Song of Solomon - Christ Calls His Bride

Preface

There is a story in the heart of your Bible that is rather complicated and can be difficult to understand. It is a love story with all the drama that relationships bring. It is a captivating story of a young woman and two men vying for her affection.

 

Quite a wide variety of interpretations have been given of it throughout the ages. They fall into various categories: the natural, the literal, the allegorical, and the typological and likely many others. When you look at some of these interpretations though, you have to wonder why would God ever allow that to be in the Bible. But we know that every scripture is God breathed and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness.

 

I have drawn this message based in part on the UCG Commentary, E. W. Bullinger’s Commentary, Mark Biltz’ Notes on Song of Solomon, and the Coffman Commentaries among others.

 

Hopefully, I’ll be able to bring some clarity to this complex book and open up this wonderful story that it will no longer be a mystery but one we can enjoy. 

The Song of Solomon is not what it first appears to be, but is the greatest love song ever written!

Setting the Stage

 

It is a song, a ballad, a story that reads very much like a play. It’s a love story with a small cast of characters –

 

  [K] - The King (Solomon himself)

 

[C] - The Shepherd (a type of Christ), “my Beloved”

 

[B] - The Shulamite Bride to be (Abishag), “my Love”

 

Some believe the Shulamite Bride may actually be Abishag, the Shunammite. If you remember, Abishag was found during the search for a beautiful virgin to keep an aging King David warm at night. (1Kings 1:3). She is from the area of Shunem also called Shulem, near Mount Hermon.

 

[DoJ] - The Daughters of Jerusalem (Solomon’s harem)

They are the concubines of Solomon’s harem.

 

[Bro] - The brothers of the Shulamite Bride to be, believed to have helped raise her along with their widowed mother. The brothers look out for their little sister. But were unkind to her when they forced her to do the work of tending the king’s vineyard while they did who knows what.

 

The key to understanding the Song of Solomon is knowing who is being spoken to –

 

For example, when a passage is addressed to or about “my beloved” – it’s to or about the Shepherd (Christ)

 

When it is addressed to “my love” – it is to or about the Shulamite Bride to be

The above key will help you understand who is speaking to whom, for example - [B to DoJ] indicates the Shulamite Bride is speaking to the Daughters of Jerusalem.

The Plot

 

A young Shulamite woman taken from her home by the royal guard is being sought after by two men – one a worldly King who can offer her all the treasures and pleasures the world has to offer. The other is a ruddy Shepherd with whom she has a prior relationship who treats her with tenderness and patience and draws her away with gentle cords of love.

 

It is actually an account of Christ calling His Bride out of this world, away from pride and vanity and the deceitfulness of riches. With His tireless, patient and loving efforts he draws her to Him forevermore. As we’ll see, it is a prophetic story of the Messiah wooing His bride to fulfill her calling in being one with Him.

 

Bear in mind that it is a song or a ballad and many of the Bride’s words have to be postulated as musings, dreams, soliloquies, reminiscences or flashbacks [as she is supposedly speaking of or to her absent lover while in the presence of Solomon or in the confines of his harem. The important thing to remember though is this is a spiritual battle for the heart and mind of the Bride to be.

 

You might compare this to our own struggles between the flesh and the spirit. We can’t serve both God and mammon. We must choose either the King of this World or the Chief Shepherd.

 

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INTRO

SoS 1:1

(1:1)  The song of songs, which is Solomon's.

This is the Song of Songs. It is Solomon’s greatest hit; 1 of 1,005 according to 1Kings 4:32. It is a song lamenting love lost. It’s a song about the one woman whose love he did not win; the one who got away.

Sounds like maybe it was a country song.

As we go through this, keep a marker in the Song of Solomon because we will be coming back to this time and again.

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SCENE I - The Shulamite Virgin

SoS 1:2 - 1:8

The Shulamite Bride to be is a country girl brought out of the vineyards by the earthly king to his Chambers to be part of his harem. She is soul searching as to why she is here in the king's palace when her beloved is out in the fields. Why is she, a woman of humble upbringing, who is tanned from working the vineyards, here in the king’s chambers with women who are more earthly, refined and sophisticated - the Daughters of Jerusalem? 

 

She wonders where her Shepherd is. The Daughters of Jerusalem tell her she can probably find her Beloved where the rest of the flocks feed.

