Song of Songs Chapter 1:9 – Chapter 2; John Karmelich
1.
When
it comes to martial advice there are endless books and endless proverbs on this
topic.
a)
Some
are better than others.
b)
Some
have good biblical principles behind them.
c)
Some
come from a successful marriage and the writer figures, “Well, everyone else
out there needs to be just like us”.
d)
The
passage we have today, I kept reading over and over again. I kept thinking,
“This is good. This is how a marriage
should be”.
i)
I
don’t claim this chapter has all the answers on marriage.
ii)
But
I do like the principals taught here, and I would like to apply them more to my
own life as well as to pass them on to others.
iii)
The
one principal I see more than any other is, “The secret to a good marriage is
to try to outdo each other”.
iv)
God’s
love in the greatest sense is the giving of oneself for another. That meaning of the word “love” is used both
in the Hebrew and the Greek. There are
other words for erotic love and brotherly love in both languages, but the word
meaning to “give of oneself completely” is thought of as the highest form of
that love.
v)
I
see that action all over this passage of Scriptures.
a)
Yes,
there are erotic overtones, but I see that as secondary in importance.
b)
Eroticism
in marriage is an expression of God’s love for us to be used in marriage.
(1)
It
is the ultimate physical expression of a gift God has given us.
2.
Song
of Songs can be read on a number of levels, as I discussed in the last lesson.
a)
The
first level is to see the literal expression of love between a bride and a
groom.
b)
The
underlying tone is to see the expression of love between God and us.
c)
A
healthy relationship between a man and a woman grows in stages.
i)
The
first is conversational, then moving on to hand holding, then kissing, and then
post-wedding night, it becomes sexual.
a)
As
the relationship grows through the years, it becomes more and more intimate as
a couple stay together through good and bad times of life. They share joyous times together and support
each other through difficult situations.
The Godly concept of “completely giving oneself” to one’s partner is a
constant maturing in relationship.
b)
I
have a friend who gave a great quote on his 50th wedding
anniversary. He said, “Well, the first
25 years were the hardest. It was
downhill after that!” As cute as that
is, one can see the principal of constantly working at a marriage to make it a
better relationship.
ii)
That
same principal also applies in our relationship with God.
a)
Jesus
calls God the Father “Abba”, which can correctly be translated “daddy”. God wants an intimate relationship with us.
b)
God
also designed marriage to be a model of that relationship.
c)
Like
a relationship with a spouse, our relationship with God starts in the
“handholding” relationship.
d)
Ever
seen a young person who has first committed their lives to Christ?
(1)
They
are usually excited and filled with joy.
(2)
I
remember when I went through that phase for a while.
(3)
They
don’t know all the details of Christianity, they are just happy to be one. We often nickname people like that “baby
Christians”.
(4)
Personally,
I see that as the “honeymoon” relationship with God. They are just so thankful for what Jesus did for them. They have that sense of peace for the first
time in their lives and they don’t care about the details.
(5)
Finally,
the maturity process begins, just like that of a marriage. They share the joy with God through
gratitude for all that is going well in their lives. They cry out to God for support through all of the trials and
difficult times.
(6)
Like
a healthy marriage, it struggles at time, but the commitment stands no matter
how severe the trial.
iii)
With
all that thought in mind, it is a good time to pick up where we last left off
at Verse 9 of Chapter 1.
a)
The
dialogue is between the groom (Solomon) and the bride, called the “Shulamite”
in many of your study bibles.
3.
Chapter
1, Verse 9: I liken you, my darling, to
a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.
a)
Verse
9 begins with Solomon comparing his bride to a prized horse.
i)
In
our culture, having your husband compare you to his prize horse doesn’t exactly
sound like something you want to hear. J
ii)
“Oh
darling, you are like a beautiful horse pulling my chariot.” J
a)
Somehow,
that doesn’t work today.
b)
Let
me explain how beautiful this compliment actually is.
i)
A
“mare” is a female horse.
ii)
The
“chariots of Pharaoh” represents an Egyptian made chariot.
a)
That
was something Egypt was known for.
iii)
Solomon
himself was a horse trader.
a)
“Solomon
had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses. (1st Kings 4:26)
b)
On
a side note, God told that the kings of Israel were not to collect
horses (See: Deuteronomy 17:16). Horses were used for war. God wanted Israel to be dependant upon Him,
and not their own strength.
c)
The
point here is Solomon knew a lot about horses and Egyptian chariots.
