Song of Solomon 2
Bride verse 1
I am the rose of Sharon – and the lily of the valley
Groom verse 2
As a lily among thorns – SO is my love among the daughters
Bride – description of her love verse 3- 6
As the apple among the trees of the woods
SO is my beloved among the sons
I sat down under his shadow with great delight
and his fruit was sweet to my taste
he brought me to the banqueting house
AND his banner over me was love
Stay me with flagons – comfort me with apples
for I am sick of love
His left hand is under my head
and his right hand does embrace me
Bride – comment to the women of Jerusalem verse 7
I charge you – O you daughters of Jerusalem – by the roes
and by the hinds of the field – that ye stir not up
NOR awake my love – till he please
Bride – description of groom coming verse 8- 9
The voice of my beloved
BEHOLD – he comes leaping upon the mountains
skipping upon the hills
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart
BEHOLD – he stands behind our wall
he looks forth at the windows
showing himself through the lattice
Bride – quoting groom’s comments to her verse 10- 13
My beloved spoke – and said unto 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 of birds is come
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land
the fig tree puts forth her green figs
and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell
Arise – my love – my fair one – and come away
Groom verse 14
O my dove – that art in the cleft of the rocks
in the secret places of the stairs
let me see thy countenance
let me hear thy voice – for sweet is thy voice
your countenance is comely
Women of Jerusalem verse 15
Take us the foxes – the little foxes – that spoil the vines
for our vines have tender grapes
Bride verse 16- 17
My beloved is mine – AND I am his – he feeds among the lilies
UNTIL the day break – and the shadows – flee away
TURN – my beloved
and be you like a roe or a young hart upon the
mountains of Bether
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. (160 “love” [ahabah] means affection, God’s love to His people, human love for human object.)
DEVOTION: Yesterday I used a verse that used the word “love” in it which meant the love of a lover or close friend. Today this word “love” means God’s love over us.
It seems to be a higher love than just that of a friend or spouse. In the New Testament we have two words for love used as well. The first is “agape” which means unconditional love. The second work is “philo” which means conditional love.
God’s love is one that loves us even though HE knows our every weakness. HE loves us with no strings attached. HE loves us because we are one of HIS children through SPIRITUAL BIRTH. That spiritual birth comes only through Jesus Christ. The good news is that Christ died on the cross for our sins, HE was buried and HE rose from the grave on the third day. If there is no repentance from sin and a turning to the LORD there can be no salvation. Salvation is based on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins and our turning to HIM for forgiveness.
Solomon is describing his love for his bride. He compliments her and she compliments him. They are love sick for each other. They don’t want anything to come between them and their love.
When we look at both words for affection in this book we see that there is conditional love and unconditional love for each other. This is what our love is to be now. Too often marriages are only full of conditional love. If he treats me right I will treat him right or if she treats me right, I will treat her right. That is not a Biblical marriage.
The world can do that type of loving and they do. It shows in the divorce rate. The problem is that the Christian divorce rate is every similar to that of those who don’t claim Christ.
Couples need to go on a weekly date after they are married to keep the flame alive. When was the last time we took our spouse to a banqueting table? What type of love are we expressing toward each other? What type of love is God expressing toward us?
We need to watch out for the little foxes that spoil the vine. That means we need to watch out for the little things that will break up our marriage or our love for one another. Remember I have stated before that marriage is W.O.R.K. If you don’t remember what this stands for write me and I will remind you.
Christ loved the church to the point of dying for it. We should be willing to die for our spouse. If we let nothing get between us, the marriage will last. There is going to be a lot of forgiving going on in all marriages. Each of us has married a sinner.
CHALLENGE: Protect your spouse with a banner of love. This is pleasing to the LORD!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
:9 “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.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: Do you remember when you were dating and so deeply in love that you could not wait to see the special love of your life? Perhaps you are still that way, where you anxiously peer around the corner or as you approach the house you are gazing to see if they are outside or looking out a window! It is always pleasant to watch this young love, regardless of the age of the couple, as smile at the joy and honest intensity of emotions. Perhaps those who have been in a relationship for a time should evaluate their anticipation for their mate and stir up the emotions again.