 

The Shulamite girl’s story begins with her soliloquy. Picture her here in the chambers of the king with the harem girls lounging about on the couches and beds. She’s wondering why she’s here. She doesn’t belong.

 

Her skin is not smooth and milky white and soft as those pampered with the best oils and lotions. Hers is deeply tanned and darkened from working in the sun.

 [B] (1:2)  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

[B] (1:3)  Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

 

Solomon can physically kiss her but her heart is for her beloved whose love is better than wine. The King is desirable only because of the expensive ointments he can provide. That is why the DoJ love him, for the physical fineries he can provide. A good name is better than precious ointment (Ecc 7:1). This is not a confession of her love for the King but the DoJ love him.

 

She longs for the one whom she loves, her Shepherd to come rescue her.

[B to C] (1:4)  Draw me, (John 6:44) we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

 

Come for me! And we can all escape! She loves her Shepherd as do all those who are upright in character. Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright (Psa 33:1). She doesn’t know the DoJ yet.

But she begins to notice their disapproving stares.

 

[B to DoJ] (1:5)  I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

 

She was tanned but beautiful. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael. He was a goat herder. Goat’s hair is known for its darkness in color from which his tents were made. She was lowly as these tents yet beautiful as the tapestries which hung in Solomon’s palace.

 

[B to DoJ] (1:6)  Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

 

She tells the Daughters of Jerusalem not to look down on her because her brothers made her tend the vineyards of the King. She was from the country, and like a sharecropper, they had to pay the owner of the vineyard out of the proceeds. In return they were allowed to keep a small subsistence amount for themselves. She didn’t have the time or the means to keep up her own appearances, her own vineyard.

 

[B to C] (1:7)  Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

 

She longs to be with her Shepherd and wonders where he rests them that perhaps she can meet Him there at noon.

 

[DoJ to B] (1:8)  If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.

 

The DoJ tell her that if she doesn’t know where He is, she can probably find Him by going to where the rest of the shepherds dwell.

 
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SCENE II - The King Stops By

 

King Solomon stops by for the first time to check on her. He appeals to her pride and vanity by comparing her to the proud, spirited Egyptian horses of Pharaoh’s chariots. She looks beautiful in the jewels and chains he's given her and he compliments her. Then he condescendingly makes reference to the rustic dress she’s wearing and tells her he will have it spruced up a bit for her by adding a gold border and silver studs. We'll see King Solomon is obsessed with appearances and superficial beauty.

 

SoS 1:9 - 1:11

 

[K to B] (1:9)  I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.

[K to B] (1:10)  Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

[K to B] (1:11)  We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

 

Ezekiel chapter 16 describes the “birth” of Jerusalem from lowly beginnings, a type of the Church, and how it was the Lord who cared for her, clothed her, and even provided jewels and gold chains for her, not some earthly king. (Eze 16:10-14)

What are these ornaments and chains that the Lord provides?

 

Pro 1:8-9 KJV

(8)  My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

(9)  For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

 

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SCENE III - The Shepherd Speaks of His Love

SoS 1:12 - 2:7

After the King departs, she continues her musings.

[B to DoJ] (1:12)  While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.

[B to DoJ] (1:13)  A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

 

She wears expensive spikenard perfume for the King while he sits at his table with his friends, but her Shepherd is her perfume. Spikenard is the same ointment Mary anointed Jesus with in Mark 14 and John 12. A pound of it cost approximately a year’s wages.

 

Myrrh is a resin taken from the commiphora plant and in addition to its use for its aroma is also an astringent and analgesic that was carried into battle. Myrrh was one of the spices brought to Jesus at His birth along with gold and frankincense. It was one of the spices Nicodemus carried to Jesus’ tomb for embalming (John 19:39) and mixed with wine (Mark 15:23) it was offered to Jesus at His crucifixion but He refused to drink it. Myrrh here is an allusion to the Shepherd and His fate as our sacrificial offering.

 

[B to DoJ] (1:14)  My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.

 

Camphire is henna blooms, in addition to their fragrance are also used as a dye. Henna was grown as a hedgerow around vineyards to hold soil against wind erosion in Israel as it was in other countries.  A henna hedge with dense thorny branches protected a vulnerable, valuable crop such as a vineyard from hungry animals. 