(1)
He
gained a lot of personal wealth by breeding horses and selling horses and
Egyptian chariots to other nations.
(a)
(Reference: 1st Kings 10:29).
iv)
Let’s
get back to the bible verse. Solomon
compares the beauty of his bride to a female horse, also known as a mare.
a)
Only
male horses were used for chariots.
b)
The
female horses would distract the male horses.
c)
Solomon
is saying in effect, “you are so beautiful, you would be a like the only
beautiful women in the company of men, who would all look at you.
d)
I
suspect that because Solomon was such a horse-lover, he probably had already
explained to his bride all about male and female horses.
(1)
Therefore,
I suspect she understood this compliment.
4.
Verse
10: Your cheeks are beautiful with
earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.
a)
Some
of the translations give the impression that her cheeks were pierced with
jewelry. That is bad
interpretation. It simply refers to
long earrings dangling from her ears on her cheeks.
b)
Ok
guys, time to pay attention: J
i)
Notice
that Solomon complimented her and not the jewelry.
a)
It
does not say how beautiful the jewelry is on her.
b)
It
says how beautiful she looks with the jewelry.
c)
It
is stating how the jewelry compliments her looks.
c)
On
a related note, the bible is not anti-jewelry for women.
i)
Paul
says in 1st Timothy 2:9 that women are “to dress modestly, with
decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive
clothes” (NIV).
a)
Paul’s
point in 1st Timothy refers to our dress ware in church.
b)
His
point is that we should not make such a spectacle of ourselves when we gather
for church that people look at us and get our focus off of God.
c)
Sorry
guys, you can’t use 1st Timothy as an excuse to not buy
jewelry. J
5.
Verse
11: We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.
a)
Here
is one of those verses where people debate over who is speaking.
b)
The
Hebrew noun is in plural form, thus it says, “we will make” you this
jewelry.
c)
Some
believe this is the “Daughters of Jerusalem” is describing a wedding gift.
d)
Others
believe this is still King Solomon speaking, and he is talking to his jeweler
and together they will make more jewelry for his bride.
e)
Verse
10 describes how beautiful the bride looks with jewelry.
i)
Verse
11 moves on to say how we will give you additional jewelry, assumedly for the
purposes of complimenting your beauty.
ii)
Remember
that love for your partner is doing things that please them. To take the time, effort and resources to
court your love, before and after the marriage.
f)
There
is a wonderful word picture that many commentators draw out of this verse of
our relationship with God.
i)
Some
see the “we” in Verse 11 as being God in the trinity.
a)
First
of all, it is not unusual to describe God in the plural.
b)
In
Genesis it says, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image,
in our likeness,” (Genesis
1:26a, NIV).
(1)
The
point is, “who is God talking to? It is
God in the plural form.
ii)
The
word picture for gold in the bible, speaks of kings, or deity. We think of a king as wearing a gold
crown. (Reference: See Revelation 9:7)
iii)
The
word picture for silver in the bible, speaks of redemption. “Silver” is associated with blood, as in the
blood-price for redemption. Remember
that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. (References: Zechariah 11:13, Matthew 26:13)
iv)
The
word picture being painted here is that “you, my bride have been redeemed. You haven’t been redeemed to be a slave, or
a lowly person, but redeemed to rule with me in glory. Thus the picture of the gift of the silver
and the gold.
6.
Verse
12: While the king was at his table, my
perfume spread its fragrance.
a)
Now
we have the bride speaking for the next few verses.
b)
The
“king’s table” may refer to the banquet table of the wedding ceremony.
c)
The
bride is speaking about her perfume being “sent” up to the king.
i)
It
is a form of a love offering. It is
saying in effect, “I love my man, and I know he loves the smell of my
perfume. I want the scent associated
with me to be a sweet smell to him and he to be attracted to that scent.
d)
In
the book of Leviticus, there is a “word-picture” commonly associated with
aromas.
i)
The
burnt offerings of the animals and the incense offerings were often described
as “sweet aroma’s” or a similar phrase, depending upon your translation.
a)
I
heard a cute application of this principal:
Does your live, living for Christ, “smell” to God of a beautiful scent,
or does it stink? J
ii)
The
word-picture for us, by the concept of scent-to-heaven is prayer.
a)
Just
like the smoke of these offerings is a visual picture of a sweet aroma rising
up to the heavens, so is our prayers a sweet aroma rising up to God.
iii)
Here
we have the bride offering up her aroma to the king.
