Models of care, devotion and fellowship for you to consider
Text Song of Songs 1:9-2.2 Date 09/02/20 Place Childs Hill Baptist
We've begun to look at The Song of Solomon. By way of introduction we said that there is something of a controversy over the book’s interpretation. Does it speak chiefly of human love or that between Christ and his church? In the light of the New Testament we suggest that it is really about both - the important matter of human love, especially between man and wife and the mysterious intimacy that exists and needs to be cultivated between believers and the Lord Jesus.
It is for both these reasons that I want us to study the book. Because of the false images of love, sex and marriage that abound, all of us need to be clear on this subject. I also want all of you to see how lovely the Lord is, how attractive. I want you to fall for him and before him. I want us who believe to rekindle our first love for him if it needs rekindling. I want us to see something of the beauty and glory of Christ again and be drawn to him. This book will be an immense help.
So far we have looked at 1:1-8. The title reveals that the book is by or about Solomon. Being a song it is pleasant, joyful and useful for learning. ‘Song of songs’ means best of songs. It’s not only Solomon's best but inspired Scripture worthy of careful, diligent study. It has the best subject: Christ
The song is constructed with two main characters and a sort of chorus. The woman, the Shulamite, and the man, King Solomon, her beloved. From time to time we also have comments from the Friends, the daughters of Jerusalem. There is sometimes doubt but from the way the Hebrew is constructed it is usually easy to tell if the person speaking is male or female. 1:1-8 taught us:
1. What people rightly desire and why - The woman rightly desires intimacy with the man and rightly desires him to take the lead in this. This points us to the one we should all desire – Jesus. Why do people rightly desire intimacy? They rightly desire the delights of love with those whose character is worthy. That's why we should all desire intimacy with Christ. When we see such desires in others we should encourage them.
2. How people should see themselves and what they should desire. We saw the right mixture of humility and confidence in the woman. She is as she is because this is a fallen world. What she desires is intimacy with the man without shame or loss of respect. We should advise those with such desires by encouraging them to seek the one they love.
This week I want us to look at 1:9-2:2. Here we see models of care, devotion and fellowship.
The word 'model' can be defined in at least two ways. Potentially unflattering - ‘imitation of the real thing; a replica, imitation or reproduction’. It can also be defined as ‘a pattern for others to emulate, a prototype or paradigm’. This is the meaning we have in mind. Here we are presented with models, examples, ideals, for emulation and duplication on the horizontal, human plane and the vertical, Godward one.
Initially, in 1:9-11, the Lover, the King, speaks for the first time about the woman, his Beloved. He describes her in very positive terms. Then, in 1:12-14, she responds. She seems to be at the King’s dining table. A banquet is in progress. Perhaps this is the time of their formal betrothal or maybe a less formal, more intimate occasion. Whichever, she has eyes only for him. Finally (1:15-2:2) we have a delightful series of brief exchanges between the two.
Here are three models for us to consider then.
1. Consider this model of kingly care
1:9 the lover, the king, speaks for the first time. He speaks about the woman, the beloved, and describes her in the most positive terms.
1. Praise - My darling he calls her, ‘My love’ or ‘My dearest’, a strong term that occurs here for the first of nine times, always on the King's lips. It is only found in this book. It carries the idea not only of caring for someone but also being delighted to do so. The King loves this woman. She's his Beloved. His attitude to her is quite unlike that of her brothers. 1:9 I liken you, my darling, he says to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses. This could mean a horse pulling Pharaoh’s chariot or one bought from Pharaoh to pull Solomon’s own chariot. This may seem an odd way to speak about a woman, likening her to a horse, although men used to speak of women as fine fillies.
Helen of Troy was once described in this way and in 1969 the Byrds had a song ‘Chestnut mare’ ostensibly about a horse but clearly about a woman (I’m gonna catch that horse if I can and give her my brand, and when I do she’ll be mine for life, she’ll be just like my wife). What is the exact point of comparison here? Several possibilities come to mind. They were
high-quality thoroughbreds.
very expensive to obtain or maintain.
of personal interest to the king.
the King’s delight.
wild by nature but had been tamed as in the chestnut mare song.
Some suggest either that mares were not used for chariots or that the lead horse was a mare. This would point to the uniqueness of this woman in the king’s eyes.
Probably the point is the careful way such handsome horses were elaborately decked out with beautiful jewels, feathers, ornaments, coloured leathers and fabrics. This speaks of this girl’s innate beauty, supplemented by finely crafted jewellery and other accessories. The Bible is often positive about women’s adornment (eg Gen 24:22; Ps 45:12, 13; Pro 25:12, 31:12; Eze 16:10-14) but urges caution (Isa 3:16-24; 1 Tim 2:9, 10; 1 Pet 3:3-5). She is beautiful and dignified. As intimated, this poor girl is conscious of how unworthy she is to come into court. She is lovely, yes, but dark like the tents of Kedar. Do not stare at me she pleads because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun … my own vineyard I have neglected. Here the King heartens her with compliments. Certainly 1:10, 11 go on with him saying Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. And then in 1:11 we have -
2. Promises - We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. We could point to the friends but it is probably the king using a royal we for some reason. Whichever, the point is that the woman’s limited resources are not going to be a problem – the king himself has supplied and will supply all the jewellery and ornamentation she needs.