To look at the important person as strong and virile is important but maintaining the proper respect is also vital. As we are in a society of loose standards and morals the activities and conduct of two individuals needs to be clearly understood. Parents need to teach and instruct their children as to what is acceptable and permissible. They are being told many things on tv and movie screens that may not be your standards. Keep a check on what your child is doing and watching as it is constantly changing.
CHALLENGE: Purity in a relationship does not exclude emotion and passion, it just means that the couple must be careful and in agreement. Love demonstrated is wonderful when it is proper! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 10 My beloved spoke, and said to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. (3303 “fair” [yapheh] means beautiful, handsome, delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration, or proper)
DEVOTION: Compliments are important in a good relationship. Here we find Solomon giving compliments to his wife. This should be done on a regular basis with our wife or our girl friend in our relationships.
Even young ladies can give compliments to the man they are dating and to their husband when they are married.
The relationship between a man and woman who are in love should include comments that are loving and show concern for the other. Solomon in writing this book of the Bible is giving us an example of what our conversations should be like with our girl friend or wife.
When it is a wife these compliments should be given throughout the married life if there is going to be a good relationship. We need to hear good things as we live in a world that doesn’t like to compliment us very often.
Marriage is important to the committed believer. It is neve perfect but when there are compliment that are honest given it helps the relationship to continue to be a loving one. That is what the LORD wants in our marriages as believers.
CHALLENGE: This book of the Bible is important enough for the LORD to include it and so we should learn to be followers that complement one another.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. (2254 “spoil” [chabal] means act corruptly, destroy, be ruined, trouble, treat badly, or hurt.)
DEVOTION: We understand what animals can do to gardens. We have animals who love our flowers and plants. We have a ground hog that comes out from under our shed to eat the neighbor’s flowers.
Here we have foxes ruining the grape vines. They like to dig holes and live in them.
Living in them ruins the roots of the plants. The farmer has to find a way to rescue his crop from these animals. These foxes like to ruin the crop while it is in the flowering time. It is the time period when the fruit is most tender.
The relationship between a young woman and a young man is tender at the beginning while they are getting to know one another. They are trying to find out if they can be compatible. Here the women in Jerusalem warning the couple about the possibility of problems in their relationship. They realize that sometimes it doesn’t take much to ruin a relationship.
Each of our relationships can have problems. The major relationship in our life can be between us and our spouse. There can be people who come into our relationship who don’t want us together. There are warnings given that it might not last. Everyone has an opinion regarding what is right or wrong with the other individual.
There is also the relationship between church members that can hit a bad spot once in a while. It can cause church splits. It can cause individuals to leave the church and never enter the door of a church again. There are little foxes everywhere.
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD to protect your relationships from little foxes. Ask the LORD to help you not to be a little fox. Help others to recognize when little foxes are hurting one of their relationships.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Daughters verse 2, 7, 14
Sweet is your voice
Countenance is comely
Beloved verse 3, 8- 10, 16, 17
Sons verse 3
Husband verse 4, 6,
His banner over me was love
Embrace
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Little foxes verse 15
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Great delight verse 2
Love verse 2, 4, 5, 10, 13
Comfort verse 5
Compliment spouse verse 10, 13, 14, 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Banqueting house verse 4
Daughters of Jerusalem verse 7
Time of singing verse 12
Compliment spouse: my love, my fair one verse 13
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
2:14. Another characteristic of genuine love is the desire to be alone with one’s lover. This desire seems to be easily experienced during courtship, but unfortunately it often fades in marriage. Yet if love is to grow a couple must find time to be alone. Doves (cf. v. 12 and see comments on 1:15) hide in rock crevices, reluctant to leave. The lover likened his beloved to such a dove, hesitant to join him in the countryside. So again (cf. 2:10, 13) he urged her to leave her home and join him so he could enjoy her sweet-sounding voice and lovely face. (Deere, J. S. (1985). Song of Songs. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1015). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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14–15 The king speaks, and there is both a positive and a negative to what he says. Positively, he seeks for a complete openness on the part of the Shulammite. It was characteristic of doves to hide in the clefts of the hills so that no-one could see or hear them. His request is that there be an absolute exposure of her whole person and character to him. So we should be completely open to Christ. Negatively, he requests that anything that would spoil their relationship (the little foxes) must be caught and dealt with, however small they may appear to be. Their love for each other must be pure and unadulterated. It is already blooming beautifully, how terrible if something came to spoil the blossom. (Balchin, J. A. (1994). The Song of Songs. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 622). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.)
