“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish on you.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

You shall come with me from Lebanon.

You shall come down from the summit of Amana,

From the summit of Senir and Hermon,

From the dens of lions,

From the mountains of leopards. Song of Solomon 4:7-8

The Lord says you shall come down from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. Come down from the lion’s den. Come down from the mountains of leopards. Do you feel like you’re living in a lion’s den or trapped in a mountain full of leopards? Has your family life turned into a lion’s den? Does your job or career feel like you are surrounded by leopards? In other words, do you feel trapped? Or are you facing hardships? Are you going through a rough patch? Whatever the case may be, God likens this situation to being in a lion’s den or in a mountain filled with leopards. 

It’s a peculiar place for God to put us. After all, lions and leopards are dangerous animals. They can kill us. But God puts us in these situations for a reason. He turns our lives upside down for a reason. Once we recognize His purpose and understand why He sends us out as sheep among wolves, we can do the right thing and “come down from the mountain.” The hardship is no longer a hardship. The frightening surroundings are no longer frightening! 

God puts us among lions and leopards because He wants us to look only to Him. He wants us to sever ties with the world. He wants us to get our priorities straight and to put our relationships in order. He wants us to realize God is our only hope in a chaotic world. Think about. Imagine you are sitting in a lion’s den or on top of a mountain filled with leopards. Would you enjoy the scenery? Would you admire nature or take leisurely strolls? No! You would be terrified of the lions and leopards prowling around and looking for food. All eyes would be on the Lord, the shepherd. 

While we’re on top of this “mountain,” we can lose sight of the Lord. We become transfixed with our careers, our families, or a particular passion. We go to church on Sunday, but we have no personal connection with God. We’re connected to success. We’re connected to money. We’re connected to human relationships. We’re connected to everything but God. For this reason, He puts us among lions and leopards because He wants us to break free. God wants us to put our life in order and to look only to Him. 

We each have our own lion’s den and mountain of leopards. When you’re trembling in fear, overcome by what you’re facing, don’t complain or try to fend for yourself. Recognize it as God’s love. “God’s love is on the way. He’s giving me these lions and leopards so I can run to Him!” And we don’t want to be that person that’s living among lions and leopards but doesn’t even recognize it. And just because we drop everything and run to Him doesn’t mean we’ll fail in this world. God blesses us, and we’re better off than we were before. 

Take a look at your life. We live amongst lions and leopards. God gives you the situations you confront for one reason only: He wants you to drop everything and run to Him. That’s it. He wants you to realize that in the end, there’s nothing dependable, unchanging, or absolute in this world. You can’t control anything. God is the only One we can depend on; He’s immutable and He is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. 

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1982-9-27-full

Click for English reading https://youtu.be/Ioo-myB7BI8