7.
Verse
13: My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting between my breasts.
a)
This
is still the bride speaking.
b)
“Myrrh”
is a sweet smelling powder substance. A
“sachet” is a small pouch, hanging from a string. So here is this necklace, featuring a small pouch resting between
the bride’s breasts, giving off this wonderful aroma.
i)
In
ancient times where bathing is less frequent, this sweet smelling pouch was
often used as a form of deodorant to mask the body smell.
ii)
When
the bride smells this smell, she thinks of the man she loves.
iii)
Myrrh
is an expensive eastern substance. It
has to be grounded up.
a)
Myrrh
was one of the gifts brought to Jesus at his birth (See Matthew 2:11).
b)
Myrrh
is used in burial rituals and is also associated with death.
c)
Some
commentators try to tie this reference here in Song of Songs to Jesus’ death,
but I think that is a stretch, even by my imagination. J
c)
Here
is another comparison. When Moses was
given the instructions for the recipe used for making incense for the
tabernacle altar, that particular sweet smelling recipe was only to be
used for the incense alter. It could be
used for no other purpose. (See Exodus
30:37)
i)
To
set something apart just for God’s use is the idea behind the Christian
buzzword “sanctification”. The idea of
sanctification is to set something apart just for the use in our relationship
between God and us.
ii)
When
we first commit our lives to Christ, we are described as being “sanctified, or
set apart”. (See 1st
Corinthians 6:11 as an example.)
d)
This
leads us back to the bride and her scented pouch.
i)
That scent reminds her of the one
she loves.
ii)
She
put that pouch there is a reminder, every time she took a “whiff”, of her love
for Solomon. One could take that a step
further and see the desire for erotic relationship by placing it between her
breasts.
8.
Verse
14: My lover is to me a cluster of
henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.
a)
Remember
that one of my opening themes was to see how the bride and groom are so in love
they try to outdo each other in compliments and their love.
b)
Solomon
compares her to his prized horse, and compliments her beauty with jewelry.
c)
In
the last few verses, she is showing her love by showing the effort she has
taken to give out her perfume to him and wears a “perfume necklace” to remind
herself of him and to peak her sexual interest in Solomon.
d)
Now
here in Verse 14, she is comparing Solomon to “a cluster of henna blossoms from
the vineyards of En Gedi.”
i)
Remember
that this girl has an agricultural background.
She is using expressions and cliché’s that are based on her background.
ii)
“En
Gedi” in ancient and modern Israel is an oasis in the Dead Sea.
a)
The
Dead Sea area is the lowest land elevation on the planet earth (that is not
under water). It is below sea level.
b)
Most
of the area is desolate desert.
c)
The
exception is En Gedi. It is a
beautiful oasis, surrounded by a desert.
(1)
For
those who travel to Israel, it is considered a highlight of the trip. Here, in the middle of a desert, is a
gorgeous flower filled oasis with waterfalls and beautiful plant life.
d)
“Henna
blossoms” is a type of flower growing in that region.
iii)
So
notice the compliment. Let me try to paraphrase. “Oh my darling, in the horrid,
lifeless desert, there is a beautiful oasis.
In that oasis grows some of the most beautiful flowers on earth. You my love are like those flowers. In comparison to you my love, the
surrounding world seems like a desert wasteland.”
a)
I
can’t top that, so I’ll move on to Verse 15:
J
9.
Verse
15: How beautiful you are, my
darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes
are doves.
a)
This
is Solomon speaking again. He compares
her eyes to “doves”.
i)
One
of the progressive things to notice about Song of Songs is that the compliments
start off with the facial items like the eyes and cheeks, and then will
eventually move on to more of the sexual locations of the body.
ii)
That
is something for men to remember in romance.
a)
A
fault of men is we are often too “goal oriented”.
b)
I
leave the rest to your imagination and move on. J
b)
So
why does Solomon say she has “dove’s eyes?”
i)
An
interesting thing about Solomon’s life is that he studied and learned a lot
about plant and animal life:
a)
He
(Solomon) described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that
grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and
fish. (1st Kings 4:33, NIV)
b)
My
point is Solomon knew his birds!
c)
Why
did Solomon pick a dove as a symbol for eyes?
ii)
There
are lots of theories, but no perfect answer.
a)
The
opinion I like the best is the fact that doves mate for life.
