Song of Songs Pt. 6: Resist all Others, Keep Your Fruits for Your Beloved

We continue with our two track reading of song of Songs.: The ultimate example of God gifted marriage & relationship with Christ

Last time on Song of Songs…

Our Bride is remembering a time when she was younger

She was swept up into a chariot, the chariot of a Prince!

The community / God’s people were concerned for her

They warned her as she went, about even the ‘appearance of evil’

So now she is presumably alone with the Prince:

Song of Songs Chapter 7

(Prince) 1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, you daughter of princes! The curves of your thighs are like a necklace made by a skilled craftsman. 2 Your navel is like a round goblet that never lacks spiced wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat encircled by lilies.

  • His praise is tied to man made things: sandals & necklaces
  • The ancient beginnings of the importance of women’s shoes… 
  • The prince starts at the ground & goes up: Shepard started at the top
  • He is quick to focus on a certain area…
  • The belly is symbolic of the desire of the flesh

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven… ~ Philippians 3:18-20a

(Prince) 3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. 4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory, your eyes like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bat-Rabbim, your nose like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.

  • Same description of breasts, must have been a popular comparison
  • Ivory Tower has connotations of aloofness, detached…promotion of vanity
  • These were fish pools outside the gates of the capital of the Amorites
  • These gates were known for the multitudes that passes through them
  • The tower is figurative, Lebanon was meant to be part of the ‘Promised land’
  • It represents something desired but not obtained, another form of aloofness 
  • The promotion of 

(Prince) 5 You hold your head like Mt Carmel, and the hair on your head is like purple cloth — the king is held captive in its tresses. 6 How beautiful you are, my love, how charming, how delightful!

  • He calls himself ‘The King’, and he is ‘captivated’ by posture & appearance
  • He is enamored by the ‘Image’ she projects, who she is from a distance
  • He is not looking at who she really is, just her image
  • Beautiful / Charming / Delightful… Bla bla bla! Empty flattery
  • It is all promotion of self-centered image-consciousness 

(Prince) 7 Your appearance is stately as a palm tree, with its fruit clusters your breasts. 8 I said, “I will climb up into the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches.” May your breasts be like clusters of grapes, your breath as fragrant as apples, 9 and your mouth like the finest wine.

  • The world says: ‘Your Appearance’, not who you are, is what matters
  • He mentions her breasts again, still no mention of the eyes…
  • Now the prince states his intention, ‘I will climb’… ‘I will take hold’
  • This is not about anything but his desires
  • This is how this world does relationship: it is about what I can get out of it

(Bride to Prince) May the wine go straight to the man I love and gently move the lips of those who are asleep. 10 I belong to my darling, and his desire is for me. 

  • The wine, her kisses have only one destination: straight to the man I love
  • As they go to their proper and single destination, that will gently change the speech of the prince who is ‘must be dreaming’ if he thinks she willing to dance for his army
  • In case the Prince didn’t get the more veiled comment she make it very clear
  • I belong to the groom because he cares about 1st and foremost about ME! 

That is the end of the scene…

SUMMARY UP UNTIL NOW

The bride & groom (Christ & His Church) declare their love and devotion

They begin the process of uniting, but when the groom came for His bride…

She was unresponsive, caught up in herself

She let the world / sin get between her and her beloved…

But she admitted her wrong, and in doing so repaired the relationship

And she declared her allegiance and their unity

She resisted great temptation to ‘Dance for Two Army camps’…

The glitter and riches wanted to have their way with her, she chose to be faithful

She would will have many more temptations to resist as a faithful Bride

So we are back to where the bride and groom are ready to approach union

(Bride to Groom) 11 Come, my darling, let’s go out to the country and spend the nights in the villages. 12 We’ll get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, to see if their flowers have opened, or if the pomegranate trees are in bloom. There I will give you my love.

  • She wants them to go away together, to a simple, basic and undistracted place
  • Together they will see that everything has blossomed and now is the time
  • It is the setting where she will give herself fully to her groom

(Bride to Groom) 13 The mandrakes are sending out their fragrance, all kinds of choice fruits are at our doors, fruits both new and old, my darling, which I have kept in store for you.

