Rose of Sharon

October 29, 2018

Mary Ann Wray

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” (Solomon 2:1)

A lady in our church gave a word yesterday about the process for harvesting wheat. I've heard about the process many times before, but it's always good to hear something repeated to bring fresh revelation to it. The wheat had to be beaten on a threshing floor then winnowed afterward. The winnowing fork was used to separate the wheat from the chaff by throwing the grains of wheat up in the air. The wind would blow the chaff away from the kernels of wheat.

After she said this I remembered what Jesus said about a kernel of wheat needing to die in order to produce a fruit. That kernel must be planted in the earth and go through a literal process of death. The outer coat of the grain must get crushed  and falls away. Only then can the seed produce a harvest.

After she was gave this word I smelled roses. Next, I heard “Rose of Sharon”. Lastly, I heard , “You crush rose petals to get fragrant oil.”

You see, Jesus was crushed for us so we could experience His resurrection life. As His followers, we too (self-life) must be crushed in order to release His fragrant oil. Enduring the crushing and dying is not a pleasant process but obedience to it will yield a harvest yet unseen!

Religion seeks to kill God’s grace in us but submitting to the Lordship of Jesus will remove the outer shell of self as we lay our lives down for Him. Then His fragrance is released that others may be saved!

Prophetic Insights…

·         Jesus was not actually referred to as the rose of Sharon  in the New Testament. However, many refer to Him as such symbolically

·         Sharon is a fertile plain in Palestine and is one of the largest valleys there. It was known for its beauty in those days

·         Jesus is also known as the Lilly of the Valley. In the low places of our lives He and only He can lead us safely through

·         The person referred to as the “rose of Sharon” in the above verse was Solomon’s bride.

·         Solomon was the son of David. David was a type and shadow of Christ who is the Head over His Church. The Church is comprised of sons and daughters redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb!

·         The Church (His Body) is the Bride of Christ. He presents us with roses (Himself) but we must accept the thorns and crushing as well as the beauty in preparation for the Wedding Feast. We are in the betrothed stage right now so we must prepare ourselves for His return continually.

·         Part of the Wedding Banquet preparation is to invite as many guests as we can. Matthew 22

·         To get lasting fragrance from rose petals they must be crushed, boiled, left to sit, strained and the process repeated in order to get a stronger fragrance for oil. Rose oil is much more potent and lasting than rose water.

·         I don’t want to smell like Roses only when I’m in His presence.

·         I want to emit His scent everywhere I go. It will take a crushing to do that. The result will be resurrection life for many including me. Selah

2 Corinthians 2:15-17 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Matthew 22 New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

"Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”