(1)
Once
a dove’s partner dies, he or she never mates again with anyone else.
iii)
Given
that, let me paraphrase what I believe “dove’s eyes” means, “My love,
I only have eyes for you!”
10.
Verse
16: How handsome you are, my
lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.
17The beams of our house are
cedars; our rafters are firs.
a)
Now
the bride is speaking again.
b)
Our
bed is “verdant” means “green”, as in fresh.
i)
It
is similar to the way we describe a new product as “fresh out of the box”.
ii)
Think
of a brand new car “fresh off the lot, with that new-car-smell”.
c)
The
whole idea behind these two verses is that all these compliments and talk of
love is arousing the bride. In our
musical of Song of Songs, it is building up the anticipation in describing the
bedroom and the beautiful house of the wedding night.
d)
To
paraphrase, “oh honey, I love you so much.
I’m looking forward to being with you and making love to you. Our brand new bed is waiting for us. Our beautiful new house is waiting for
us. I can hardly stand the wait.”
e)
Before
I move on to Chapter 2, I want to keep on discussing how these verses can also
be applied to our relationship with God.
Jesus made a statement with a similar theme
i)
“In my Father’s house are many rooms (or mansions);
if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place
for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where
I am.” (John 14:2-3, NIV)
ii)
The
idea is that we should remember that a beautiful “house” is being prepared for
us as well. We need to live with that
same sort of anticipation toward our eternal destiny.
iii)
There
was a cute, traditional quote I always liked:
“If God spent only 6 days creating the universe, and he has spent the
last few thousand years preparing a “mansion” for us in heaven, what must that
be like?”
11.
Chapter
2, Verse 1: I am a rose of Sharon, a lily
of the valleys.
a)
This is one of the more
famous verses in Song of Songs.
b)
There have been songs,
gospel hymns and poems based on this verse.
c)
Let’s
start with the basics:
i)
Sharon
is a plain region in Israel.
ii)
The
word has also become a type of rose, apparently common in that region.
d)
This
is the bride speaking. Notice she
acknowledges her own beauty, but she adds the fact that in a sense, “being
beautiful is no big deal”.
i)
Notice
the verse does not say she is the rose of Sharon, nor is she the
lily of the valleys.
ii)
This
verse is a self-put down.
iii)
She
is acknowledging all of Solomon’s compliments, but still doesn’t see herself as
being that special.
iv)
Let’s
read ahead to Verse 2 and see Solomon’s response:
12.
Verse
2: Like
a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.
a)
Notice the compliment in
response.
b)
Solomon is saying in
effect, “oh no my darling, you are not just one beautiful woman I’m adding to
my harem, you mean everything to me.
You stand out among the beautiful maidens of the land. You are so special to me. I love you far more than any other woman
alive.” Guys, I hope you’re getting the
idea here. J
c)
Now let’s tie these
verses to our relationship with God.
i)
We as Christians may
understand that we are saved for eternity.
ii)
We as Christians
understand that God loves us and cares for us.
iii)
But we look at other
Christians and say, “I’ll never be as good or as talented as that person over
there. Look how much (or better) that
person does for God.
iv)
Just as Solomon does not
see the bride that way, neither does God see us that way. God does not want us to compare ourselves to
other Christians. God wants us to live
for Him and just do what he has called us to do. He loves us so much, just as we are. We are all individually special to Him, no
matter what we do.
a)
We may see ourselves as
inferior to others, but God sees each of us as being special, being his prized
possession and standing out among the crowd.
13.
Verse 3: Like an apple
tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
a)
Since I’m on the topic
of our relationship with God, I’ll start with that topic and then come back to
the sexual part. J
i)
In Verse 2 Solomon calls
his bride special. God sees us as
special.
ii)
Because of the
realization of that fact, we should live a life of gratitude to God.
iii)
We should praise Him because
he loves us and desires the best for us.
iv)
Verse 3 is the bride
calling out how special her man is among men.
v)
We need to call out to
God how special he is among the cares of this world.
b)
OK, back to the
bride. She compares Solomon to an
“apple tree among the forest”.
i)
The word for “forest”
implies, as it should for us, a wild, uncultivated growth of bushes and
trees. There is no end product to be
cultivated from a forest unless it is first managed. The bride compares the “forest” to the other young men.