  • The fragrance of the Mandrakes announces the time is right
  • The garden is fully in bloom, the consummation of their union is near
  • The fruits of their love are at the door, not quite there, just over the threshold…
  • All kinds of fruits: physical, emotional & intellectual
  • Old & New: the bride and groom bring their past and anticipate the future
  • What make it all perfect is that she has kept it all in store for just her groom
  • The value of their love is bound up in the exclusivity of it

BIG IDEAS:

Our world promotes self-centeredness, which divides our marriages & our relationships with Christ.

Image-consciousness turns relationships into nothing more than self-fulfillment; the opposite of what biblical marriage & biblical relationship with God are about.

In a biblical relationship with Christ you trust He cares for you! In a biblical marriage you trust your spouse cares for you. 

The full depth of love with Christ & in biblical marriage happens in simplicity; devoid of self-centered image-consciousness.

The exclusiveness of what is kept for our Lord or our spouse, is what brings all the richness to the relationship!

APPLICATION:

What things, activities or relationships promote self-centeredness in you?

How image-conscious would you say you are? What makes you image-conscious?

What has happened in your life that makes you not trust Christ cares for you?

Where in your life is there a lack of exclusiveness with God or with your spouse?

/by

Song of Songs Pt. 5: A Secure, Exclusive and Passionate Allegiance

What makes this book so special: the layered meanings. In my research I have come across a wide variety of interpretations. But what is historical fact is that it has always been considered to be Scripture / Holy Writing / God Breathed.

The Jews sing Song of Song as part of their Passover celebration. As Christ and His disciples left the upper room and moved through the city headed for the garden of Gethsemane they would have heard people singing the lines of this epic poem. 

There is a 3rd character that has been seen previously in Chapter 3, The King, Solomon. Now we are going to see a memory of a run in with the Prince. This character represents the influences of the world: corruption, sin and excess. He will attempt to lure the bride away from the groom to come between them.

We are going to see the use of the garden again as a symbol of what is meant to be, and we will to see how this ‘Song’ is about marriage AND relationship with God. This comparison is throughout the Scriptures, an example from Isiah:

For the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your Creator will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. ~ Isaiah 62:4b-5

Previously on Song of Songs…

The Bride, caught up in herself, hesitated when her darling called her…She was unsure of the relationship (Her feelings) & sought to be reunited with her darling. She suffered the loss of not being one with her darling, and wisely sought help. The community leads her to remember why Her darling is special. In that remembrance she finds peace, will she in turn find Him?

Chapter 6:1-13

(Guests) 1 Where has your darling gone, you most beautiful of women? Which way did your darling turn, so that we can help you find him?

  • Again she is called by her community / God’s people: ‘most beautiful of women’
  • The disunity / distance originated with her, she repented, now they can help
  • They tell her she knows how to find him… come on you know where he went
  • The remembrance of her darling will lead her to where The Groom is
  • In marriage & with Christ, we need to feel & think to fully experience intimacy

(Bride) 2 My darling went down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies. 3 I belong to the man I love, and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

  • Her darling is exactly where he was meant to be, the shepherd in ‘His Garden’
  • She is His Flock / She is His Garden / She is His Peace
  • What she believes about him & their relationship is true
  • She is His, He is Hers, and that is where they find Shalom 
  • When she remembers fully who He is and what He means to her she is secure
  • This is the essence of what every woman was made to enjoy: security

(Groom) 4 You are as beautiful as Tizah, my love, as lovely as Jerusalem, but formidable as an army marching under banners. 5 Turn your eyes away from me, because they overwhelm me! 

  • This is a woman approaching Her Groom with passion
  • Tizah was the seat of the 1st kings of the divided kingdom: ‘Delightful’
  • Nothing is more beautiful that Jerusalem, the height of excellence & favor
  • With ‘fire in her eyes’ she is declaring who she belongs to
  • Braziers (fire bearing devices) & Banners denoted your tribe, your allegiance
  • The groom is blown away by ‘His Love’! Turn your eyes away = ‘I’m not worthy’

(Groom) Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Gilead. 6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep that have just come up from being washed; each of them is matched, and none of them is missing. 7 Your cheeks are like a pomegranate split open behind your veil.

  • As he composes himself the familiar words she so longs to hear begin to flow
  • The imagery of seeing goats descend by switching trails down a mountain
  • Pretty unique to have white (washed), straight (matched) & all of your teeth!
  • The skin of a pomegranate is very taught, super smooth 
  • The veil: the bride is ever modest, ever chaste

(Groom) 8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, as well as young women beyond number; 9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, her mother’s only child, the darling of the one who bore her. The daughters see her and call her happy; the queens and concubines praise her.

