THE BELOVED’S DESIRE – Song of Solomon 6:13-7:10
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 24, 2018 under PM Bible Study |
PM Bible Study Group; January 24, 2018 from Song of Solomon 6:1-10
Theme: We should take it to heart that—by grace—we have been made the delight of our Savior.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
In our study of this holy ‘photo album’ of love, we have considered many of its divisions. We began in the first four verses of this book with the division we called “The Declaration of Love”. Then, flipping through the album, we found the story of “The Courtship” (1:5-3:5); then of “The Wedding Day” (3:6-5:1); and most recently, “The Joys and Challenges of Marriage” (5:2-6:12).
And now—the challenges having strengthened the heart of the Shulamite woman for her beloved husband—we turn to a new division. 6:13-8:4 give us beautiful snapshots of “The Deepening of The Union”; and in gazing thoughtfully on the scenes we find in it through the enabling help of the Holy Spirit, our hearts may be moved toward a deeper and more profound relationship of love with the Savior that this album pictures to us—our Lord Jesus Christ.
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One of the great challenges of our Christian faith is to learn to accept, and to rest confidently in, the deep, eternal love that the Lord Jesus has for us. It’s a love and acceptance that the Scriptures, given by the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit, clearly declare to us.
The enemy of our souls, however, seeks continually to turn our attention away from that love. He often does this causing us to turn our eyes away from the Scripture’s declaration of that love, and to focus exclusively instead upon our sinful failures and our unworthiness. It’s true of course that, in order to come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ in the first place, we must admit our desperate need for salvation and be realistic about our sinful unworthiness. To be saved, we have to first despair of ourselves and admit our complete spiritual and moral bankruptcy before a holy God. That is the right and necessary beginning point in experiencing God’s saving grace. We must admit that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23—and then trust in Jesus. But after having accepted the atoning sacrifice of our Lord on the cross—after we have been washed clean of our sin and declared righteous in His sight by faith in His grace—if we continue in that same state of despair over our sinful unworthiness, then we have failed to enter into the full joy of the grace of our Savior. And this is one of the most potent tactics the devil uses to keep us in defeat. He constantly keeps us focused on what we were before we came to Christ, instead of what we have now become in Christ.
It is a very important milestone in someone’s Christian faith when they finally learn to accept the fact that Jesus Christ has made them completely clean in the sight of a holy God, and that they may simply rejoice in the fact that the Lord Himself delights in what He has made them to be—in spite of present faults and imperfections. And it’s the act of coming to that milestone moment that is being illustrated to us in this section of the Song of Solomon. In the beginning of this new section—one which follows right after a brief waning of the love of the Shulamite for her beloved bridegroom Solomon—we find that she is encouraged to accept that he fully delights in her; and as a result, she enters into the joy of his complete favor and delight in her.
This is a word of encouragement that we desperately need to hear. Having been brought into a relationship by faith with Jesus, and having been united to Him in a bond of eternal love, we will never be outside of His love again. Even when we stumble and fail (as we most surely will), His love for us never can never fail. And so, trusting fully in His full atoning sacrifice for us, we can leave our sins behind—and with it, our sense of despair and fear. We no longer have to hold back. We can give ourselves fully over to His love, knowing that He is continually perfecting us and beautifying us. He delights in those He has redeemed; and as His redeemed saints, we can—as we find the Shulamite doing—embrace the fact that we are a pleasure to Him.
We can take to heart the apostle John’s words in 1 John 4:17-19;
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:17-19).
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Now; consider how this very intimate, very sacred section of the photo album lays this out for us. We see it first in …
I. THE EXHORTATION TO THE DOUBTFUL HEART (6:13).
In the previous section, we found that the Shulamite—somewhat uncertain of herself because of her temporary lapse in devotion—went to the place where she and Solomon would meet; that is, to the garden—where he so often expressed his delight in her.
In 6:11-12, we find that she has gone to the garden; and became thrilled in heart to discover that the love of her beloved husband for her was as strong as ever. And it’s then—after that discovery—that we read these words:
Return, return, O Shulamite;
Return, return, that we may look upon you! (6:13a).
You’ll notice that these words are spoken in the plural—“we”. Who are the speakers? Because of the clear presence of the ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ in this section (see 5:9; 6:1), it makes sense to think that it is they who are speaking. And as we have observed before, they seem to symbolize the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit in highlighting and advancing the relationship of love we enjoy with our Redeemer Jesus. Here, it’s as if they were encouraging the bride to come back and make an appearance so that she may be seen.
