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SOLOMON.S10
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Study No. 10.
SONG OF SOLOMON
RESTORING TRUE LOVE cont. - Chapter 4:1 -
4:1 - 5 - "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. Thy
teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn,
which came up from the washing, of which every one
beareth twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips
are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely;
thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy
locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David built for
an armory, on which there hang a thousand bucklers, all
shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two
young roes that are twins, which feed among the
lilies."
a) In order to reinforce His view of her, He repeats the
phrase, "thou art fair" four times in the next ten verses.
It is important at this stage for her to be able to accept
the King's opinion of her. A revelation of her new nature
and the power of redemption in her is as valid as the
revelation of the King Himself. Without a full acceptance of
His work for her and in her, His own coming is not effective.
Christ did not come just for the sake of it, so that men
would be condemned, but He came for a purpose - that man
might be saved (John 3:17). It is not enough for God that
the gospel is preached. He desires changed lives and this
can only happen if His bride can "see" both the effect and
effectiveness of His redemptive work for, and His
relationship with, His people.
It is for this reason at this stage that He employs
"repetition teaching" to fully reinforce this
revelation of herself so that she can respond to Him
without reservation.
b) Her emphasis on the King alone rather than what He has done
for her in the previous chapter leads to this re-emphasized
and extensive revelation of herself. It teaches us that all
things that we need in our spiritual life come out of giving
Jesus the pre-eminence.
The revelation of the Church's position in Col. 1:21-27 is
preceded by a revelation of Christ - 1:15-19.
c) Up to this point, whenever the King had expressed His view of
her or blessed her, she had either reacted to it negatively
or had taken advantage of Him for her own ends: ie.,
i) "You are comely - like the curtains of Solomon" had
caused the reaction, "look not upon me for I am
black", and resulted in the frantic efforts in the
vineyards to buy His favour. (1:5-6).
ii) 1:15-16, "thou art fair" is followed by " our
bed" which eventually becomes " my bed" (3:1).
iii) The banqueting house had become "our wall" (2:4-8).
d) This time the King develops an extensive description of the
things within her which please Him, and does not take her any
further or give her anything, or bless her with more, until
she can fully grasp this revelation.
e) What He doesn't describe here, He does later, and there are
reasons why these later description are not included at this
point.
EVEN FACETS OF THE BRIDE'S FAIRNESS
1. "Thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks"
a) It is appropriate that this should be the first
description. It is her return to a "fixed-field focus" on
the King (3:6-11) which has brought her own life into
proper perspective. The eyes are the window of the soul
(Matt. 6:22), and her soul is now filled with His light
because it is all she is concentrating on.
b) The dove can see much further than humans. Certain types
of doves or pigeons are being trained for use in air-sea
rescue operations because of their ability to see long
distances.
The Bride's doves' eyes speak of her spiritual perception
becoming much clearer and more acute as she concentrates
on the King.
c) Her eyes are "within her locks"
Hair in the scripture speaks of covering (1 Cor. 11:15),
and consecration (Num. 6:5). These two aspects show her
spiritual perception being veiled or hidden from public
display. Part of her consecration is to keep under the
King's covering and not to promote or parade herself.
2. "Your hair is as a flock of goats"
If a modern husband said that to his wife on her wedding night,
he'd either be met with tears or a purse hurled in his direction.
This is a metaphor of subjective response. Many times poets use
certain metaphors in order to create a subjective response in the
mind and emotions of the reader. In this particular case, these
goats refer to black goats with long silky hair that glistens in
the twilight sun. As they wound their way homeward coming down
the restful slopes of Mt. Gilead, they created a sense of
restfulness and beauty in the eye of the beholder. Solomon is
saying Shulamith is like that. As he beholds her hair and her
general beauty, he is overwhelmed with a sense of quiet. He
loves to just look at her and take in what he sees. He's
actually being quite romantic.
a) The hair speaks of consecration as expressed in the Nazarite
vow (Num. 6). In this vow some things had to go, and
something had to grow.
i) The Nazarite could not partake of any product of the vine.