  • Now the groom puts her in a special class above all of the listed royalty
  • Solomon is recorded to have had 700 wives / queens & 300 concubines!!!
  • All women in the region… HIS dove, HIS perfect ONE, is one of a kind

(Groom) 10 “Who is this, shining forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun” — but formidable as an army marching under banners?

  • He has compared her to cities, goats, sheep & pomegranates
  • Elevated her above all the women in the land
  • Now the groom compares her to things beyond his knowledge
  • How the dawn breaks he doesn’t know, just that it is beautiful
  • How is the moon so fair? How is the sun so bright?
  • She is an imposing force come to fight for what is hers, she has his attention

The Bride becomes all she can be, the apex of her beauty, when she is undivided, when she is fiercely passionate for Her Darling. The Groom sees the fullness of her beauty flowing from her exclusive, passionate allegiance to Him.

This sort of union, this joining of souls has been constantly threatened and will be going forward. It is good to remember what has been overcome in the past to solidify a watchful mentality.

Next is a flashback scene… a remembrance of a time before

(Bride) 11 I had gone down to the nut orchard to see the fresh green plants in the valley, to see if the vine had budded, or if the pomegranate trees were in bloom. 12 Before I knew it, I found myself in a chariot, and with me was a prince.

  • It was not yet full spring, so she was going to look for sings of spring
  • This epitomizes innocence, the naivety of being immature
  • Perhaps this was before she knew better than to be in such a place alone
  • She seems to have been snatched up onto the Chariot of a Prince
  • She is being swept up in ‘Tech’ & ‘Lux’… dazzled by the world of sin

(Guests) 13 Come back, come back, girl from Shulam! Come back, come back to where we can see you! 

  • The prince takes her out of sight, perhaps to His tents…
  • The community is worried about her, worried she might be in over her head
  • They want her to stay in the safety of the community (1st Peter 5:8)

(Guests) Why are you looking at the girl from Shulam as if she were dancing for two army camps?

  • The community is concerned about the appearance of what is happening
  • They know that the glamour of The Prince / The World, could allure her
  • They realize we all face the prospect of split loyalties
  • They are concerned it looks like she is ‘working both sides of the street’

In marriage we will be tempted to let our affections be divided, we will have opportunities to dance for more than one army. It is the same with Christ, the world is set up to divide us from Him. Are we prepared to fight off the temptation to share our affections with other gods, such as wealth, career, approval, image, self-fulfillment? The scripture teaches we should have a passionate allegiance to Christ and if God wills it, to our spouse. We need to demonstrate our undivided allegiance, our spouses need to see it & Christ desires to see it. But are we dancing for two army camps far too often?

What will the Bride, the girl from Shulam do? Will her passionate allegiance to her darling enable her to resist a prince? Tune in next week to see…

SUMMARY:

Biblical marriage is built on trust that flows from a balance of present feelings AND what we know to be true about our spouse. 

An intimate walk with Christ is about relating to Him with our intellect and emotions.

God wants us to be secure in our marriage, to be passionate about our marriages and to leave no doubt about the exclusive allegiance we have to our spouse. 

It is meant to be the same with Christ: A secure, passionate & exclusive allegiance.

The Union of one man and one woman done God’s way (Biblical Marriage) gives us a vision of the beauty, pleasure and fulfillment found in eternity with Christ. 

In marriage and in our walk with Christ our unity is always under threat, for even in innocence we will be divided by the world, dazzled by tech & lux, and lured into dancing for more than one army camp.

APPLICATION:

In marriage or with Christ, what are your trust issues that can hinder relationship?

What are situations where your emotions dominate in your response to God or your spouse?

How have you declared your passionate allegiance to your Lord or your spouse?

Why is it attractive when it is clear who a bride or a Christian belongs to?

/by

Song of Songs Pt. 4 : Don’t Hesitate When True Love Calls

Can you think of a time in your life when you hesitated & missed out on something? 33 years ago I did not hesitate when true love called: Happy Valentines Day.

Back to you…have you hesitated and paid dearly for it? Did you learned something? The Bride of Christ, you and I, we are prone to be caught up in our routine, to let worldly pursuits distract us, and we hesitate to follow Jesus Christ as He call us to.