But why would such an encouragement be needed? A clue is given to us in how the bride responds. She says,
What would you see in the Shulamite—
As it were, the dance of the two camps? (6:13b).
Do you notice what she calls herself—and indeed, how even the daughters of Jerusalem speak of her? ‘The Shulamite’ was the name she used to be known by. It was her old identity back before Solomon found her and placed his love upon her. It somewhat represented the way she thought of herself back when she was ashamed of her appearance and her humble condition—back when, as a humble farm girl, she said,
I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept (1:5-6).
She was still thinking of herself in the old way; and in an accommodating way, that’s how the daughters of Jerusalem tenderly speak to her. She had not yet embraced the fact that the king had chosen her for himself, and had unmerited delight in her, and had poured out on her all the riches of his grace and made her lovely to himself.
She asks what anyone would see in her? Would they look to her for ‘the dance of the two camps’? In the original language, this is literally ‘The Dance of Manahaim’; and that’s the name of the place made famous by the patriarch Jacob. Back when he was about to meet his brother Esau, we’re told that “the angels of God met him” (Genesis 32:1). He responded by saying, “This is God’s camp” (v. 2); and he named the place “Manahaim”—that is, “The Two Camps” or “Double Camp”. It was not only Jacob’s camp, because he led a great company of family members and goods in his journey; but to his comfort, it was God’s camp too. That was a great encouragement to him in a time of trouble and doubt and fear. In spite of his imperfections, he was the chosen of God.
Scholars believe that this was the name given to a very sacred and intimate ‘marriage’ dance that a bride gave to her husband on the night of their wedding—perhaps because it pictured a beautiful union between God and His people; establishing ‘two camps’ together. And it may be that the Shulamite—because of her insecurities—had not yet performed this traditional wedding-night dance to her husband.
And if this is so; then what a picture this gives us of how the Holy Spirit exhorts us, as redeemed believers, to set aside our fears and insecurities about what we once were, and to give ourselves completely and confidently over to the love and acceptance and delight of our Savior—imperfections and all. We can do this; because as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17;
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
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We should never allow what we once were in the past to hinder our full-hearted entry into the love and delight of our Savior now. And in the same way, the Shulamite was encouraged not to hold back either. And to help her, we next find …
II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF FAVOR BY GRACE (7:1-5).b
Now; these are very intimate words that we find in this passage. They are so intimate, in fact, that they may make us feel a bit uncomfortable—as if we’re looking in on something that it’s not our place to see. It’s a passage preachers fear to preach; because these words are often thought of as the intimate expressions of romantic delight from the lips of the bridegroom in the most intimate moment of the wedding night.
But what is not often appreciated—because of the context of 6:13, and because of the fact that 7:5 points to the king—these words still appear to be spoken by the daughters of Jerusalem. In them, they are encouraging this shy and somewhat-despairing bride that she is—in fact—a woman of radiant beauty and delight to her beloved; and that she should give herself fully over to him.
These daughters of Jerusalem, as it were, take inventory for her—from the feet upward. They say;
How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O prince’s daughter! (7:1a).
Notice that she called herself ‘the Shulamite’; but they remind her of her true identity. She is a prince’s daughter now; a woman of dignity and glory. Moving upward, they say,
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skillful workman (v. 1b).
They assure her that she—a former farm-girl—is in fact a work of art! Next they tell her,
Your navel is a rounded goblet;
It lacks no blended beverage.
Your waist is a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies (v. 2).
It may not seem, to the English reader, like very much of a compliment to be told that your waist is like a heap of wheat. But this is the love language of the time. And these are very intimate words; expressing how much of a pleasure she is to her husband. That’s also true of the words that follow;
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle (v. 3).
You’ll remember that these are words that Solomon already used to describe her on their true wedding night (4:5). Here, the daughters of Jerusalem are simply reminding her of what he had already told her. They go on to say,
Your neck is like an ivory tower,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looks toward Damascus (v. 4).
Here again, these are the kind of words of love that would only be meaningful in Solomon’s day. Fellas who want to speak sweet words to their bride today are urgently advised to find more contemporary analogies! But what, to a king in ancient times, is more beautiful than a strong tower of defense or a lovely pool in the city? Her eyes were enthralling to him; and she stood—in spite of her uncertainties—in the strength that he had lavished upon her. These daughters of Jerusalem go on to say,
Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like purple … (v. 5a).
Having begun at her feet, the descriptions have moved upward now to her head. Mount Carmel—near modern-day Haifa—was, as it were, the ‘crowning point’ of the land. Again, the daughters of Jerusalem are speaking to the bride in the love-language of Solomon. And notice their final expression of assurance regarding the hair of her head;
A king is held captive by your tresses (v. 5b).
