Winter
1988
The Purpose Of Submissive Dependence
Wade E Taylor
"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning
upon her beloved?" Song of Solomon 8:5
There is a particular quality about this one who is coming
up from the wilderness that attracts special attention. She
is leaning upon her beloved. This position of leaning demonstrates
the fact that she has become completely dependent upon Him.
Something very special has taken place within her during this
experience of the wilderness, which resulted in her becoming
Submissively Dependent upon the Lord.
Throughout biblical history, the Lord often used the wilderness
to test His servants in order to perfect His purposes within
them. The wilderness speaks of a barren and desolate area.
It is a place where inner needs become intensified in their
desire to receive satisfaction, but where there is no availability
of the things that are necessary to meet these needs, or to
satisfy desires. Here, needs can only be met through an external
source.
In contrast to this barren wilderness, the Lord had planted
a garden in Eden, supplying everything that could be desired.
It provided an environment of both beauty and provision, complete
beyond imagination. "And the Lord God planted a garden
eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree
of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil" Gen 2:8-9.
Adam and Eve were placed in this garden and commanded, "Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat
of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die" Gen 2:16b-17.
This made them dependent, as they were required to obey the
word that the Lord had spoken to them. There were two specific
things that was required. 1. They were to eat of the tree
of Life in order to maintain eternal life (Gen 3:22). 2. They
were to abstain from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil.
The only restraint to their eating the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil was the Word that the Lord
had spoken to them, telling them that they were not to partake.
This tree was in the midst of the garden. It was very desirable,
and easily available to them. Eve had observed that the fruit
of this tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired. (Gen 3:6). Herein was Eve's problem;
the fruit of this tree was very appealing. However, she knew
that God had said NO.
Therefore, when Satan approached Eve, he came against the
Word that the Lord had spoken by raising doubt: "Hath
God said?" In effect, he was saying, "Would God
tell you to give up something that is really good, something
that you like, and want?" Even though the Lord had said
"Thou shalt not eat," the attraction was so enticing
and the fruit seemingly so desirable, that Eve disobeyed and
partook.
Through this act of disobedience, Adam and Eve forfeited
their position of "willing dependence" upon the
Lord. They failed to "overcome" in the test that
had been placed in their pattern of life, and became spiritually
separated from God. As a result of this, the process of death
entered their being, and they no longer "leaned"
upon Him. Along with this, they lost all that would have developed
on their behalf, had they been obedient and overcame in this
testing.
The Word of God is silent concerning what might have taken
place in their relationship to the Lord, had they chosen to
remain submissive and obedient to Him. The only clue that
we have as to what might have been, is to consider the outcome
in the testing of the "last Adam." Jesus took upon
Himself, in human form, the identity of a new Adam, and then
faced a test that was similar to the one that the first Adam
had faced. "And so it is written, the first man Adam
was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening
spirit" I Cor 15:45.
Jesus, as the last Adam, overcame in every situation where
the first Adam failed. As a result of this, after paying the
penalty for our sin on the cross, He was resurrected and then
ascended to sit with His Father in His throne. "... even
as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His
Throne" Rev 3:21b.
An "overcomer" is one who submits to the Lord,
and then abides in a "leaning" position upon his
beloved. This is an indication of their complete trust in,
and dependence upon the Lord. It is the result of having become
obedient and submissive to the will of the Lord. Being an
"overcomer" means rising above all that is less
than the Lord's revealed, or known, best. It involves facing
the test of the wilderness, and remaining dependent upon the
Lord for provision.
Adam and Eve were tested concerning the possibility of their
becoming overcomers. Because of the desirability and the attraction
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they choose
for their own seeming good and failed to overcome.
All spiritual gain must be tested, if it is to abide and
become productive. Adam and Eve failed their test while abiding
in a perfect environment, and entered death. Jesus, as the
"Last Adam," had to face a similar test in order
to qualify for the place in life that the first Adam had forfeited.
In contrast to the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden,
Jesus faced Satan in the barren environment of a wilderness
that provided nothing. "And when He had fasted forty
days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred" Matt
4:2. There was nothing available that could satisfy the intense
hunger that Jesus felt. Then, Satan appeared to Jesus and
suggested that He turn stones into bread in order to satisfy
this gnawing hunger.
There was nothing wrong with turning these stones into bread,
except that God had not said to do so. Jesus refused to act
on a word from Satan, and waited for supply from His Father.
Had Jesus exercised His Deity in order to provide for His
own need, He would have become independent. He qualified,
by remaining in a place of total dependence upon His Father
for provision.
This was exactly where Adam and Eve failed, for Satan had
said to them, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be AS
GODS, knowing good and evil" Gen 3:5. Satan told Adam
and Eve that they could be independent from God, and do as
they felt best. They could decide for themselves what was
right or wrong. Now, Satan was telling Jesus that He could
act on His own to provide for Himself, just as he had told
Eve to do.
Jesus confirmed His complete dependence upon God when He
said: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" Matt 4:4.
He refused to act apart from a Word from the Lord, and came
forth from the wilderness in the "power of the Spirit."
(Luke 4:14).
As a result of His willing obedience, by which He remained
dependent upon His Father, He is qualified to say to us, "To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in
His Throne" Rev 3:21.
We also will be tested, as Jesus was, if we desire to come
into this relationship of Submissive Dependence upon Him in
His Throne. Those of us who choose to abide in this position
of "Leaning upon Him" will then be led by the Holy
Spirit into the wilderness, (a place of spiritual barrenness)
where we will develop a great hunger (dissatisfaction), or
an intense desire (frustration), in some area of our being.
Then at a critical moment, when it (apparently) seems to
us that the Lord is no longer interested in our problem and
that He is (wrongly) delaying His answer, the enemy will be
allowed to come and tempt us. He will try to provoke us to
act in some way to produce, or to bring about the satisfaction
that we desperately long for, which is presently apart from
God's provision for us. If we will steadfastly refuse this
temptation and stand fast, in due time, the Lord will feed
(satisfy) us. "But He knoweth the way that I take: when
He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" Job 23:10.
If we will be patient during our times of being tested, and
wait for the Lord's provision for us, then it can truly be
said, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him" 1 Cor 2:9.
The first Adam failed and lost his place, or position as
an overcomer. This was regained by Jesus, who overcame as
the last Adam. He was faithful in maintaining His place of
dependence. As a result, He is seated with His Father in His
Throne. Now, Jesus is offering to all who overcome, a place
with Him in His Throne. These overcomers are the ones who
were seen coming up from the wilderness "Leaning upon
their Beloved."
There is no greater joy than that which comes from making
a determined choice to become dependent upon Him, and then
to faithfully abide in this new found place of Submissive
Dependence, until the greater day comes.