My Beloved

September 4

Song of Solomon 1-2

Psalm 102:1-11

Proverbs 21:29-31

Ephesians 3

My Beloved

“The voice of my beloved!  Behold, he is coming, leaping on the mountains, jumping on the hills!  My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.  Behold, he is standing behind our wall;  He gazes through the windows;  He is peering through the lattice.  My beloved answered and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along, for behold, the winter is past, the rain is over; it is gone.  The flowers have appeared in the land; the time for pruning has arrived; and the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.  The fig tree has ripened his figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.  Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!’”  Song of Solomon 2:8-13 LSB

For many, the Song of Solomon is an uncomfortable book that they avoid reading because it doesn’t seem to belong in the Bible.  The love described in this book is considered inappropriate by many and should be left in the privacy of our homes and not mentioned.  I would understand this sentiment, except I believe that God inspired every book, sentence and word included in Scripture and therefore, I know that God would not have included it if it were not important.  It did not somehow slip through the cracks.  Some have tried to explain it by saying that God created us as sexual beings and the union between husband and wife is mysterious and sacred.  It is not something to be ashamed of so it is not inappropriate to express our love in that context.  While I agree with that, I think the Song of Solomon has a much deeper meaning.  I believe it is an allegory of the spiritual love between Jesus, our Bridegroom, and His bride, the church and the individual believer.  Much of this story foretells the return of the Bridegroom for his bride, their love for each other and her expectation of His return.   As in much of the Old Testament, there are layers of meaning.  While the book certainly had contemporary meaning when it was written, God put future, prophetic meaning within the words He inspired Solomon to write. 

The ancient Jewish wedding ceremony can be seen in the words of Solomon. After the betrothal, the bridegroom goes away to his father’s house to prepare a room for his bride and then returns later to take her back with him.  He calls to her in the middle of the night and she goes out to him.  In today’s verses we can see the excitement of the bridegroom as he comes to get his bride.  He stands outside, “behind the wall, gazing through the windows, and peering through the lattice.”  It is a picture of Jesus coming in the clouds.  He does not step foot on earth at that time but stands in the clouds and calls His bride to “Arise and come along!”  He then takes His bride, all believers, to heaven for the wedding supper of the Lamb.   This passage would suggest that it happens in the spring or early summer, “winter is past, the rain is over.  The flowers have appeared in the land, the time for pruning has arrived.”  The rapture is imminent, which means it can happen at any minute, but this could possibly be a clue about the season in which it will one day happen.  As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we begin to understand the depth of connection and love described by Solomon and long for that level of intimacy with Him.