This speaks of natural stimulation. The Bride will not
seek any other stimulus than the King's presence.
ii) The Nazarite could not touch a dead body as this would
make him unclean. The consecration of the Bride involves
avoiding:
1) anything which doesn't have resurrection life in it.
Rom. 6:4, Rev. 1:18, and Heb. 9:14.
2) anything which is for self-pleasure - 1 Tim. 5:6.
3) anything which is not of faith - James 2:20 and 26.
4) anything which is fruitless - Jude verse 12.
iii) The Nazarite could not cut his hair during the time of the
vow. This consecration is expressed in submission and
total commitment. The references to the woman's hair in
1 Cor. 11:15 show that in the Corinthian culture a woman
who didn't let her hair grow was not committed to one man.
There was no submission in her life, and she was not under
the covering of her husband.
b) The hair is referred to as a flock of goats "that eat of (or
appear in) Mount Gilead".
i) Mount Gilead is a rugged and inaccessible region and this
suggests that true consecration is lonely, precarious and
difficult to attain.
Elijah the Tishbite is thought to have come from Gilead.
He was exclusively God's man and this caused his lonely
life in an age when the rest of Israel had compromised.
However, the plan of God is to feed us in that lonely
consecration to Himself, as He fed Elijah throughout the
famine. This relationship with the King excludes certain
things which are considered acceptable by others, but it
also provides a supply of God's grace not available to
those who compromise. Note Jer. 50:19.
3. "Your teeth are like a flock of sheep"
To liken her teeth to sheep is to say they are as white as snow.
To say that they are like newly shorn ewes suggests they are
smooth. The allusion to the "washing" suggests that her teeth
glisten.
a) The first thing noticed in this description is that she is no
longer considered to be an infant in her development. Babies
have no teeth. She now has the ability to masticate and
assimilate food. 1 Cor. 3:1-2 and Heb. 5:14 show that the
ability to eat strong meat is a quality of those no longer
carnal or immature. Jesus offered the crowd of His disciples
a diet they could not eat, thus demonstrating their spiritual
immaturity - John 6:53-66.
b) They were "even shorn".
Sheep produce wool which was a forbidden fabric for priests.
They could not wear anything that caused sweat (Ezek. 44:18)
and instead, had to clothe themselves with linen which is a
type of the righteousness of the saints.
Wool is the natural product of sheep and it has to be taken
off regularly in order to keep the sheep healthy.
The ability to assimilate God's Word depends on the product
of our natural life being constantly shorn off. Col. 3:8-9
tells us to "put off" the old man and his deeds. Without a
regular shearing of these natural products, the flow of
revelation from God's Word will be impeded.
c) i) The shearing is related to "the washing" and both are
needed to deal with the "parasites" of life. Jesus spoke
of a washing that was needed to cleanse us from the grime
collected by our daily contact with the world. John
13:10. The process by which this happens in the
application of and obedience to the Word of God itself.
Eph. 5:26-27.
ii) The ability to assimilate God's Word is directly related
to its cleansing work. The Word does not cleanse from
sin, but from wrong concepts, deceptions and attitudes.
When we allow the teaching of the Word to change us we are
then prepared for its power of revelation, ie. the "strong
meat".
d) "Everyone bear twins and none is barren".
All her teeth are twins; they come in pairs, top and bottom, and
are evenly matched. Not only that, but she still has all her
teeth.
i) The teeth are expected to keep developing. There is no
place for a static revelation of the King. The teeth of
the bride, or her ability to assimilate the revelation of
her beloved were not barren. Every experience and
teaching she is receiving is preparing her for more of Him
and no part of her life is unproductive.
ii) The twins refer to the "balanced effect" this
appropriation of the King is having on the bride. Our
natural teeth are in pairs and in the spiritual dimension
there is a need for balance. Some go off on tangents
absorbing only those things which interest them, avoiding
those aspects of spiritual life which are less stimulating
or more demanding. However, the Bride has learned from
her previous failures largely caused by being selective
rather than balanced in her spiritual life. Now she wants
all that is in Him.