We have ideas about what it means to truly follow Christ, but we must get out of our heads and act when Christ calls to us, not tomorrow or when it is more convenient. And in a Biblical marriage we can’t hesitate when our spouse needs us, we must respond to their needs in a timely manner, with our active presence. 

The crucial ingredient of intimacy is presence, really being there, in our relationship with God and our marriages. It is also crucial to actively remember why it is we love our spouses and our Savior. As a community of Jesus Christ followers we are called to encourage each other in the Lord. That means worshiping whole heartedly. Listening to each other tell our God stories, reminding us why we love our Lord so much! And in our marriages we need to actively remember and tell our spouses why they are our one and only beloved.

As we read Song of Songs we see the dual story of a Bride and Groom and the bigger picture of Christ and His Church. The growth of intimacy and the uniting in both cases is sacred and beautiful, fulfilling the promise of The Garden, how it was meant to be, Shalom!

This morning our passage starts in the dream of what the bride and groom are to become, but that dream is endangered by the bride being too caught up in herself to respond without hesitation to the call of her beloved. In the course of learning a hard lesson she clarifies exactly why he is her one true love. But like I said this is not just about a bride and a groom, this is about how we respond to our Savior and Lord as His Bride.

Chapter 4:16-5:16

(Bride) 4:16 Awake, north wind! Come, south wind! Blow on my garden to spread its fragrance. Let my darling enter his garden and eat its finest fruit.

  • The bride is responding to the Groom seeing her as HIS garden
  • She is declaring her desire for their love to be a return to ‘The Garden’
  • She is expressing her total vulnerability and inviting her darling into this love

(Groom) 5:1 My sister, my bride, I have entered my garden; I am gathering my myrrh and my spices; I am eating my honeycomb along with my honey; I am drinking my wine as well as my milk.

  • The idea of exclusivity: MY Sister; MY bride
  • This creates ‘The Shalom’. Intimacy between a man and a woman God’s way
  • The Groom finds total fulfillment: He enjoys all the pleasures of ‘The Garden’

(Guests) Eat, friends, and drink, until you are drunk with love!

  • The guests encourage & approve of the full enjoyment of love by bride & groom
  • In this context (one man & one woman united under God) love is at it’s best!
  • The guests represent the community of God’s people
  • This is the yet to be realized perfect state of intimacy: Shalom

(Bride) 2 I am asleep, but my heart is awake. Listen! I hear my darling knocking!

  • It is unclear whether she now is in a dream state or she was previously
  • her desire is to hold on to the dream but she is called to ‘real life’

(Groom) Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my flawless one! For my head is wet with dew, my hair with the moisture of the night.

  • The groom is entreating her to open the door to Him
  • He call to her as: Perfect / Peaceful / His Passion / His Trust
  • He has come at an unexpected time, after sundown
  • The best of life is not always convenient…

(Bride) 3 I’ve removed my coat; must I put it back on? I’ve washed my feet; must I dirty them again? 4 The man I love put his hand through the hole by the door-latch, and my heart began pounding at the thought of him. 5 I got up to open for the man I love. My hands were dripping with myrrh —pure myrrh ran off my fingers onto the handle of the bolt.

  • The bride express some hesitation, some thought of selfishness, some doubt
  • Then knowing that he truly come for her she is overcome and she acts
  • She seems to be in the midst of preparing to sleep, (bedtime routine)
  • After hesitating she goes to him without stoping her anointing routine

(Bride) 6 I opened for my darling, but my darling had turned and gone. My heart had failed me when he spoke — I sought him, but I couldn’t find him; I called him, but he didn’t answer. 7 The watchmen roaming the city found me; they beat me, they wounded me; they took away my cloak, those guardians of the walls! 8 I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, that if you find the man I love, what are you to tell him? That I am sick with love.

  • Her hesitation has proved to be her undoing…now she haas to seek him
  • He is not able to be found and she pays the price for not responding to him
  • She experiences the harshness of the world outside ‘The Garden’
  • The bride invokes an oath from the daughters of Jerusalem / God’s People
  • They are to send a message to the groom: There will be no more hesitation

(Guests) 9 How does the man you love differ from any other, you most beautiful of women? How does the man you love differ from any other, that you should give us this charge?

