“Until the day breaks, and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. You are all fair, my love … Come with me… Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon… from the mountains of the leopards.”—Song of Solomon 4:6–9
Mount Senir, Mount Hermon, the mountain of myrrh, the mountains of leopards. King Solomon wrote this to his beloved. He wanted to take her to the mountaintops, to the top of the world!
Mountains in the Bible represent a place of privilege, beauty, and our spiritual journeys. God longs to take each of us by the hand and lead us up above the wasteland and barrenness of earthly life.
God planted the Garden of Eden on a mountaintop. He crowned His Creation with a beautiful home for His beloved Adam and Eve. Then they sinned and were banished.
Translation: We left the Garden Paradise, stumbled down the mountain, and found ourselves in the howling wilderness, a barren land blighted by fear, loneliness, and the ever-present specter of death. From Genesis to Revelation, the story of redemption is of God taking us from the lowlands back up to the mountain of paradise.
Over and over, throughout the Bible, God led His people to mountaintops: Abraham to Mount Moriah, Elijah to Mount Carmel, Moses to Mount Sinai. The children of Israel to Mount Zion; finally, Jesus to the Mount of Olives.
God wants to take each of us hiking up the mountain. Unfortunately, sometimes we don’t want to go. We hold back, timid and afraid to trust the Shepherd.
My life and ministry started when God said, “Son, walk with me; I’m taking you to the mountain tops. I want to reveal Myself to you and I want to take as many people as I can with Me. I will do everything I can to get you there quickly and safely, to raise your sights, lift your vision, and help you see from the top.”
Are you willing to follow the Shepherd?