4. "Thy lips are like the thread of scarlet".
Shulamith apparently used lipstick of some type and other
cosmetics in a comely way which highlighted her natural beauty.
Lips and eyes work together to give expression to the
personality. If the eyes smile, the mouth cannot be set in hard
lines.
The Bride's speech and the expression of her mouth is connected
to what her eyes are fixed upon. There is now a consistency
between her vision and her speech. Both have the King in the
forefront.
5. "Thy temples are like a piece of (or halves of) a pomegranate
within your locks".
a) The temples more correctly refer to the cheeks.
i) Previously her complexion had been sunburnt (1:6), but now
it is like a piece of pomegranate, which has pinkish
colour. The King had told her that she was as the
curtains of Solomon to Him, but now His work in her has
produced a tangible and observable effect. She is really
changed. This is not just the legal side of redemption,
the imputed righteousness, but the actual working out of
imparted righteousness. God declares us to be sanctified,
but He also works within us to make that sanctification
more than words. The Bride has been changing into the
likeness of the King by being in His presence and
beholding Him.
ii) Her cheeks are like a piece of pomegranate and this
suggests two things:
1) The pomegranate has been cut. Many good or beneficial
effects are worked in us through the knife. Every
branch that bears fruit is pruned by God (John 15:2).
Suffering and tribulation are part of the process God
both allows or uses to produce change and beauty in us
- Acts 14:22.
2) Once opened, these halves of pomegranates reveal what
is in them. The pomegranate is a fruit full of seeds
and this speaks to us of the abundant life that is in
the Bride. Often we do not realise how much "life" is
in us until the knife of tribulation has been used on
us and instead of dying we bear more fruit. Seeds also
speak of potential. The Bride, through her
relationship with the King, is literally bursting with
potential. There is much that is yet to be developed,
but the beginnings of that future stage of her life is
already apparent.
b) The Bride's cheeks (temples) are said to be within her
locks, just as her eyes are. This tells us that the changes
wrought in her, the beauty and the life in her is not always
observable on the outside. The only place where the Bride is
really manifested is in the secret place of her relationship
with the King. He alone sees her as she really is. The
world never sees all that is in us.
6. "Thy neck is like the tower of David".
4
a) There are three types of necks spoken of in the scriptures:
- stiffnecked - unyielding or stubborn
- bowed neck in bondage
- upright neck
The neck expresses the will of man. If it is stiffnecked,
there will be resistance to change or refusal to co-operate.
This expresses self will. If the neck is bowed in bondage or
servitude, it reveals that the will has been broken and now
the person is controlled by an outside force. It generally
means that a battle has been lost and now the person is
vanquished.
The Bride's neck, however, is not like these previous cases.
Her neck is spoken of as a tower of David - a place of
defence. So her neck is an upright one, but of consecration,
ever ready to turn to a new direction so that the eyes can
maintain a fixed view of the King.
b) Her neck is like the tower of "David", who is said to have
performed all God's will. Acts 13:22. This surrender to the
will of God is the best defence of the Bride. Her will
yielded to God's will becomes impenetrable by the enemies of
her soul.
c) When the Bride has made the decision to choose only the
King's way in her life, He adds another dimension of
protection to her. A thousand shields of mighty men cover
her tower. This speaks of the whole armour of God covering
every part so that there is no exposure to enemy strategies.
This armour of God is supernatural covering based on our
choice to align ourselves with God's will and purpose for us.
7. "Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins".
a) The breasts of the Bride were referred to in Chapter 1:13 -
"He shall lie all night between my breasts", but they were
not described. Now the King concludes His portrait of her
beauty and appealing characteristics with specific
comparisons to the breasts. We have already established that
typically they refer to faith and love (1 Thess. 5:8), the
elements that sustain our relationship with the King when we
cannot see Him. However, we need to understand what effect
the Church's faith and love has upon the Lord.
b) The function of the breasts is also pleasing to the Lord.
The Bride is the source of nourishment to those who have been
born into the family of God. As the woman's breasts provide
milk and a feeling of security to sustain a new born babe, so
the Church provides food and security for new believers.
