FROM FEEDING TO BUILDING
At this point in chapter eight, it seems that the Lord and the seeking one have fellowship together. “We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar” (8:8-9). We have seen that in this book the two breasts are always symbols of faith and love. This means that here is a younger Christian whose faith and love have not yet matured. What shall we do with her?
In all the previous chapters, the most the seeking one did was to feed others, giving them something to eat and to drink. But in this chapter it is not simply a matter of feeding and nourishing, but also a matter of building up. This chapter does not say what we should do with her if she is hungry or thirsty, but that if she is a wall, we will build upon her, or if she is a door, we will build with her. Her words with the Lord have gone on from the feeding and nourishing aspect to the building aspect. This is a real improvement.
What does it mean to be a wall? This means a separation from the world unto God. It means a separation between the holy things and the unholy things. If she is a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver. This means something is built up with the Lord’s redemption. There are at least two translations that render the word “turret” as “battlement,” which refers to the high towers on the walls used for fighting. An ordinary wall has no battlement, and therefore is not useful for warfare. This means that if this younger Christian is separated from the world unto the Lord, we will build upon her a tower for battle with all the aspects of Christ’s redemption. We will build upon her item after item, aspect after aspect of the Lord’s redemption that she may fight the battle. Then she will not only be a wall, but a wall with a turret.
The seeking one knows how to build this younger Christian not only if she is a wall, but also if she is a door. A door in the Bible mainly signifies the experience of coming into the Lord’s grace or coming into God Himself. Hence, if this younger Christian is a door through whom people may enter into the grace of God or God Himself, she must be built up with boards of cedar. Cedar, in typology, indicates the resurrected, ascended, glorified, and honored humanity of Jesus. If this young Christian is a door, she needs to be built up with such a humanity.
Now the seeking one knows not only how to nourish and feed others, but also how to build them up. Furthermore, she knows what to build upon each person. She is unlike today’s Christians, who try to help others, but do not know whether the person they are helping is a wall or a door. All they know how to do is give them lectures, sermons, and Bible studies. The Lord’s recovery, on the other hand, requires some experienced ones who know the Lord’s building, and who know how to build up others with proper materials. The wall needs a turret, and the door requires boards of cedar. This is not merely a doctrine. This is the need among us in the Lord’s recovery. Therefore we must pray, “Lord, if I am a wall, build a turret upon me. If I am a door, enclose me with the boards of cedar. How I need Your full redemption to equip me and Your all-inclusive humanity to enclose me.”
COMING UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF SPICES
The last point in this book is in the very last verse: “Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices” (8:14). As we have mentioned, this book is an extract of the entire Bible. It is a condensation of the Bible in eight short chapters. At the end of the Bible the Lords says, “Surely I come quickly” (Rev. 22:20). To make haste means to come quickly. “Make haste, my beloved” means “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” The Lord is coming upon the mountains of spices. This is quite meaningful, for we have seen that in this book the spices are the different aspects of the Lord Jesus experienced by us and even grown out from us. Soon, all of our experiences of the Lord will be piled up like mountains. Then the Lord Jesus will come to meet us there. This will bring in the kingdom, and the kingdom will be composed of mountains of spices.
(Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs, Chapter 14, by Witness Lee)