The Shepherd speaks to her of her individual beauty including her inner beauty, her dove's eyes (1:15), the windows to her soul. The dove (a clean bird) being the symbol of peace, she is innocent and harmless.

 

[C to B] (1:15)  Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.

 

This is most likely her recalling a previous conversation than a current discussion.

 

[B to C] (1:16)  Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.

[B to C] (1:17)  The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

 

We will make our bed under the trees, also made of cedar as was Solomon’s house. (1Kings 7:1-2)

 

[B to C] (2:1)  I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

[C to B] (2:2)  As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

 

The rose of Sharon is not a rose at all but the crocus or narcissus that was so prevalent in the valley of Sharon in the spring.

 

The Shepherd insists that her beauty is not so ordinary but is as a lily among the bramble, as she is by comparison to the Daughters of Jerusalem. She returns the compliment when she says to the DoJ that he is as a sweet apple tree among ordinary men.

 

[B to DoJ] (2:3)  As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. (Psa 91:1; Gal 5:22-23)

[B to DoJ] (2:4)  He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

[B to DoJ] (2:5)  Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

[B to DoJ] (2:6)  His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

[B to DoJ] (2:7)  I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. [do not stir up my passions until he comes for me]

 

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SCENE IV - She is Called

 SoS 2:8 - 2:17

The Shepherd calls her to come away with Him! But she tells him to go away.

[B to DoJ] (2:8)  The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

[B to DoJ] (2:9)  My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

[B to DoJ] (2:10)  My beloved spake, and said unto me,

 

[C to B] Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

[C to B] (2:11)  For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

[C to B] (2:12)  The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle[dove] is heard in our land;

[C to B] (2:13)  The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

 

     Winter is past. Early and latter rains have come and gone, so this takes place in the Spring. The figs are budding, the vineyards are just starting to get little grapes on them. He calls her to come away to help is His vineyard.

 

 

[C to B] (2:14)  O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

 

You can picture him looking through the window seeking her face, longing to hear her voice but she’s hiding under the stairs.

 

[C to B] (2:15)  Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

 

Eze 13:3-4 KJV

(3)  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

(4)  O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

 

The foxes are false prophets. The vineyard represents Israel. (Isa 5:1-7)

Don’t hide! We must hurry! The false prophets are spoiling the “tender grapes” (those new to the faith). Let’s get down there and take them away!

[B to C] (2:16)  My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

He is MINE first, then I am HIS. I’m interested but on my terms. Like a “pocket Jesus” taken out only in times of trouble.

 

[B to C] (2:17)  Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

 

“mountains of Bether” means “mountains of division or separation”

He comes to woo her to come out and be with him. She tells him to leave.

 

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SCENE V - She Confesses Her Love for the First Time

 

Her Beloved has left her and now she wishes she had gone with him.

SoS 3:1 -3:5

She's thinking of her beloved Shepherd at night and rises to go find him. But looks for Him in the "broad ways". We know strait is the gate and narrow is the way so she doesn't find Him until in (v. 3:3) she confesses her love for Him for the first time.

[B to DoJ] (3:1)  By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

[B to DoJ] (3:2)  I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

 

When will she find him?

 

Jer 29:13 KJV  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

 

She had not yet given her whole heart.

 

[B to DoJ] (3:3)  The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

 

Notice the role of the watchmen. They found her and pointed her to the Shepherd after she confessed her love openly, publicly.

 

[B to DoJ] (3:4)  It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

 

She would not let him go until she had confessed her love. To take Him to her Mother's house means she wants to get "betrothed". She’s committed to him!

 

[B to DoJ] (3:5)  I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he (it) please(s). [until it’s time, let love take its course]

But don't stir up love until it's time. She can’t leave now; it would mean death. The King must release her.

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SCENE VI - Solomon Returns in Anger

 

SoS 3:6 -4:5

King Solomon is angry and comes to her once again with his flatteries, appeals to her vanity and pride with what must be his standard line - goats and sheep, but his grand show is for the DOJ, those impressed with such superficial flamboyance. (v. 10) Pillars of smoke are an indication of anger. (Joel 2:30; Psa 74:1) Perhaps he heard of her encounter with the Shepherd. 

As far as she's concerned, the DOJ can have him. (v.11) As we’ll see.

The Bride is looking out the window of the king's chambers when she notices a commotion out on the road.