This practice enhances the attractiveness of the Bride to the
King. They form part of the woman's attractiveness and along
with her hair and the rest of her figure establish the
apparent and biological distinction from the male.
Proverbs 5:18-19 teaches the young married man to be faithful
to his wife and says, "let her breasts satisfy you at all
times". The woman's breasts thus form part of the arousal of
human love, and we can see that the relationship between
Christ and His Church is one in which He is inspired and
blessed by the spiritual activity of His Bride. Just as
husband is drawn to his wife by those parts of her figure
which make her different from and unique to him, so the
relationship with the Lord is enhanced as the Church develops
those parts of its life which are unique and mark it out as
different to the world.
c) The King says her breasts are like two young roes that feed
among the lilies.
i) Chapter 2:16 shows the King feeding among the lilies. Now
He is declaring that she feeds where He feeds and the
reasons for her development of these beautiful and
attractive aspects of her life is because of her
declaration to seek Him out, to be near Him, and to do
what He is doing.
ii) The reference to "young roes" suggests that these aspects
of faith and love are both enthusiastic and sensitive as
the gazelle or young fawns are. They are bursting with
life and energy, but are easily frightened. This is true
of the development of faith and love. As in a human
relationship, there are always questions and uncertainties.
Note
The King describes the breasts three times. Ch. 4:5, 7:1,
7:7. Twice He says they are like "two baby deer",
beautiful but immature, unable to function as a source of
nourishment in any true sense of spiritual ability. We
only find a few who have enough of the Lord to enable them
to help others, they scarcely keep themselves in communion
with God. Heb. 5:12, "Ye have need that one teach you."
A nursing mother gives of her own life - we need people
who can minister to others out of a life of maturity and
balance.
4:6 - "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will go
up to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of
frankincense."
a) We have already established that night-time refers to the
physical absence of Christ and the day-break speaks of His
return or Second- Coming.
The King recognizes that until then there will be shadows (1
Cor. 13) and no full revelation of His blazing light.
He is saying, "I think you are beautiful and I want you to
mature to help others but I won't force you."
b) The mountain of myrrh is the place of suffering and
bitterness and it speaks of a further application of the
cross in her life. In the life of the believer the cross is
both past and present work. Note and compare: Gal. 2:20,
Mark 8:34-35, Phil. 2:5, 2 Tim. 3:12, and 1 Pet. 2:21. There
is now a desire in the Shulamite to enter into the
"fellowship of the King's sufferings" - Phil. 3:10, and not
to pursue her personal pleasure.
c) The hill of frankincense speaks of worship produced through
sacrifice. Frankincense is mentioned more in the Song of
Solomon that any other book, except Leviticus, which lays
down the requirements for both sacrifice and worship. The
Bride's intention to depart from her previous disobedience
and to voluntarily share the sufferings of the King is an act
of worship.
This is also seen in that the mountain of myrrh is
referred to first. Then comes the hill of frankincense.
Once the major decisions of consecrations are made, the rest
is generally not as hard. Hills are easier to climb than
mountains.
4:7 - "You are fair, my love; there is no spot in you."
a) The development of the Bride is blessing the King because it
is not only potential He sees in her. Her actual state has
radically changed until He can say to her what He has never
said yet - "there is no spot in you."
i) Not only is her behaviour changed, but her motives at this
point are pure as she lost her self-centredness.
ii) Her "all fair" and "no spot" state needs to be compared to
"I am black." It is not to suggest that there is no spot
on her. The daily contact of the believer with the world
may produce a spotting which needs to be washed away with
the water of the Word! Grime on outside and spots on the
inside are a totally different matter. Even in chapter
one her problem was only a surface problem - "sunburn",
but her selfish possession of the King's blessings in
chapter two produced and inner uncleanness that could only
be dealt with by myrrh or the cross. Now once again she
is free from an internal barrier between her and the King,
and He is able to present her to Himself without spot or
wrinkle. Eph. 5:27.
END of STUDY TEN