On the human level. On the horizontal level there are lessons regarding courtship here both for men and for women. In any relationship there is often a sense of inadequacy at least on one side or the other. It is right that such feelings should be assuaged with words of encouragement and appropriate gifts. Lovers and husbands should assure their loved ones that they truly are loved and show it both with words and actions. Women, on the other hand, ought to be willing to receive such assurances and such gifts gratefully.
On the spiritual level. Always with this song we want to look higher than just the horizontal and here we are quite justified in hearing the words of Christ to his Bride the church I liken you, my darling, he says to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses. Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. Christ the King is enthralled with the beauty of his people and gives her many good gifts to honour and beautify her. For the way Christ speaks to his people see 2 Peter 1:3, 4 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. Also remember Ephesians 5:27 which describes how Christ works to present her (his people) to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. If Christ's precious blood has been spilt for us, what will God withhold? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32).
2. Consider this model of submissive devotion
In 1:12-14 the beloved speaks again. His my darling is matched by her my beloved, used here for the first of some 31 times. It is a term of affection and intimacy. She seems to be at the king’s dining table. There is a banquet, a feast perhaps, although the setting could be a more intimate one. Whatever the situation, she has eyes only for her beloved. In response to his promises she says While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. We move from sights to smells. It was common in that culture for women to wear a little sachet of sweet smelling perfume in solid form around their necks. She refers to three different perfumes.
The perfume she refers to first is literally nard – an expensive perfume from the Himalayas. It is the perfume with which Jesus was anointed at Bethany, you remember. As this woman sat at the King’s table the scent of her perfume was going out into the room in a similar way. His very presence produces a response from her.
Here the perfume represents the thoughts she had of him. The thought of him was like the smell of myrrh or of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. The idea of a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts suggests permanence and intimacy. He was close to her heart always. He is always in her thoughts. En Gedi in the desert west of the Dead Sea was not only well known for its perfumes but also an oasis so the picture is of a bright spot of colour and beauty and life (the flowers are white and yellow), of sweet smelling joy (the aroma is distinct) and hope in the midst of a desert landscape. That’s how she thought of her beloved.
On the human level, that's how a wife/prospective wife should think of a husband/prospective husband. When those strong desires and this hearty devotion is not there something is wrong.
On the spiritual level, think of Christ welcoming his people to his table as at the Last Supper. John laid his head on Jesus’s breast there but we all ought to be endeavouring to draw near to the Saviour. Every thought of him should be as of lovely perfume, beautiful fragrance. He has blessed us all in every way. How good he has been to us. Do you think of Christ in that way? Are you submissive to him? Do you delight in thinking of him and all he's done and does for you? That is how it should be.
3. Consider this model of royal fellowship
In 1:15-2:2 we have a delightful series of brief exchanges between the beloved and his beloved before another longer speech by the beloved in 2:3-13. These verses give us an idea of the intimacy and love between the two as they compliment each other. The relationship is developing. There is dialogue, conversation, banter even. As before, I think there are lessons here both on the horizontal and vertical levels.
1. Regards and response - It begins with the lover’s compliment (15) How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. She responds in kind (16) How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! The darling is repeated from 1:9.
We get a lot of references to doves in this book. The dove symbolises several things. In this book, particularly gentleness, purity and chastity or faithfulness. The whites of the beloved’s eyes are likened to doves then or is it their beauty, their softness or tranquillity? Is it possibly the way her eyes dart about, looking in different directions, or how her eyelashes flutter like doves’ wings? We cannot be sure. She is not only beautiful but gentle, pure and faithful too. Her beloved is moved by this (note the Oh) and declares her to be his darling. She in turn is impressed with his handsomeness and his charm. 15a and 16a are identical in Hebrew but the second is (the only time in the book) in masculine form. She too is moved (Oh) and owns him to be her beloved.
This is how it should be between man and wife and prospective man and wife. There should be mutual praise – praise and response. It needs to be spoken too. It is not enough simply to feel it deep down and say nothing. The opposite danger of merely saying things must be avoided too, of course.
On a higher level the relationship between the believer and his Lord ought to be something like this. God’s Word declares that how ever unworthy we may feel, how ever undeserving if we are true believers then Christ is enthralled with us. When he looks into our eyes, as it were, he sees the Holy Spirt and all his work in us and he is enraptured. In response we ought to confess how wonderful the Lord Jesus is. There is no-one more engaging, no-one more admirable than he.
