Verse 5 says, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth; there she brought thee forth that bare thee.” This book speaks of the maiden coming up from the wilderness two times. The first coming up from the wilderness in 3:6 refers to her forsaking of a wandering life. There she began her absolute union with the Lord in His death, His life, and all His grace. Since then she steadily advanced, until she left the wilderness completely. Although in her latter experience she stopped once or twice, we dare not say that these stops were necessary, but surely we can say that they were excusable. Once we leave the wandering life, we leave it for good. Why then does the Lord speak about her coming up from the wilderness a second time, as if she is still in the wilderness?
We must pay attention to what the wilderness refers to. The wilderness for us is not just a wandering life, but the world itself. Not only is there a wilderness in the spiritual realm; there is also a wilderness in the fleshly realm. We must not only be delivered spiritually from the wilderness of wandering, but we must be delivered from this earthly wilderness as well. When the Lord reigns within us through the Holy Spirit, we begin to leave behind a fluctuating life. When we hear the call for the rapture, we will be delivered from the worldly environment. The cross of Christ delivers us from the spiritual wilderness, and the coming of Christ delivers us from the earthly wilderness. This is why there is a second coming up from the wilderness. This is being delivered from this earth.
The Holy Spirit once again asks a question through the mouth of a third party. “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness?” It seems as if He sees a maiden coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved; the closer she gets, the clearer her identity becomes.
Here we see that the rapture that delivers us from the wilderness does not happen suddenly, but is a result of a step-by-step walk with the Lord. The rapture is the last step of our walk with the Lord. All that men see will be the instant change from earth to heaven. But this is merely the last step of the rapture. The beginning of the rapture does not happen then. When a believer is attracted by heaven and walking away from the world step by step, he becomes further and further away from the world, and there will be a clearer and clearer separation between him and the world. When the process is complete, he will find himself waking up before the face of the Lord. This is the way that Enoch was raptured. We must never be misled to think that the rapture is something that will happen suddenly or something that will instantly change our spiritual condition.
This is the time to prepare ourselves for the rapture. By leaning upon our Beloved, we constantly leave the world behind and come up again and again until the Lord comes to take us away.
“Leaning upon her beloved.” She seems to be powerless and unable to walk. “Leaning upon her beloved.” She makes herself a burden for her beloved to carry. “Leaning upon her beloved.” It is as if the hollow of her thigh has been touched. “Leaning upon her beloved.” She seems to find herself pressed beyond measure, and this seems to last until the wilderness journey is over. Only the Lord can prepare us for the rapture. A trusting life is indispensable. We should trust in Him helplessly until the Holy Spirit exclaims, “Who is this that cometh...leaning upon her beloved?”