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SONG OF SOLOMON 3
COMMENTARY NOTES |
This is a work in progress - please use "as is"
or as they say in business "Caveat Emptor"! |
Shulammite...
Song 3:1 "On my bed night after night I sought him
Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him.
2 'I must arise now and go about the city; In the
streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.' I sought him
but did not find him.
3 "The watchmen who make the rounds in the city
found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'
4 "Scarcely had I left them When I found him whom
my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go, Until I had
brought him to my mother's house, And into the room of her who conceived
me."
Solomon...
5 "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the
gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you will not arouse or awaken my
love, Until she pleases." |
Song of
Solomon 3:1-5
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? - Psalm 13:1
TODAY IN THE WORD - Mother Teresa’s work with the poor in Calcutta was
widely publicized during her lifetime. Few, however, knew that she struggled
for many years with spiritual doubt. Nearly a decade after the vivid
spiritual experience that convinced Mother Teresa that God had called her to
establish an organization to work with the poor, she recorded the following
words in her journal: “I feel that God does not want me, that God is not
God, and that God does not exist.”
Sometimes referred to as the “dark
night of the soul,” such experiences are common among believers. The Puritan
writer Samuel Rutherford used the term desertions to describe these
feelings, saying of them, “I think they are like a lean and weak land lying
fallow for some years, until it gathers sap for a better crop.”
The psalmist also spoke of a similar experience when he asked in Psalm 13:1,
“How long will you hide your face from me?” The answer to the psalmist’s
question is that although God may seem absent for a time, He will not
“forget” forever.
Many commentators believe that the events in today’s reading are actually a
dream sequence. Its imagery reflects the bride’s longing to consummate her
love with the groom. After searching through the city streets, she finally
finds him and clings to him in love. Those who go through the dark night of
the soul are like her. They may spend many hours searching for God. This
seems to be God’s purpose for such trials. They are not meant to be a
punishment but a blessing, intended to create spiritual hunger. God uses
them to renew our longing for spiritual intimacy with Him (Isa. 26:9).
When we experience a dark night of the soul, it is tempting to search for a
way to jump start our spiritual experience to regain a sense of God’s
presence. The best strategy is simply to wait. Waiting does not mean that we
are inactive–we continue to serve God and to practice the basic disciplines
of the Christian life. One lesson God teaches us during a time of spiritual
desertion is the importance of faithfulness. If you feel deserted by God,
follow the advice of the psalmist: “Wait for the Lord and keep his way” (Ps.
37:34). |
Daughters of Jerusalem...
Song 3:6
"What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, Perfumed
with myrrh and frankincense, With all scented powders of the merchant?
7 "Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it, Of the mighty men of Israel.
8 "All of them are wielders of the sword, Expert in
war; Each man has his sword at his side, Guarding against the terrors of the
night.
9 "King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
10 "He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric, With its interior lovingly fitted out By the
daughters of Jerusalem.
11 "Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And gaze on
King Solomon with the crown With which his mother has crowned him On the day
of his wedding, And on the day of his gladness of heart." |
TODAY IN THE WORD - In his essay entitled, “The Weight of Glory,” C.
S. Lewis notes that the concept of glory is very prominent in the New
Testament and is often associated with things like palms, crowns, white
robes, thrones, and splendor like the sun and stars. “All this,” Lewis
observes, “makes no immediate appeal to me at all, and in that respect I
fancy that I am a typical modern.”
Nearly a century before Lewis wrote
these words, Mark Twain made a similar observation about the biblical
imagery of glory, when he wrote of harps and robes, “That sort of thing
wouldn’t make a heaven–at least not a heaven that a sane man could stand a
week and remain sane.”
Twain, of course, was no theologian; in fact, it seems that he wasn’t a
believer. Yet the problem he identifies is the same one that Lewis mentions.
In this world of earthly glitter and tangible reality, who can get excited
about what seems on the surface to be a promise of some vague notion of
glory? What good is a crown in heaven to someone who doesn’t wear a hat on
earth?
According to Lewis, glory is a matter of being “noticed” by God, “Glory
means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgement,
and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been
knocking all our lives will open at last.”
The appearance of the king and his retinue in today’s reading is described
in terms that are best summarized with the word glory. Those who accompany
the king share in his glory. What was true on an earthly level in this
description will be true on spiritual level with those who accompany Christ
when He returns. They will “appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4).
The hope of glory helps us to live a holy life. The knowledge that we will
one day return with Christ in glory motivates us to say “no” to the powerful
impulses of our earthly nature and “yes” to God. |
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