Ewald Schmidt
'See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.' Song of Songs 2:11-13, NIV
In Israel, the rainy season is associated with winter, with most rainfall occurring between December and February. After the winter, when the last drops have fallen and the soil begins to warm, a new season begins – a time of growth, hope and new life.
Song of Songs uses this natural transition as a metaphor for something much deeper. The end of the rain and the beginning of the blooming season can symbolise the dawn of a new era in your life. Perhaps you’ve just overcome an inner winter – a time of loss, loneliness, silence or longing. But the voice of the Lord calls you to new life. Have you perhaps lost hope? This passage brings a loving invitation: “Arise ... come with me.”
The beauty of this text lies in its poetic description of spring: the fields in bloom, songs once again filling the air, the dove’s peaceful coo echoing over the land. These are signs of a new beginning, not only in nature but in your soul as well.
The fig trees and budding vines are signs of God’s provision. It’s not just beautiful – these are promises of fruit and joy yet to come. When God brings new seasons, they come with the fragrance of hope and the taste of life.
Song of Songs is a love song that reminds us that relationships also go through various stages or seasons. It is a precious gift to have someone in your life whom you can refer to with affection: “my darling, my beautiful one”. In springtime, relationships flourish – there is warmth, growth and excitement. However, sometimes relationships go through autumn, even winter – seasons of cooling, misunderstanding or distance.
Yet, just as you wouldn’t uproot a fig tree or vine in winter, you also don’t give up on a relationship going through a tough season. With love, care and time, even a broken relationship can bloom again. When the Lord removes the winter from a person’s heart, one can once again say with deep affection: “My darling, my beautiful one …”
May this week be the beginning of a new spring for you.
May the Lord transform the cold and quiet seasons of your life into times of singing and blooming. May you see his provision and rediscover joy in your relationship with him and with others.
Prayer: Lord, we long for spring. We long for new life in our hearts – for songs of praise and joy in your presence. Come and make all things new, Lord: our hearts, our hope, our relationships. Let the blossoms bloom again, and let the dove coo once more. Amen.
Ewald Schmidt
Kyk, die reëntyd is verby, die reën is oor, dis weg. Daar is bloeisels in die veld, dit het tyd geword om te sing; die tortelduif se stem klink oor ons land. Die voorvye kom al uit, die wingerde bot en versprei hulle geur. Staan op, my liefling, my mooiste, kom na my toe! Hooglied 2:11-13, 1983-vertaling
In Israel is die reënseisoen verbonde aan die winter, wanneer die meeste reën tussen Desember en Februarie val. Ná die winter, wanneer die laaste reëndruppels geval het en die grond begin warm word, breek daar ’n nuwe tyd aan – ’n tyd van groei, hoop en nuwe lewe. Hooglied gebruik hierdie natuurlike oorgang as beeldspraak vir iets baie dieper. Die einde van die reën en die begin van bloei simboliseer dat daar 'n nuwe seisoen in jou lewe kan aanbreek. Jy mag dalk pas deur ’n innerlike winter gegaan het – ’n tyd van verlies, eensaamheid, stilte en verlange. Maar die Here se stem roep jou tot nuwe lewe. Het jy dalk moed verloor? Hooglied bring ’n liefdesuitnodiging: “Staan op ... kom na my toe!”
Die skoonheid van hierdie teks lê in die poëtiese beskrywing van lente: die veld wat blom, die sang wat weer in die lug hang, die tortelduif wat sy vreedsame roep laat hoor. Dit is die simbole van nuwe begin – nie net in die natuur nie, maar ook in jou siel.
Die voorvye en die bot van die wingerde is tekens van God se voorsiening. Dis nie net mooi nie – dit is beloftes van vrug en vreugde wat weer sal kom. Wanneer God nuwe seisoene gee, kom dit met die geur van hoop en die smaak van lewe.
Hooglied is 'n liefdeslied, en herinner ons dat verhoudings ook deur seisoene beweeg. Dit is ’n wonderlike geskenk as jy iemand in jou lewe het wat jy met oorgawe kan noem: “my liefling, my mooiste.” In lentetye floreer verhoudings – daar is warmte, groei, opwinding. Maar soms gaan verhoudings deur herfs, en selfs winter – seisoene van afkoeling, misverstand of afstand.
Maar net soos jy nie ’n vyeboom of wingerd in die winter uittrek nie, so gee jy ook nie op op ’n verhouding wat deur ’n moeilike tyd gaan nie. Met liefde, sorg en tyd kan selfs ’n gebroke verhouding weer begin bot. Wanneer die Here die winter uit ’n mens se hart verwyder, kan jy weer met oorgawe sê: “my liefling, my mooiste …”
Mag hierdie week vir jou die begin wees van 'n nuwe lente. Mag die Here die koue en stil tye van jou lewe verander in seisoene van sang en blom. Mag jy sy voorsiening sien, en weer vreugde vind in jou verhouding met Hom en met ander.
Gebed: Here, ons verlang na die lente. Ons verlang na nuwe lewe in ons harte – na liedere van lof, en na blydskap in u teenwoordigheid. Kom maak alles nuut, Here: ons harte, ons hoop, ons verhoudings. Laat daar weer bloeisels bot, en laat die tortelduif weer koer. Amen.
Ewald Schmidt
The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Psalm 74:16-17, NIV
It is the month of August, and we are keenly aware of the changing seasons in nature around us. Here in the Southern Hemisphere, this has been one of the coldest winters I’ve ever experienced. The cold cuts right through to the bone! By August, the winds start to blow in our region, and we know: spring is on its way! The new season of growth is about to begin. We only have to persevere a little longer – better days are near!