Have you seen that? Ask God to show you. Ask God to loosen your tongue to be able to say it without embarrassment.
2. Fellowship and freedom - She adds And our bed is verdant. They are walking in the fields and she is describing the open air nature of their love. They lay down in the fields with the grass, symbolic of freshness and life, beneath them. He responds in kind (17) The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs. They are in the woods and the trees around and above form a sort of house for them. This speaks of the fellowship and freedom they enjoy. They are together and they are free to roam. The trees, especially the cedar, probably also speaks of permanence. The repeated word our is also important. The idea of sharing is important.
Perhaps nothing epitomises young love better than the thought of a couple walking through the countryside together sharing the joys of God’s world. It re-enforces both the closeness and the freedom of the relationship. Think of a modern example like the evocative song ‘Fields of gold’. It describes lovers walking through fields of barley. ‘In his arms she fell as her hair came down among the fields of gold’. The man asks ‘Will you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley?’ Love flourishes in the city, of course, and cannot contain it, but poetically and symbolically the countryside brings out the freedom and joy of young love. It is a most good and desirable thing.
It is no accident that the world begins in a garden and will end with a city that sounds more like a garden than a city. Remember how at the beginning, it seems, Adam and Eve would walk with God in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day. What fellowship there was, what freedom. They were naked but not ashamed for they had nothing to be ashamed of. It was all lost, of course, with that first sin. However, it can be restored in Jesus Christ. All who put their trust in him can know that fellowship with God restored and that freedom regained in him that will last forever in Paradise. Jesus reminds us that the meek will inherit the earth and the believer ought to have a sense upon of his freedom in Christ. Because we walk with him then all things are ours if not yet in fact then at least in principle. It is our Father’s and one day we will inherit it. He wants to share it with us and for us to enjoy it forever.
3. Realisation and more praise - This leads to her description of herself in 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. We often associate this phrase with the Lord Jesus and many commentators take it to be spoken by the lover. The NIV suggests it is probably actually spoken by the beloved. Both would make sense. The Lord Jesus is certainly most beautiful and often spoke of himself with the words I am …. The rose of Sharon is not actually a rose but a beautiful flower from the coastal plain of Sharon south of Mount Carmel. That whole area is marked by its fertility and luscious greenery. Some associate it with the sweet smelling narcissus, others with the crimson anemone. (Iris, crocus, daffodil, etc are all suggested). The lily of the valleys is probably not the flower we refer to in that way but an anemone or lotus. (Amaryllis, woodbine and honeysuckle are also suggested). How the woman’s self-image has improved in the light of her beloved’s encouragement.
There is a simple lesson in itself. What a difference we can make to one another simply by the way we speak about each other. We ought to give thought to this. We don’t need to lie to each other or flatter each other but we ought to be quicker to praise where praise is due. One reason why we become discouraged in the Christian life is our failure to notice how highly the Bible speaks of believers. What wonderful things are said. Don’t you realise believer that you are a flower in God’s garden, planted by him and there to show his glory. Every time you praise him that's what you do. Perhaps a slightly tongue in cheek paraphrasing is apt ‘Why did you pick me?’
Finally, notice the King’s response in 2:2 Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women. He not only agrees with his beloved but he adds to her description. Yes, you are a lily he says like a lily among thorns. Compared with the other young women Solomon has eyes only for this one. She stands out. The others are like thorns in comparison.
That’s how it should be between man and wife or prospective man and wife. For the man his intended or his wife should be not just a lily but an outstanding lily. The charms of others should hold no allure for him. He should think of them as mere thorns in comparison. She must always have the highest place in his affections and in his thinking.
That is certainly how it is between the Lord Jesus and his people. In his eyes we are lilies among thorns. There is no question that Jesus loves all people yet there is a special love that he has for his own that pictures them as lilies among thorns. Do you realise that that is how the Lord sees you believer? He says of the ungodly The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. (Mic 7:4) but those he saves are lilies. They shine like stars in the universe (Phil 2:15). You stand out for him. You are special. You are his chosen one and though you may not feel like that you ought to. I am a rose of Sharon you ought to say a lily of the valley. I have been chosen in him before the foundation of the world. He has passed others by but not me. He has given me the Holy Spirit of Christ and he is working all things together for my good. Even now I am a child of God and what I will be has not yet been made known but it will be something wonderfully glorious. This is not positive thinking but biblical faith – taking God at his word and believing the promises he makes. That is what we must do.
And if you are not a believer, ask him to make you a rose of Sharon. Ask him to make you a lily of the valley. By nature we are all thorns – unproductive, useless; unscented, dull; hard, twisted; sharp and ugly. But he can change us. He can make us attractive, fragrant, kind, luxuriant, straight, tender, useful and vibrant, through what was done on the cross. At that time Christ wore the crown of thorns and suffered and died so that all who believe in him may be beautiful in his sight and live a life of love for his glory.