If, as we have said before, these ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ symbolize the ministry of the Holy Spirit in advancing the love we share with our Lord Jesus, then what a picture of assurance this gives us. It is the Holy Spirit’s blessed ministry not only to remind us that we belong to our Redeemer, but also that He is unspeakably and immeasurably delighted in us through the glory He has lavished upon us by grace—a glory that is certainly ours now, but that will be fully realized on the day when we finally stand before Him (see Ephesians 5:25-27; Jude 24). The encouragement that the daughters of Jerusalem are giving the bride here reminds us of the words of Paul about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives:
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together (Romans 8:17-19).
May it be that we fully heed the witness of the Spirit to our hearts of the Savior’s love and delight in us! What a difference it will make in us when we do!
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Now that the daughters of Jerusalem have spoken—encouraging the bride of her husband’s deep and delighted love—we next hear from him. These are words that are clearly spoken by Solomon—perhaps as his bride, now encouraged, performs that wedding dance of love to him. This is where we find …
III. THE EXPRESSION OF DELIGHT FROM THE BELOVED (vv. 6-9a).
What an encouragement it must have been to her to hear these words from him! How it must have established her heart in his love! He, speaking in the most intimate terms, tells her;
How fair and how pleasant you are,
O love, with your delights!
This stature of yours is like a palm tree,
And your breasts like its clusters (vv. 6-7).
No wonder Solomon would delight in ‘this stature’ of hers. He was the one that gave it to her because of all the riches of his glory that he poured out on her. After she has been assured of his delight, and after he has even expressed that delight to her with his own lips, we then find this resolve in his heart:
I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of its branches.”
Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
The fragrance of your breath like apples,
And the roof of your mouth like the best wine (vv. 8-9a).
We’re finding here the deep expression of the most intimate of marital love. And if we treat it with the sort of reverence with which we should, we can’t help but see in it the unspeakably deep love of our Savior for us. In human relationships, there is no deeper love than what we find between Solomon and his bride. There is no deeper love than the intimacy of marital love. And it becomes the only analogy sufficient to look to in order to appreciate the magnitude of Jesus love for us and delight in us as His redeemed ones. As He himself prayed in His holy prayer about us to the Father in John 17, He longs …
“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:21-24).
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If only we would listen to the Holy Spirit’s testimony to our hearts—if only we would fully embrace the truths about Jesus love for us that the Spirit has preserved for us in the Scriptures—then we would become overwhelmed with our Savior’s love for us! What a transformation it would bring about in us if we embraced it fully! How it would set us free from the failures of the past! How it would motivate us to press on toward growth and maturity and holiness. How it would protect us from the attacks of the enemy!
This certainly appears to have happened for the bride of Solomon. She now seems to have embraced the love of her husband—unworthy of that love though she may have felt. And this is where we find …
IV. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GRACE IN THE HEART (vv. 9b-10).
It is plainly the bride who speaks in response to the bridegroom’s words; and she says,
The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved,
Moving gently the lips of sleepers (v. 9b).
The Latin translation of this verse has it that the wine moves gently ‘the lips and teeth’. The Hebrew word for “sleepers” may be understood as simply ‘that which is inactive or stationary’; and so, it may be that she is saying that ‘the wine’ of his pleasure in her not only goes down smoothly, but that it leaves an aftertaste of delight after the drinking is over and the lips (and perhaps the teeth) are at rest. He is fully satisfied with her; and his satisfaction in her endures. And what’s more, she herself is fully satisfied in his satisfaction! She affirms what the daughters of Jerusalem had been saying to her—and what her husband himself has declared to her:
I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is toward me (v. 10).
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a transforming moment in our lives when we let go of our failures in the past—when we cease thinking of ourselves as we used to be, and as the devil keeps trying to make us think that we still are—and instead enter into the full delight of our Savior’s love and acceptance. It’s the greatest motivating factor in the Christian life!
No one who has truly tasted of Jesus’ redeeming love wishes to remain in the old condition of sin and failure and despair. Someone who is such an object of Jesus’ eternal love—as Paul says—forgets what is behind and reaches forth to those things which are ahead (Philippians 3:13). As the apostle John put it;
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:1-3).
May we fully accept that the Lord Jesus has made us His own—beautiful in His sight; and that we are now the children of God, destined to share forever in His glory; and that we can now enter confidently into His pleasure forever!
We are our Beloved’s; and His desire truly is toward us!
