Song of Solomon 2:17

(17) Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of Bether.

Has the Holy Spirit ever revealed something in your nature that you know is not pleasing to the Lord? If you're pressing into maturity in the Lord, your answer, like mine, is yes. In today's verse, this is the realization & acknowledgment of the bride. She is speaking to her Beloved, the Lord, and acknowledging there are things in her life that keep her from being fully devoted and partnering with Him in ministry. She calls those 'things' the dark night and the shadows in her life. They are much like the 'foxes' in v. 15, or stumbling blocks, that spoil complete union with Him.

While the bride acknowledges these stumbling blocks, she also understands the Lord must be about His Father's business. He has things to accomplish, and His mandate does not allow for 'time outs.' So she admonishes Him to turn from Her and continue His mandate without her, until the time she is able to go with Him. In this verse, she refers to Him as a gazelle or young stag, meaning He is full of vitality and strength and vigor, never tiring from His assignment given by the Father.

In the Hebrew, the word 'Bether' means "separation." She understands because of where she is, and because of who He is, there will be a separation of partnership between the two, until she is able to overcome those stumbling blocks in her life.

This does not mean she will be separated from the Lord in spirit, because He says He will never leave us or forsake us; we can always count on Him being with us. But it does mean she will not be able to share in the excitement and victories of partnering with Him. And beloved, our full identity as the bride is to be in complete union and partnership with Him, fighting against injustice and sharing in the victories.

And just as the bride in Song of Solomon is committed to full union with Him, so are we. And just like her, we also know it is only a matter of time before these stumbling blocks will be removed, and we can move out together with Him, revealing and living in our true identity.