PM Bible Study Group; September 13, 2017 from Song of Solomon; Introduction; 1:1-4

Theme: The more we grow in our love for Jesus, the more we become separated from our attachment to this world.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Whenever anyone begins to grow into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, there is an important spiritual principle involved. It’s that the more that we draw closer to Him, the more we discover that we must separate ourselves from the things that are valued and esteemed by this world. And yet, when that happens, we discover that the more we are gripped by the overwhelming love of Jesus for us, the more eager we become be separated from the world unto Him. In writing to the Corinthian believers, the apostle Paul put it this way:

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (6:14-7:1).

One famous theologian from the 19th century called this ‘the expulsive power of a new affection’. A new love for Jesus drives out and displaces the old love for the things of this world. And that seems to be the theme of the section of Song of Solomon that we will now examine in this study. The section we have been studying lately—the division in the ‘photo album’ of love between King Solomon and his Shulamite bride that goes from 1:5 to 3:5—is one that we’ve been calling ‘The Courtship’. It certainly teaches us much about their love for one another—a true story of a real love relationship in actual history. It’s every bit a ‘fairy-tale’ type of story—one in which a handsome prince comes to take away a poor ‘Cinderella’ to be his princess. But it’s one that isn’t just a fairy tale; but a real story. But it also a story that is given to us by the Holy Spirit to symbolize to us some lessons about the love of Jesus (the true descendant of King Solomon) and His love for His bride the church. And more, it also teaches us much about Jesus’ deep love for us personally as individual believers—and the way in which our relationship of love with Him grows. If we keep true to the ‘photo album’ analogy, then this section on the ‘courtship’ has three series of snapshots. The first is one that we might title, “My Beloved is Like No Other” (2:1-7); and in it, the King and his bride-to-be so delight in one another that they desire no other. The second is one we might title, “Let’s Steal Away Together” (2:8-17); and in it, the King and the Shulamite turn away from other demands of life in order to be together. And the third is one we might title, “I Can’t Live without The One I Love” (3:1-5); and in it, the Shulamite finds that she is empty without her beloved, and cannot go on without him. No one else will do. And I would suggest that the key phrase to this section of the photo album—the title we might give to it—is found at the end of v. 17: “Upon the mountains of Bether”; which means “separation”. This section describes the process by which the Shulamite was drawn away from other things to a devoted love to the King. And it also describes how it is that the Lord Jesus draws those He loves away from the things of this world unto a ‘separation’ unto Himself. So then; let’s look together at this section of the photo album; and by it, be led away from the lessor things of this world, and up the mountains of separation with our blessed Lord Jesus.

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Now; when last we considered these two lovers, they had just met. But they had fallen completely in love. The Shulamite—a poor farm girl who worked in the vineyards under the heavy hand of her oppressive brothers—had been discovered by a handsome shepherd (with her little knowing that the shepherd was none other than King Solomon). He invited her to come and discover where he fed his flocks; and she followed along. Soon, they were having their first date at ‘the king’s table’ (1:12). Their first spoken words of love were uttered in 1:15-17. But how much those words of love had begun to grow since having first been spoken! This leads us to the declaration … I. ‘MY BELOVED IS LIKE NO OTHER’ (2:1-7). It seems as if they are still at the banqueting table. But something is happening between them. He is already drawn to her; but she is bashful and shy and self-conscious. 2:1 shows how she was feeling about herself:

I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys (v. 1). You might have heard those words in a song or a hymn about the Lord Jesus—that He is the Lily of the Valley. And indeed He is! But in the Song of Solomon, those words are the words of the Shulamite about herself. And she didn’t really mean them as self-complimentary. She is a rose—but just a common rose of Sharon; a humble wildflower not worthy for a royal garden. She’s indeed a lily—but just a lily of the valley; not something that she thinks should impress the handsome and noble shepherd. She has already acknowledged that she was lovely (1:5); but she also confessed that she had become so darkened by the sun through her many hours of labor in the vineyard that she didn’t feel worthy of recognition. She didn’t feel lovely enough for her beloved.

And perhaps when we first encounter our Lord and begin to be drawn to Him, we feel that way too. Whatever beauty there may be in us in the eyes of this world, our beauty is tainted by our sin before a holy God. In the light of the holiness and purity of the Son of God, we feel unworthy to be in His presence. And that, I suggest, is often the first response we feel in our hearts as we draw to Him. We feel unworthy of Him. We feel like the worst of sinners before Him. We wonder how He could ever love someone like us. But He looks beyond what we are, and on ahead to what He—in His grace—has purposed to make us to be for Himself. In a similar way, King Solomon saw a beauty in this Shulamite that was beyond what she herself presently saw—something beyond what she could ever make for herself—something that only he could give to her. And so, he countered her self-depreciating comment and said;

Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters (v. 2).

