Solomon s Song of Songs CHAPTER 7: RENEWAL OF LOVE

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1 Solomon s Song of Songs CHAPTER 7: RENEWAL OF LOVE Verses 1-3 THE BEAUTY OF THE BRIDE EXTOLLED: FEET TO THE BREASTS [How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a skillful workman [artist]. Your navel is a rounded goblet; it lacks no blended beverage. Your waist is a heap of wheat set about with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.] In Song 4:1-7 Solomon describes his bride from the top down, as it were. In verses 1-5 he describes his wife from the bottom to the top. Here the description starts with her feet and moves upward and ends with her head. The shoes, sandals, or slippers of the Middle Eastern ladies are most beautifully formed, and richly embroidered. The Shulamite maiden has beautiful feet and the sandals she wore framed their beauty. The Hebrew word for feet here is also translated elsewhere as once, twice, times, my goings or my steps. It is speaking about her two feet in motion. As the husband watched her walk he was impressed by the grace and beauty of this sight it also meant that his bride was close by. The description of beautiful feet in motion has a spiritual analogy found in Isaiah. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns! Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; for they shall see eye to eye when the LORD brings back Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:7-10. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things! -- Romans 10:14,15. A Christian s footwear is very important. Not the physical shoe like Nike (which means to overcome) but the spiritual. We are in a spiritual battle and one of the pieces of armor we are told to put on are the shoes of the gospel: Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;.. Ephesians 6:

2 We do not know too much about the Shulamite maiden, but Solomon calls her a prince s daughter. She became royalty, noble and regal, after marrying Solomon and now he refers to her in that regard as if she started out that way. This is like what Christ has done for us. By God s grace through faith in Christ Jesus a person becomes a child of God. As part of that process we are betrothed to a King {John 3:29; Romans 7:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2} and made part of His Bride, the Church. But we do not have a relationship with just any king this is the King of the universe! Matter of fact He is called the King of kings and Lord of lords {1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16}. He is also our Great High Priest {Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 4:14,15; 5:9,10; 7:26; 8:1,2; 9:11; 10:19-22} and he has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west {Psalms 103:12} and brought us reconciliation. Christ has set us in Heavenly places {Ephesians 2:4-7} and made us joint heirs in His kingdom. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 2:9,10. We are the bride of the King of kings and LORD of lords and of royal blood! The Bible also tells us that God is not through with Israel as a nation the one who is the LORD s wife in the Old Testament 1 (e.g., Isaiah 54:5; 62:4,5; Jeremiah 2:2,3; 3:14; 31:32; Hosea 2:19-23;). The husband next describes his bride s legs and hips as being very curvaceous. The word translated skillful workman or craftsman can also mean artist or expert. God had artistically crafted her form. Again, this finds a parallel in the way every one of us is fashioned by God in His image {Genesis 1:26, 27; 2:21-25}. For You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows 1 For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah [married]; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:1-5. 2

3 very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought [embroidered] in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You. Psalms 139: Continuing to move upward the husband describes his wife s navel as a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. In other words, this symbol of her birth gives the husband never-ending satisfaction. Next the husband describes her waist 2 as a mound of wheat encircled by lilies. The word translated waist or belly is a Hebrew word used for the womb dozens of times in the Old Testament. It is describing the softness and roundness of her belly. Since wheat is a symbol of fertility and life, Solomon appears to be referring to that attribute in his wife. (If this narrative takes place months or years after the wedding in Song 4, this could even be a reference to the pregnancy of his wife). The lilies here may be a reference to the roundness of the wife s hips which frame her belly like lovely flowers. Again, as in Song 4:5, Solomon speaks tenderly of his wife s breasts. They are beautiful and a joy to behold, like twin fawns of a gazelle. Verses 4-6 THE BEAUTY OF THE BRIDE IS EXTOLLED: NECK & HEAD [Your neck is like an ivory tower, your eyes like the [fish] pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple; a king is held captive by your tresses. How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!] Continuing to move upward in his description of his wife, Solomon now likens her neck to an ivory tower, majestic in splendor. Compare this with Song 4:4: Your neck is like the tower of David, built for an armory, on which hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. [i.e., jewelry around her neck]. The bride s eyes referred to as doves previously, are now described in terms of crystal clear, serene pools of water. These two fish-pools, at the gate of Bath [daughter] Rabbim, appear to have been situated at the gate that led from Heshbon to Rabbah. [Two towns on the eastern side of the Jordan River.] This metaphor is appropriate because pools were considered to be the eyes of the earth. {In Yellowstone National Park there are hot mineral springs opening up in ground. With their bright colors and glassy smooth surface, from a distance they look like the eyes of a person.} 2 waist, belly [990 beten (beh'-ten) ]from an unused root probably meaning to be hollow. Used to describe the belly, especially the womb; also the bosom or body of anything, the abdomen (as the seat of hunger). Used figuratively of the depth of Sheol, the grave. 3