The Bible often speaks of different times and seasons in nature, using that language symbolically to reflect on our human experience. In the Bible, the two main seasons described are summer and winter, or often, the rainy season and the dry season. Even in biblical times, there was an understanding that the sun and moon influence the seasons and the times of day. Behind the flow of time and the rhythm of the seasons, God’s hand was seen, as we read in today’s Scripture. This month, I want to reflect on the seasons in our lives and acknowledge God’s hand in them.
Psalm 74 was written during a time of hardship. God’s people had suffered military defeat, and the enemy had brought destruction. The temple had been burned down, and every place where believers had gathered was destroyed (Psalm 74:7-8). God’s voice had gone quiet – there were no more prophets (Psalm 74:9). It was undoubtedly a winter season in the history of God’s people. But even winter is never the end of nature’s cycles. During this time, some believers still held on to the Lord and trusted him for deliverance.
The psalm is attributed to Asaph, and from verse 12 he begins to express his trust in the Lord, who had done mighty things in the past. But he also trusts in the Lord as the One who holds the seasons in his hands. God can bring this terrible winter to an end and usher in a new season of spring. That’s why Asaph pleads with God to remember his covenant with his people (Psalm 74:20). He prays for God to intervene and bring salvation, for these times of oppression to come to an end (Psalm 74:21).
It is now winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and nature looks dull and lifeless. Yet spring is near, and the new signs of life, like blossoms and budding leaves, will soon appear. The world also feels like a dangerous place to me now. There seems to be a low point in history with all the hatred, violence, war and crime that surrounds us. But like Asaph, I want to keep believing that spring is near and that God will once again bring times of new life and growth. I pray for that, and I offer myself as an instrument in his hand.
Prayer: Lord, in the winter of this world, I cry out to you. Lord, chase away the cold and bring new fire into my heart. Let new life begin to bud in me through your Spirit, so that I may once again bear fruit to your glory. Amen.
Ewald Schmidt
Dit is U aan wie dag en nag behoort, U wat aan die son en die maan hulle plek gegee het, U wat al die seisoene van die aarde vasgestel het; somer en winter is die werk van u hand. Psalm 74:16-17, 1983-vertaling
Hier in Augustusmaand is ons deeglik bewus van die seisoene in die natuur rondom ons. Hier in die Suidelike Halfrond was dit een van die koudste winters wat ek nog beleef het. Die koue sny sommer so deur murg en been! Teen Augustus begin die winde waai by ons, en weet ons: die lente is op pad! Dis amper tyd vir die nuwe groeiseisoen om aan te breek. Ons moet nog net so kort tydjie bly volhard, mooiweersdae is naby!
Die Bybel praat nogal baie van verskillende tye en seisoene in die natuur, en trek dit ook soms met beeldspraak deur na 'n mens se lewe. In die Bybel is daar hoofsaaklik twee seisoene wat beskryf word – die somer en die winter. Of dikwels ook: die reëntyd en die droë tyd. Daar was in bybelse tye al 'n begrip dat die son en die maan die seisoene en die dag se tye beïnvloed. Agter die vloei van tyd en die gang van seisoene is die Here se hand raakgesien, soos in vandag se teksvers. Hierdie maand wil ek so bietjie nadink oor seisoene in ons lewens, en die Here se hand daarin raaksien.
Psalm 74 is in 'n moeilike tyd geskryf. Die volk van die Here is op militêre gebied oorwin en die vyand het verwoesting gesaai. Die tempel is aan die brand gesteek, en elke plek waar gelowiges bymekaar gekom het, is vernietig (Psalm 74:7-8). Die Here se stem het stil geword, daar was nie meer profete nie (Psalm 74:9). Dit was verseker 'n winterseisoen in die volk van die Here se geskiedenis. Tog is selfs winter nooit die einde van die natuur se siklusse nie. In hierdie tydperk was daar nog steeds gelowiges wat aan die Here vashou, en op Hom vertrou vir uitkoms.
Die Psalm word aan Asaf toegedig, en hy spreek van vers 12 af sy vertroue uit in die Here wat in die verlede sulke magtige dinge gedoen het. Maar hy vertrou die Here as die God wat die seisoene in sy hande vashou. Die Here kan ook hierdie verskriklike winter laat verbygaan, en 'n nuwe seisoen van lente laat aanbreek. Daarom pleit Asaf dat die Here sy verbond sal onthou met sy volk (Psalm 74:20). Hy bid dat die Here sal ingryp en redding bring, dat die Here die tye van verdrukking sal laat verby gaan (Psalm 74:21).
Dit is nou winter in die Suidelike Halfrond en hier by ons lyk die natuur vaal en dood. Tog is die lente naby en sal die nuwe tekens van lewe, soos nuwe bloeisels en blaarbotsels, binnekort verskyn. Die wêreld rondom my voel ook nou vir my na 'n gevaarlike plek. Daar is so 'n laagtepunt wat haat, geweld, oorlog en misdaad in die wêreld meebring. Tog wil ek soos Asaf bly glo dat die lente naby is, en dat God weer tye van nuwe lewe en groei sal stuur. Daarvoor bid ek en daarvoor gee ek myself as instrument in God se hand. Mag jy, te midde van jou eie winter, bly glo dat die Here die seisoene van jou lewe in sy hand hou.
Gebed: Here, in die winter van hierdie wêreld roep ek na U. Here, verdryf die koue, bring nuwe vuur in my hart. Laat die nuwe lewe deur die Gees in my begin bot, dat ek weer vrug kan dra tot u eer. Amen.