[B to DoJ] (3:6)  Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

 

When I read this, I’m reminded of an occasion I had to witness President Barak Obama’s entourage and escort pass by when I visited my son where he was stationed at Whiteman AFB. I was on a side road on my way to his house and traffic came to a complete stop for what seemed like no reason. It was so long that everyone was getting out of their cars to see what was going on.

 

I called my son to tell him what was happening and that I’d be late. He told me Obama was on his way to the air force base when suddenly my phone went dead. I mean completely dead. I couldn’t call, I couldn’t text. Nothing. It was being jammed by the forces who were protecting the President.

 

Then I saw the line of cars, SUVs and support vehicles on the cross road in front of me hurrying along at a fast pace. There must have twenty vehicles or more. Apache helicopters circled overhead. And there we all stood outside our cars, couldn’t move, cellphones jammed, stunned until he had passed. It was something to behold!

 

So here is the DoJ’s description of Solomon’s escort.

 

[DoJ to B] (3:7)  Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

[DoJ to B] (3:8)  They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

[DoJ to B] (3:9)  King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

  [DoJ to B] (3:10)  He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

 

[B to DoJ] (3:11)  Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

 

Remember it was Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, that begged the crown for Solomon over the rightful heir, his eldest brother Adonijah. Abishag would have known all about this as it was Adonijah who had asked for Abishag to be given him to wife. But instead, Adonijah was killed, and she ended up here with the rest of Solomon’s concubines.

Notice also, she calls them “daughters of Zion” in derision.

 

Isa 3:16 KJV  Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

 

She’s developed a bit of an attitude for the DoJ and the royal family. And then the King shows up for another attempt at winning her over with his pathetic flatteries.

 

[K to B] (4:1)  Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

Dove's eyes? He has never said this before. This is what the Shepherd had said to her. Where did he get this line? Perhaps one of the DoJ told him.

[K to B] (4:2)  Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

[K to B] (4:3)  Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

[K to B] (4:4)  Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

[K to B] (4:5)  Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

 

Again, he’s obsessed with appearances and superficial qualities. This must have worked on some of the ladies, as he was developing quite a harem. 

But she was not falling for any it.

 

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SCENE VII - The Shepherd Comes for Her

 

SoS 4:6 -5:1

The Shepherd beckons her again to leave the king's palace, speaks of His adoration of her. Calls her His spouse for the first time. (4:8) They are betrothed and celebrate.

[C to B] (4:6)  Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

Mountain of Myrrh is Mt. Moriah where Abraham offered up Isaac, the Temple Mount. Mountain of Frankincense is the Mt. of Olives where Jesus would go to spend the night and spend much of His time preaching the gospel.  Together known as the Mountains of Spices. Instead of separation in Bether, He had gone to preach the gospel and sacrifice for her and for us all.

 

[C to B] (4:7)  Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

 

     A bride with no spot. Where else have we heard that?

 

Eph 5:25-27 KJV

(25)  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

(26)  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

(27)  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

 

[C to B] (4:8)  Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

 

[Away from the lions and leopards of Jerusalem and overlooking the entire region in which is situated the native home of the Shulamite bride]

 

[C to B] (4:9)  Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, [platonic relationship thus far, chaste and virtuous] my spouse; [but betrothed to be married] thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

[C to B] (4:10)  How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! [Is Christ not also our elder brother?] how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

[C to B] (4:11)  Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

[C to B] (4:12)  A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

She is enclosed, sealed, virtuous, chaste and undefiled. The Shepherd shows his respect and holds her in high regard yet he speaks to her of her charms, the plants in her garden.

 

[C to B] (4:13)  Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

[C to B] (4:14)  Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

[C to B] (4:15)  A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

 

[B to C] (4:16)  Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

 

[C to B] (5:1)  I am come [am coming] into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered [am gathering] my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; [he is making ready for the wedding]

[B to C] drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Once married, the two shall be one and share in their spices and wine and the pleasant fruits of their gardens.

 

 

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SCENE VIII - She Awakens and the Veil is Lifted

 

SoS 5:2 -6:3

The Shepherd comes for her, but she falters and He is gone! Her soul failed when He spoke. (5:6) She goes to look for Him again and can't find Him until the watchmen find her and take away her veil. (5:7) The DOJ ask what's so special about this guy? Notice her change of attitude! Calls Him friend. (5:16) I am my beloved's (first) and (then) my beloved is mine. (6:3) Contrast with 2:16.