4 The wife s nose is described as the tower of Lebanon looking towards Damascus. We can take this to mean her nose was straight and well proportioned. Carmel was a solitary mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea known for its natural beauty. The bride s head was pleasantly proportioned and sets off the rest of her body like a crown. The bride s hair was of royal nature for the Hebrew word translated royal tapestry in the NIV means the color purple which is associated with wealth and royalty because the dye for this color was difficult to obtain. Perhaps this is referring to the way her hair was ornamented. The word for tresses is more difficult to translate because there is some uncertainty in the meaning of the Hebrew word. It is a word that means to hollow out to form a channel or trough to hold water. It is usually taken to be another metaphor for her hair which may have contained curls or ringlets that appeared hollowed out. [Compare Song 4:1; 6:5; Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead ]. The husband gives a summary statement about the wife s charm, grace and beauty is given. She is altogether pleasing and lovely, an example of beauty and grace. Verses 7-9a THE DELIGHT OF SEXUAL INTIMACY [This stature of yours is like a palm tree, and your breasts like its clusters. I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches. Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.] Here Solomon describes his wife s body as that of a palm tree upon which he climbs. His wife s breasts are described as clusters of dates. Dates were an important food source during Solomon s day. They are sweet and a great source of nutrition and refreshment. Solomon is saying that he receives this same kind of refreshment and pleasure from his wife s breasts. We have seen a reference to the wife s breasts before in Song 4:5; 7:3. And in Proverbs Solomon uses the wife s breasts as an incentive for the husband to remain faithful and sexually pure. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, and be embraced in the arms of a seductress? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths. Proverbs 5: He then compares her breasts to clusters of grapes. These too were sweet and delicious and satisfied not only hunger, but thirst as well. There is complete joy and mutual pleasure involved in sexual intimacy in the confines of the way God designed it 3. 3 It is interesting to note that in studies done on the enjoyment level of sexual relations, married Christian couples consistently report that their sex life is better than married or unmarried non- 4

5 Unfortunately, this beautiful and wonderfully feminine attribute, which was designed by God, has been perverted and exploited by pagan culture. A worldly culture that is in rebellion against God s design for marriage and sexual intimacy. The bride s breath is sweet and aromatic like that of apples. And the roof of her mouth is like the best wine pleasurable and delectable. Evidently the French did not invent this kind of kiss this is a Jewish kiss! Verses 9b,10 THE AFFECTION & JOY OF THE BRIDE [The Bride: the wine goes down smoothly for my beloved, moving gently the lips of sleepers. I am my beloved's 4 [lover s], and his desire is toward me.] The wine here is probably figurative and the wife appears to be talking about the love she gives to her husband freely and without inhibition. The phrase and his desire is for me is the same as used in Genesis 3:16 to refer to the woman To the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. So here the order of desire is reversed it is the husband s desire for his wife that is expressed. So too is Jesus Christ for He loved us and desired us while we were yet sinners CHRIST REVERSED THE CURSE {Galatians 3:9-14; Hebrews 9:15}. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Romans 5:6-9. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3,4. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9. Verses INVITATION TO A ROMANTIC GET AWAY CANTICLES XII [Come, my beloved 2, let us go forth to the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has budded, whether the grape blossoms are open, and the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love. The mandrakes give Christian couples. 4 beloved, lover [1730 dowd (dode) ] from an unused root meaning properly, to boil, i.e. (figuratively) to love; by implication, a love token, lover, friend; specifically an uncle and so rendered several times (e.g., Leviticus. 10:4; 1 Samuel 24:17; 2 Kings 24:17; 1 Chronicles 27:32; Esther 2:7,15; Jeremiah 32:7, 8, 9 12; Amos 6:10). 5

6 off a fragrance, and at our gates are pleasant fruits, all manner, new and old, which I have laid up for you, my beloved.] It appears to be springtime and the wife appears to be inviting the husband to go forth to the field and villages for a romantic get away [There I will give you my love]. Mandrakes were considered an aphrodisiac and are sometimes called love apples. The yellow fruit of the mandrake was small, sweet tasting, and fragrant. It had narcotic qualities and may have been used medicinally. It was considered a love potion and thought to aid in conception. The wife invites her husband to enjoy her pleasant fruits, both new and old, which she has laid up for her beloved. To prevent their relationship from becoming monotonous, she suggests both old and new ways of being romantic [including lovemaking]. In other words, she is offering her husband her total affection. Note what the Apostle Paul says about this in his letter to the church at Corinth. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:2-5. The idea of old and new has a spiritual application found in Matthew 13: Jesus said to them, Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. Then He said to them, Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old. Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. We are to live by both the old and "new" commandment of love {See 1 John 2:3-1}. Jesus came to bring a new covenant between God and man. See Jeremiah 31:31-33; Matthew 26: The parable of the old & new cloth and wineskins illustrate this truth. See Matthew 9: and yet.. Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Matthew 5:

7 The love between Solomon, the husband, and the Shulamite maiden, the wife is growing as both old and new experiences are shared. 7