Song
of Solomon 2 reminds me of my marriage. Solomon describes how God’s
Spirit turns the ordinary into His perfection and the joy of
anticipation. The poem is ripe with expectancy as the wedding night
is near. He sees in her a beauty no one else has noticed and she
sees in him the completion of her essence. The chapter begins, “I
am a rose
of
Sharon, a lily of the valleys“.
She is saying, “I am nothing special”. Many young ladies feel
this way and sadly, some young men take full advantage; linking
sexual pleasure with self worth and devaluing both. Low self-esteem
multiplies until they tolerate many forms of disrespect. But this
young man sees her rarity, “Like
a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women“.
Her worth is not from him, but from knowing that she is God’s
handiwork. He simply helps remove the accumulated layers of dust
from years of disappointment. She returns the compliment, “Like
an apple
tree
among the trees of the forest is my beloved“.
He is an unexpected answer to her unspoken prayer, “I
delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my
taste“. She will
follow him anywhere, but he leads her toward the altar, “Let
him lead me
to
the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love“.
This is the wedding feast, but her special day is focused on him,
“Strengthen
me…for I am faint with love“.
It is a foolish man that fails to polish the apple of his eye. Do
you see yourself as common?
Next
she describes the pure intimacy of this kind of love, “His
left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me“.
There is a tenderness and vulnerability that invites real
communication into the depth of their hearts. She warns the other
young women, “Do
not arouse or awaken love until it so desires“.
Playing house and pretend permanence leads to repeatedly tearing at
the soul. 1 Corinthians 6:18 makes it clear that the emotional
damage goes far beyond the moment, “All
other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins
sexually, sins against their own body“.
Physical love is reserved for marriage.
In
the traditional Hebrew wedding, after the groom legally accepts the
marriage covenant, he leaves for a period of time to prepare their
future home. After the home is built, he returns for his bride to
consummate the marriage. When they are apart, she longs for him as
much as he desires to get back. “Listen!
My beloved! Look! Here he comes“.
He overcomes all obstacles to get back to her, “leaping
across the mountains, bounding over the hills“.
She calls him, “My
beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag“.
Breathless from the journey he cannot wait to catch the first
glimpse of her, “Look!
There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows“.
He takes her by the hand, “Arise,
my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. The winter is past; the
rains are…gone“. It
is time for the honeymoon! “The
season of singing has come… show me your face, let me hear your
voice… your face is lovely“.
He adds one note of caution that sounds out of place, but it is not.
“Catch
for us the foxes,
the
little foxes that ruin the vineyards“.
He lifts her up with joy but does not want haughtiness to develop.
They mutually need to exalt God to guard against those foxes. She
closes with confidence born of experience, “My
beloved is mine and I am his“.
Friend, are you missing unconditional love? This chapter is also a
picture of Christ and His church. Please know that Jesus promised to
return for His beloved and take us to eternal bliss. We are waiting
with the joy of that expectancy. This proposal is for you too, will
you accept?