#Behold i stand at the door and knock how to

Her response was not one of compromise, lethargy or lukewarmness. The Bride’s heart yearned for Him as she heard His voice, and she arose instantly in response to open the door of her heart to Him. The “latch of the door” itself representing the door of her heart. The ‘hand’ of the Beloved on the latch of the door, signifies the grace of God (see Acts 11:21-23). My feet were dirty with my own walk, but now they have been cleansed by the Lord.“ How could she defile herself by disobeying Him in light of the great love He had for her? She is simply saying “ I’ve done it my way. I’ve taken off my robe and I’ve put on Your robe of righteousness.” Her statement “ …I have washed my feet, how can I defile them?” is not reflective of her refusing to obey Him, but instead, a commitment to avoid spiritual defilement. She’s simply saying, “ I’m not standing before You on my own merits. Her robe (garments) speak of her own works (see Rev 19:7-9). “I have taken off my robe how can I put it on again?” She was at a point where normally, He was there next to her, but on this occasion, she awoke to find He was gone, but calling her–knocking from outside. The Bride has complete confidence in the Lord, and she is resting–but her heart is ‘awake’ in the sense that she is willing to walk in obedience without any conscious area of compromise, without any hesitation.

Sleep speaks of being in a place of rest. The context–being in bed and having expected that Her Bridegroom would be there as well–demonstrates that she is in a place of mature obedience, and not one of refusing to get out of bed and answer the door for Him. Jesus’ purpose in knocking is to get her to open up completely to Him. The Bridegroom’s knock here refers to the initiative God takes in bringing His Bride into new dimensions of His Spirit. I sought him, but found him not I called him, but he gave no answer. I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and gone.

I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the bolt. A sound! My beloved is knocking.”Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” I had put off my garment how could I put it on? I had bathed my feet how could I soil them? My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me. Hill’s “Song of Solomon: Rich Language For a King’s Devotion To His Bride.” I stated in a previous article that I recommended reading the book of Revelation right after reading the Song of Solomon, and therefore I’m of the opinion that what this passage is really talking about is displayed in the fifth chapter of that Song. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (v.19-20) Interesting how leaving that verse in its context helps shed clear light, but I digress.

He goes on to state “ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Previously we’re told the Lord found them lukewarm and would spit them out of his mouth ( 3:16), and that He finds them wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked (v.17) despite their perception of themselves to be rich and lacking nothing. We have to remember that Christ was speaking to seven churches, and in this specific context was saying this to the Church of Laodecia. Though I’m not discounting its meaning for the unbeliever to enter into that relationship and let Christ in, I think there’s such a deeper meaning to it than just ‘letting God in’ as if He’s lonely and wants us to let Him in so He can have some company–as though Jesus is a loner and giving our lives to Him is a favor we’re doing Him like letting him sit at our table in the cafeteria during lunch. However, I usually hear the concept of Jesus standing outside, “knocking at the door of our hearts” used in an evangelistic sense towards unbelievers. I think memorization is a good idea for helping get the Word in us, and therefore I’m not against having an understanding of where the Word of God says certain things we base our hopes and understanding on.

#Behold i stand at the door and knock how to

When I was younger and worked at a day camp, we were given Scripture verses we had to memorize in order to know how to share the Gospel with kids who may be interested in giving their lives to the Lord. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)