  • The guests refer to her ‘most beautiful of women’ 
  • The community of God’s people appreciate her desire to seek the groom
  • The guests want to know why the man she loves is one of a kind
  • What is it about this groom? Why do they want her explain why He is special

(Bride) 10 The man I love is radiant and ruddy; he stands out among ten thousand. 11 His head is like the finest gold; his locks are wavy and black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves by running streams, bathed in milk and set just right.

  • Radiant: an expression of glory
  • Ruddy: King David, Man of Sorrows in Isaiah & Jesus were described this way
  • The Bridegroom stands out, one of a kind
  • Head like the finest gold = value in the thoughts and insights he has, the finest
  • The hair symbolizes youth and vitality, jet black, no grey
  • Eye like doves: gentle, full of integrity, cleansed of filth and inviting

(Bride) 13 His cheeks are like beds of spices, like banks of fragrant herbs. His lips are like lilies dripping with sweet myrrh. 14 His arms are rods of gold set with beryl, his body polished ivory adorned with sapphires. 15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His stature is like Lebanon, as imposing as the cedars.

  • His face is sweetness personified to her
  • Lilies dripping myrrh: what comes from his lips in unrivaled in all creation
  • The works of his hands are precious and pure
  • His body denotes his ‘Guts / Bowels’… the source of his character
  • His affections for his bride are rich and strong
  • Legs denote stability and consistency
  • His countenance / appearance is one of a kind excellence

(Bride) 16His words are sweetness itself; he is altogether desirable. This is my darling, and this is my friend, daughters of Jerusalem.

  • What he speaks to her is the icing on the cake: the epitome of sweetness
  • All of these things combine to make him the perfect object of her affections
  • He is my ‘Brother Groom’ she declares to the people of God

SUMMARY:

The bride and groom are imagining the consummation of the marriage, a return to ‘The Garden’.

The groom comes tot he bride unannounced, but the bride is selfishly focused on ‘her world’.

Her excuses and hesitation are overwhelmed by the strength of her feelings for the groom.

Hesitation comes with a high price, he is gone and in her search for him, the world now treats her with pain and shame.

The bride wisely seeks help from the guests, ‘The Daughters of Jerusalem’ confessing the error of her ways.

God’s people encourage her to clarify her desire, to share why her love for the groom consumes her.

She describes the groom as being everything desirable and His words to her are the ultimate source of desire.

APPLICATION:

How do you imagine your relationship with Jesus Christ?

How have you hesitated to respond to Christ’s call on your life?

How might you seek the help of God’s people to clear distractions from your life so you can respond to God?

How well have you clarified the basis for your conversion to Christ Following?

When Loves Comes To Town by U2 & BB King

When love comes to town, I’m gonna jump that train
When love comes to town, I’m gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before love came to town
I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side
But I’ve seen love conquer the great divide

/by

Songs of Songs Pt. 3: How Christ sees his bride

All of our text today is spoken by The Groom. What we are going to hear is the way God intended a man to be attracted to and protective of his one and only bride.  We are also going to hear how God feels about each and everyone of those who have become HIS bride, how he sees and cares for those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ.

This epic poem, uses the most important of all human relationships to show how bringing that desire, passion & fulfillment completely under Jesus Christ’s control is a picture of how it was in the beginning, and how it will be in heaven. One of the constant themes throughout this ‘Song’ is how much better love is when we let God take the lead, that we submit to His timing. That the ideal love relationship must not be awakened before the right time. That the special things a man and a women can share in marriage are meant to be kept until the proper time, as God reveals.

This principal goes for everything; when we put our lives under Jesus’ Lordship we become what HE created us to be: His perfect, special, secure and fruitful Bride. This is how we are meant to be, in this exclusive, intimate with our Creator. ‘Shalom’

The CSNY song ‘Woodstock’ has a line: ‘We’ve got to get ourselves, back to The Garden’. We have God given desire to experience Shalom, to walk with God like Adam & Eve did in the Garden.  God wants to take us back to The Garden, That is why Christ came! This book is scripture because it helps complete the picture of God’s redemptive story.

Song of Songs 4:1-15

(Groom) 1 How beautiful you are, my love! How beautiful you are! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead. 2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep that have just come up from being washed; each of them is matched, and none of them is missing.

  • The repetition is on purpose
  • Imagery drawn from the experience of a shepherd
  • Doves are a symbol of purity
  • She is veiled, the totality of her beauty is still unknown; she is not his yet…
  • Hair like goats on a mountain….picture it
  • It was rare to have nice teeth…

(Groom)3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like a pomegranate split open behind your veil. 4 Your neck is like the tower of David, built magnificently, on which hang a thousand bucklers, each one a brave warrior’s shield. 5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among lilies. 