Thorns are ugly. And yet, to him, she stood out as a lily in the midst. How wonderful that he so graciously assessed her. And how much more wonderful it is that Jesus loves us when we were still so unlovely in our sins. And it would seem that King Solomon’s expression of delight in the Shulamite girl’s uniqueness to him provoked her to express her delight in his uniqueness to her. She said,

Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste (v. 3).

The Bible encourages us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). And the more we inch our way in His direction—as He graciously allows Himself to be known by us—the more we do, indeed, discover that He is good. The Shulamite was certainly making this discover about the king. And as she drew near to him, she took delight in him and basked in the comfort of his shade. The same is true for us as we draw near to Jesus. The more we know of Him, the more we grow to love Him; and the more we love Him, the more of Himself He reveals to us; and the more He reveals of Himself, the more we willingly bask in His delights. He becomes to us “like an apple tree among the trees of the woods.” There is no other like Him. Now; in the words that follow, it seems as if she is no longer at the banqueting table. She is back home near the farm in Shulam. But she continues to reflect on their time together; and just like a young girl might do after a wonderful encounter with a new-found love—she gushes-forth her heart with her friends. She speaks here, it seems, to ‘the daughters of Jerusalem’ and says—in those words that we have grown to love so much as followers of Jesus;

He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love. Sustain me with cakes of raisins, Refresh me with apples, For I am lovesick (vv. 4-5).

She is practically swooning over him! And more; as she tells her friends about him, she lets her imagination take her further …

His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me (v. 6).

But then come these remarkable words—words that, according to the grammar of the original language, seem to be coming from the lips of the Shulamite herself:

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases (v. 7).

She’s a country girl; and here, she almost speaks like Elly May Clampett—charging the daughters of Jerusalem by the ‘critters’ she’s most familiar with in her world. It’s almost as if she’s saying, “Hit the brakes. Let’s not hurry things. Don’t rush me, my dear friends. I charge you by the lovely animals around us that we know and love, let’s let this love of mine take its proper pace and time.” And there certainly seems to be a spiritual principle involved in this—an important one for us to learn about when it comes to people being drawn to our Savior’s love. Our Lord has died on the cross to redeem His elect. His redeemed ones—chosen for Himself before time—already belong to Him; and He already knows the end of what He has in store for them. And yet, in their growing love for Him, He allows them to take their needed time, and to come to Him at their own pace. He never rushes in upon them or takes them captive in such a way as to compel them against their will. He certainly could; but He doesn’t. He allows them to grow in their love for Him over time and in their own steady way—even though the very ability to love Him is His gift of grace to them. He allows them this needed time so that they grow to see that He is, indeed, like no other—loving those who are unworthy of His love, and drawing them by their growing delight in Him. Experience teaches us that—sadly—people who are ‘rushed in’ to a relationship with Jesus by the overly-urgent compulsion and frantic evangelistic appeals of others very often don’t stay devoted to Him. In faithfully and clearly sharing the gospel with others, we should learn from this to allow them to come to Jesus in their own pace—giving them time to learn of Him, and trusting that the Holy Spirit Himself will draw them along in just the way they need.

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So; the Shulamite has been smitten by the king’s delight in her–and as a result, she has grown in her delight in Him. And then comes the appeal … II. ‘LET’S STEAL AWAY TOGETHER’ (2:8-17). It seems that she is back on her father’s vineyard at this point. Life is going on. The seasons change. The time of grape harvest has beginning. The chores need to be done. But then, the handsome shepherd comes along one morning—and puts her at the forks of a decision. She says;

The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice (vv. 7-9).

He himself cannot stay away from her. He comes to the vineyard looking for her in a way that truly speaks a country girl’s language—all ‘gazelle-like’ and like a ‘young stag’. She hears his voice; and he’s asking her out on a date …

My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away. For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away!” (vv. 10-13).

This reminds me of something that happened once long ago in another church. I was leading a Bible study in which I quoted from this book some of the words that Solomon said to the Shulamite. And way in the back of the room, I heard an elderly lady say, “This Solomon fella’ is good!!” All the other ladies blushed a little! Clearly it’s not just the scenery he wishes to take in. He is longing for her—and he seeks to draw her to himself in a way that appeals to them both. He says;

“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely” (v. 14).

Now; stop and think. How many times has the Lord Jesus come to us in that way? We might be stirring ourselves out of bed, getting ready for the duties of life—getting ready to do things that we think are all-important. And yet, He comes in the early morning hours and calls us to Himself, and asks us to spend time with Him first—to read from His word, and to talk to Him in prayer, and to give our love to Him before anything else in the day happens. How sad that we so often deny Him what He longs for—that is, fellowship with us. We need to always remember that He loves us and truly longs to spend time with us. If we will give Him what He desires, we’ll discover that it’s also just what we ourselves needed—far more than anything that the world can give us! But the handsome shepherd/king came at a busy time for her. The vineyard was ripe (he even said so in his invitation to her), and the needs of the farm we’re demanding. We next hear what seems like the voices of her brothers saying;

Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes (v. 15).

