeding me." He's always feeding His people in the midst of His church. He just feeds us differently.
2. In 5:1, it delighted His soul greatly to come to His own garden to eat. This speaks of the deep pleasure that He gets from partaking of the love of His Bride. He takes pleasure in the different parts of His whole church. Jesus greatly enjoys all of His people (Ps. 16:3; 18:19).
