Galatians 1
No matter what your past, if God calls you, God will qualify you. Paul had made wrong choices that hurt Christians in his past, and many of them questioned his motives and integrity. When Paul stepped out to obey God in ministry, he set his focus on God’s acceptance, not the acceptance of people. If you are concerned about what people will say about your imperfections, your past choices, your mistakes, then I encourage you to focus on what God says about you. God calls you forgiven and chosen, appointed and anointed! I often remind myself that one day I am going to answer before God, not the arrogant people who want me to answer them. It’s not the faultfinders who would like to point out what doesn’t seem to be going well. It’s not the ones who want me to serve their purpose. I will stand before a loving Father – a God who always cheered me on, never left my side, always worked on restoring and completing me. I serve Him because I love Him, and I pray you know His love, too.
Song of Solomon 6-8
In chapter 6 verse 13 The Beloved is asking the Shulamite to return, return. The Shulamite says, “what would you see in me? The dance of the two camps?” It is a thing, also known as the Dance of Mahanaim. The two camps in Hebrew is Mahanaim, a city Jacob named where angels of God met him (Genesis 32:2), saying “This is God’s camp, as well as his own. In this chapter we see that Jacob divided his company into two camps, for fear of what Esau would do to him; however, there was reconciliation instead.
In 2 Samuel 2, decades later, in Mahanaim, there was combat between Joab, representing Saul’s lineage, and Abner, representing David’s lineage. They all were struck down, and realizing how senseless the rivalry between the two houses was, they ended it, ending in a dance, uniting them both.
The Shulamite is asking if The Beloved wants to see her dance this dance of unification. In Song of Solomon, chapter 8 verse 5, The Beloved returns. We know that Christ is coming back for His love, both the Jew and the Gentile, the Gentile perhaps referred to as the younger sister.
In addition, chapter 8 verse 7 says, “many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. God wants us to know His great love for us, a love that is unstoppable. His love is relentless, not based on our love, but on His. God is head-over-heels in love with us.
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