[B to C] (5:2)  I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying,

Notice she is asleep like the ten virgins of Matthew chapter 25.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. (Mat 25:5) 

 

Her heart is awake, she wants to open the door; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. A warning to us all!

 

[C to B] Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: [still not married] for my head is filled with dew, [blessings] and my locks with the drops of the night.

 

[B to C] (5:3)  I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

 

Luk 12:35-36 KJV

(35)  Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

(36)  And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

 

 

[B to DoJ] (5:4)  My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, [through the latch opening] and my heart yearned for him.

[B to DoJ] (5:5)  I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

 

But she didn't open immediately. She took time to bathe and put on her lotions and perfumes.

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Mat 24:42, 44)

 

[B to DoJ] (5:6)  I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

[B to DoJ] (5:7)  The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

 

2Co 3:14-16 KJV

(14)  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

(15)  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

(16)  Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

 

It required some tribulation but she finally had turned to the Lord with her whole heart! Another lesson for us all.

 

She’s convicted and she cries out to the daughters of Jerusalem.

 

[B to DoJ] (5:8)  I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. [she's lovesick]

 

[DoJ to B] (5:9)  What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

 

[B to DoJ] (5:10)  My beloved is white [radiant] and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

[B to DoJ] (5:11)  His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

[B to DoJ] (5:12)  His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

[B to DoJ] (5:13)  His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

[B to DoJ] (5:14)  His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

[B to DoJ] (5:15)  His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

[B to DoJ] (5:16)  His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

 

[DoJ to B] (6:1)  Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

 

[B to DoJ] (6:2)  My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

[B to DoJ] (6:3)  I am my beloved's,[first] and my beloved is mine: [second] he feedeth among the lilies.

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SCENE IX - Solomon Exposes His True Nature

 

SoS 6:4 -7:10

Solomon makes one last ditch effort to impress her again with the goats and sheep. But he shows his true colors.

[K to B] (6:4)  Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

 

“an army with banners” – standing in resistance to the King’s advances. He can no longer bear to look her in the eye. She was the only one who would not submit to Solomon's advances. She overcame him (v. 5).

 

[K to B] (6:5)  Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

[K to B] (6:6)  Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.

[K to B] (6:7)  As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.

 

She was not responding to his advances and flattery as he had hoped.

Once he realized he was getting nowhere with her as she remained committed to her beloved, he says, “But you’re only one among the thousands available. Not all that special to me.” In other words, as is typical with men who are rebuffed, “I didn’t really want you anyway”.

[K to B] (6:8)  There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. [just waiting in the wings]

[K to B] (6:9)  My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

This must have been earlier in Solomon’s life as he had only just begun multiplying foreign wives and concubines to himself. He was only up to 60 wives [of 700] and 80 concubines [of 300] by this time.

 

King Solomon departs and the DoJ let her have it!

 

[DoJ to B] (6:10)  Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

Who does she think she is? Turning down King Solomon?!

She says, “Look, I didn’t ask for this.”

[B to DoJ] (6:11)  I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

[B to DoJ] (6:12)  Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.

Abishag, the Shulamite, innocently and unsuspecting had gone down to inspect her garden when the king’s men, in search of a beautiful virgin to warm King David, whisked her away. "Who would ever have compared her to the army of Amminadib?", she says?

[DoJ to B] (6:13)  Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. [turn around, turn around let us have a look at you]

 

[B to DoJ] What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies. (Mahanaim Gen 32:2)

 

They mock her parroting all the nonsensical things he has said to her. They’re really going to let her have it now!

 

[DoJ to B] (7:1)  How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

[DoJ to B] (7:2)  Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

[DoJ to B] (7:3)  Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

[DoJ to B] (7:4)  Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

[DoJ to B] (7:5)  Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

[DoJ to B] (7:6)  How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

[DoJ to B] (7:7)  This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

 

[B to DoJ] (7:8)  I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: [palm branches] now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

[B to DoJ] (7:9)  And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. [the DoJ are those asleep but still chatter on, lips loosened by the wine]

[B to DoJ] (7:10)  I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

You can just picture the DOJ teasing her about the things the King says to her; jealous that she has found a man who loves her so. 

Note Rev 7:9 says the great multitude will be clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands. (v. 7:8 above)

 

 

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SCENE X - They are United Forevermore

 

SoS 7:11 -8:14

She makes plans with her Beloved Shepherd. She now rests in His love. She wants to hasten their return to her home and to her mother.