In countless sermons on marriage, this verse is often made to be an appeal to take care of the little problems that come along the way—to deal with the seemingly-little things that might harm the relationship: not squeezing the toothpaste tube just right; not putting the tissue roll in the right-side-up; not picking up socks. And though taking care of these little irritations in a marriage is certainly a good principle to follow, I personally don’t believe that’s what this verse is about. It seems, instead, to be a matter of her brothers saying to her, “Hey, Sis! We know you’re all twitterpated by this shepherd fella that has come along; but it’s time to come back down to planet earth! There’s work to be done! Your responsibility is to keep the foxes out of the vineyard. Now, get the fox-traps out and get back to work. In the same way, we might find that the closer we are drawn to Jesus, the more the demands of the world press in on us. And just like the Shulamite, we often have to make a choice. Will we let the world dominate us with its demands and appeals, and dictate to us what’s important and necessary; or will we hear the voice of Jesus calling, and come and give ourselves to Him? Will we love the things of the world first, or will we love Him first? Will we say, just as Paul said, that “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14)? Well; who cares about the foxes! She made her choice!

My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies (v. 16).

Do you remember back in 1:7 where she asked him where he fed his flocks? And do you remember his words back verses 8-9; where he told her to come and see? Well; apparently she has. She found, to her delight, that he feeds them among the lilies. And that’s where she’d rather be. She’d far sooner be with her beloved in his fold than chasing off vineyard-foxes any day! A remarkable thing has happened to her. She now declares that—no matter what this world says—she is his and he is hers! And she tells him so:

Until the day breaks And the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, And be like a gazelle Or a young stag Upon the mountains of Bether (v. 17).

You’ll remember that that’s how he came to her—like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains. And that’s how she longs for him to be always. And she now identifies herself with him “upon the mountains of ‘separation'”. By the way; have you separated yourself unto Jesus also? If you are truly gripped by His love, then the world can no longer hold you with its temporal demands. You’ll find that, more and more, you’ll be leaving the things of this world behind, and give yourself over to Him who loved your soul and gave Himself for you on the cross. Nothing else will be as delightful to you as He is.

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Now; at this point, may scholars suggest that what we find is a dream-sequence. But it’s the kind of dream that many of us are familiar with. We’ve seen it in countless movies; and we’ve even experienced it ourselves a time or two. When we have fallen deeply in love, we can’t stop thinking about our beloved. Even our dreams declare … III. ‘I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT THE ONE I LOVE’ (3:1-5). The Shulamite says,

By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him (v. 1).

We shouldn’t think of anything inappropriate in this. He hadn’t actually been there. Rather, she was having a bad dream about him—one in which she sought her beloved but couldn’t find him. It’s hard to say whether or not what we go on to read from there is a part of that dream; but she declares,

“I will rise now,” I said, “And go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love.” I sought him, but I did not find him (v. 2).

Since it doesn’t seem likely that she would actually go out to seek him at night—because it would not be safe for a young farm girl to do a thing like that—this is most likely still a part of her dream. But what a ‘tosser-turner’ it was! It was as if she encountered the city cops in her dream; but that she wouldn’t be hindered.

The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, “Have you seen the one I love?” Scarcely had I passed by them, When I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, Until I had brought him to the house of my mother, And into the chamber of her who conceived me (vv. 3-4).

What a dream! It had a happy ending—as such dreams sometimes do. In it, she brought her beloved to the place where, as was the tradition in those days, the sealing of a betrothal occurred (see Genesis 24:67; also Song of Solomon 8:2). It seems that, for her, this dream settled it! She must be his bride; and she would not let him go until she was his and he was hers forever. Again, though, she seems to tap the brakes of this hot-rod of love—speaking in almost the same identical words as are found in 2:7:

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases (v. 5).

It would appear, though, that love did indeed ‘please to awaken’; because the next thing we read of is of the wedding day (vv. 6-11).

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Perhaps an experience in the earthly ministry of our Lord with His disciples illustrates to us something of what this passage is meant to symbolize. Luke 10:38-42 tells us;

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

May it be that we come more and more—as it seems that Mary did—to ‘the mountains of Bether’; and encounter our Lord in the place of separation. May it be that we are so increasingly captivated by His love for us, that we cease to love the things of this world and are completely given over to Him. May it be that we find, more and more, that He is—for us—that “good part”; and that we desire nothing else but Him.