  • Using the things that were familiar in that world
  • Scarlet thread was rare, woven into temple curtains & High Priest’s Ephod
  • Pomegranate: soft and round yet behind the veil;  they are not fully known yet
  • Tower of David was a Citadel, the description speaks of splendor & strength 
  • The ‘lilies’ is a place of security and sweetness

(Groom) 6 When the day’s cool breeze comes up and the shadows lengthen, I will get myself to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense. 

  • Lengthening shadows denote the end of the work day
  • He will seek the sweetness of His Bride when work is done; a fitting reward

(Groom) 7 Everything about you is beautiful, my love; you are without a flaw. 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Come down from the heights of Amana, from the heights of Senir and Hermon, down from the lions’ lairs and the leopard-haunted hills.

  • It is a subjective vision, to see your Bride as flawless…
  • If we are ‘In Christ’ God doesn’t see sinful you or me, He sees His perfect Son!
  • The groom wants the bride to come to him, choosing to leave her world
  • Mountains are a place of excitement and danger, the valley is secure & sweet
  • ‘Leave and Cleve’  In marriage and ‘In Christ’

(Groom) 9 My sister, my bride, you have carried my heart away! With just one glance, with one bead of your necklace you have carried my heart away. 10 My sister, my bride, how sweet is your love! How much better your love than wine, more fragrant your perfumes than any spice!

  • Calling her ‘Sister Bride’ is telling her how multifaceted their relationship is
  • Protection & Loyalty for a sister, Union & Exclusivity with your Bride 
  • She carries his heart away, he is naturally attracted
  • Her love is what the Groom desires the most, it’s more intoxicating than wine
  • The reaction of his senses to her is beyond any other experience
  • This is How God sees you Christian: desirable for all the right reasons
  • THIS love of a Bride & Groom can illustrate the love of God & His people

(Groom) 11 Your lips, my bride, drip honey; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.

  • Kisses and words come from the lips
  • He only calls her Bride now for these things are shared only with that one.
  • Mystery & intrigue, the scent of the unfamiliar…

(Groom) 12 My sister, my bride, is a garden locked up, a pool covered over, a spring sealed shut. 

  • Again the dual title invokes secure care and exclusive passion
  • Water is what gives every growing thing life
  • This water is not available to everyone, it is held for a one of a kind purpose

(Groom) 13 You are an orchard that puts forth pomegranates and other precious fruits, henna and nard —14 nard with saffron and aromatic cane, cinnamon and all kinds of frankincense trees, myrrh, aloes, all the best spices.

  • V13 is sometimes over sexualized… (shoots or limbs translated as thighs) 
  • Literal translation: ‘Your shoots, a paradise of pomegranates…’
  • To Him she is all things stimulating to the senses
  • In this God ordained love she is a place where everything is put right: Shalom
  • The Big Idea: in God ordained marriage we can get a glimpse of ‘The Garden’

(Groom)15 You are a garden fountain, a spring of running water, flowing down from Lebanon.

  • As they trust each other and enter into intimacy, the life giving goodness flows!
  • When joined God’s way the spring is to be released and the Garden thrives

SUMMARY:

The Groom compares the beauty of his bride to the beauty of God’s creation from the perspective of a shepherd. This is how the ‘Great Shepherd’ sees His bride.

The Groom’s daily toil is rewarded by ‘The Sweet Heights’ of his Bride. The mountains are exciting & risky, the valley is safe & peaceful.  He calls her to come to him and find security.

Sister Bride is a name that expresses incredible protective care & loyalty along with passionate unity and exclusivity!  This is who Jesus Christ sees His followers as!

Our sexual intimacy is precious to God, He desires us to share it exclusively in the confines He prescribes (Biblical Marriage). In the same way He wants us to be intimate with Him exclusively.

This is a picture of how a ‘God Prescribed Marriage’ can give us a vision of what a return to the Garden of Eden Heaven will be.

APPLICATION:

What are some ways you can practice being a beautiful part of God’s creation? 

How do you respond to Jesus Christ seeing you as His unique ‘Sister Bride’?

Since Christ enthusiastically enjoys your honest love, how can you express it more?

What would it look like for you to be a garden spring of running water in your relationship with God?

/by