[B to C] (7:11)  Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

[B to C] (7:12)  Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

[B to C] (7:13)  The mandrakes give a smell, [mandrakes were renowned for their aphrodisiac properties] and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up [reserved] for thee, O my beloved.

[B to C] (8:1)  O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

[Were he a brother, she could show her affection for him publicly without shame, but not as a fiancé.]

[B to C] (8:2)  I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

 

[B to DoJ] (8:3)  His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me.

[B to DoJ] (8:4)  I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. [more forcefully now]

 

The King, convinced at last that he could not possibly prevail, was obliged to dismiss her; and the Shulamite, in company with her beloved shepherd, returns to her native place. On their way home, they visit the tree under which they had first met, and there renewed their vows of fidelity to each other.

She is betrothed!

 

Any man with a daughter of age will recognize this next scene. We’ve all seen our little girl all grown up coming up the driveway with her boyfriend interlocked so closely they can barely walk.

 

[Bro] (8:5)  Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?

 

“Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness?” We’ve heard this phrase before.

 

In Song of Solomon 3:6, the reference was to the royal parade of the magnificent Solomon in all his glory.

 

Here in Song of Solomon 8:5, the reference is to this simple maiden leaning upon her shepherd.

 

Note the contrast: Solomon stands for all the worldly allurements: wealth, power, fame, glitter, pomp and circumstance, ease, luxury, ostentation, feasting, sensuality, lust and gratification. That outlandish picture answers the question in Song of Solomon 3:6.

 

The Shulamite, on the other hand, stands for simple beauty, purity, wholesomeness, fidelity, patience, true love, morality, truth, honor and holiness, representing the Church in the days leading up to her Shepherd’s return, sorely tempted, wooed, solicited and flattered by the evil world, but clinging, nevertheless, to the Shepherd who is her true love, and to whom the Church is faithful even during his absence "in the far country."

 

The Shulamite and her beloved shepherd revisit the spot where they first met and began their courtship, under the apple tree.

 

Andrews Sisters- “Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me.”

 

[C to B] (8:5) I raised thee up [awakened you] under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

[C to B] (8:6)  Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: [our God is a jealous God] the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

[C to B] (8:7)  Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

A seal is set upon her heart, the seal of the Holy Spirit. (2Cor 1:22)

 

Love is as strong as death, “they loved not their lives unto death” (Rev 12:11) and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

 

 

Rom 8:35-39 KJV

(35)  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

(36)  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

(37)  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

(38)  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

(39)  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Continuing in SoS chapter 8, the Bride's brothers express concern whether she is yet of age and whether or not she has been chaste. She has been among the king’s concubines after all. They also may be conferring as to whether or not she’s worthy of a dowry.

 

[Bro] (8:8)  We have a little sister, [she’s young] and she hath no breasts: [she is not mature] what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? [asked for her hand in marriage]

[Bro] (8:9)  If she be a wall, [virtuous] we will build upon her a palace of silver: [dowry] and if she be a door, [accessible to all] we will inclose her with boards of cedar. [forbid her to marry]

The Bride lets them know without a doubt and in no uncertain terms.

[B to Bro] (8:10)  I am a wall, [not a door] and my breasts like towers: [she is mature] then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. [as one who found peace]

[B to Bro] (8:11)  Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; [means “possessor of a multitude”] he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

[B to Bro] (8:12)  My vineyard, which is mine, is before me [with Christ]: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

In other words, she has her own life with the Shepherd now and has no use for Solomon, his vineyard or his infernal goats and sheep.

 

Final words of love between Christ and His Bride.

[C to B] (8:13)  Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions [the brothers] hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

[B to C] (8:14)  Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

They are finally united! Christ says, you told your brothers your story. Now cause me to hear your voice (prayers and praise). She tells him to he is to hasten to her now and forever. No longer over the mountains which separated them for these have given place to the mountains of delight.

 
If we read through the entire love story in the Song of Solomon, we see the story of a young woman who is torn between the pleasures this world has to offer by the hand of a very rich man, King Solomon, who though he speaks words of love, does not see her as anything more than just another woman in his harem. The other, the true love of a Shepherd who adores her and treats her with love, patience and tenderness. He loves her deeply and waits for her to realize it and are united forevermore.