Page 208 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson_FEB2025

RADICAL LOVE

famine throughout the whole Middle Eastern region at that time. Let’s

look at what else he said, in Genesis 45:11 (NKJV):

“There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that

you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.”

Do you see the similarities here? The meaning of “Goshen” is drawing

near. Joseph told his brothers that they should live in Goshen so that

they, their families, and all they had would be under his protective
covering. It was important to stay there because it was the place of

provision, blessing, and protection.

We also encounter Goshen in the book of Exodus, when God sent ten

plagues upon the land of Egypt. When the plagues were released, they
affected the entire nation—apart from one area: the Land of Goshen.

“And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people

dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know
that I am the Lord in the midst of the land.” (Exodus 8:22, NKJV)

Therefore, as we draw near to the place of intimacy and fellowship with

God—just as the garden in Song of Songs is enclosed and shut off from
the world—we too are surrounded by God. And He draws near to us,

providing all that is needed to make us beautiful, lush, and fruitful, like
the garden depicted in Chapter 4, verse 12.

The second half of verse 12 continues along the same theme, but now
the Bridegroom-King describes the Shulamite as a “spring shut up; a

fountain sealed.” The symbolism here describes how we, as sons and

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