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2:14 There is a beautiful order here. First we have what the bride is as seen in Christ, “My dove.” In herself most faulty; in Him “blameless and harmless” (Phil. 2:15), the very character of the dove. Then the bride’s place of safety, “in the clefts of the rock”—hidden, so to speak, in the wounds of Christ. Thirdly, her privilege. “Stairs” speaks of access. It is not “secret places,” as in A.V., but “the secret of the stairs”—the way and privilege of access to His presence (Eph. 2:18; Col. 3:1; Heb. 10:19–22). Fourthly, the order of approach: she is to come near before she speaks, “Let Me see thy countenance,” then “Let Me hear thy voice.” Lastly, now that she is near and has spoken, He speaks a tender word of admonition: “Take us the foxes,” etc. (Scofield, C. I. (Ed.). (1917). The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (p. 706). New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press.)
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Ver. 14. O my dove, &c.] An epithet sometimes used by lovers, and is a new title Christ gives to his church, to express his affection for her and interest in her; and to draw her out of her retirement, to go along with him. The dove is a creature innocent and harmless, beautiful, cleanly, and chaste; sociable and fruitful, weak and timorous, of a mournful voice, and swift in flying; all which is suitable to the church and people of God: they are harmless and inoffensive in their lives and conversations; they are beautiful through the righteousness of Christ on them, and the grace of the Spirit in them; they are clean through the word Christ has spoken, and having their hearts purified by faith; they are as chaste virgins espoused to Christ, and their love to him is single and unfeigned; they cleave to him, are fruitful in grace and good works; and the church being espoused to Christ brings forth many souls unto him in regeneration; saints carry on a social worship and delight in each other’s company; they are weak and timorous, being persecuted and oppressed by the men of the world; and mourn for their own sins and others, and often for the loss of Christ’s presence; and are swift in flying to him for safety and protection. Under this character the church is said to be in the clefts of the rock, the usual place where the dove makes its nest, Jer. 48:28 or retires to it for safety. Adrichomius sayss, there was a stone tower near Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of Olives, called petra columbarum, the rock of the doves, where often five thousand were kept at once, to which there may be an allusion here; or else it may have respect to the place where doves are forced to fly when pursued by the hawk, even into a hollow rock, as described by Homer; and may be expressive of the state of the church under persecution, when obliged to flee into holes and corners, and caves of the earth; when the Lord is a hiding-place to her, in his love, and grace, and power; and particularly Christ is the Rock of his people, so called for height, strength, and duration, and they are the inhabitants of this Rock; and who was typified by the rock in the wilderness, and particularly by that into the clefts of which Moses was put, when the glory of the Lord passed before him: moreover, the clefts of this rock may design the wounds of Christ, which are opened for the salvation of men; and where saints dwell by faith, and are secure from every enemyu. The Ethiopic version is, in the shadow of the rock, to which Christ is compared, Isa. 32:2 and so the Septuagint version, in the covering of the rock, which is no other than the shade of it. Likewise the church is said to be in the secret places of the stairs; Christ is the stairs or steps by which saints ascend up to God, have access to and communion with him; and the secret places may have respect to the justifying righteousness of Christ, and atonement by him, hidden to other men, but revealed to them; and whither in distress they betake themselves, and are sheltered from sin, law, hell, and death, and dwell in safety. Though as such places are dark and dusty, and whither the dove, or any other creature, may in danger betake itself, so upon the whole both this and the preceding clause may design the dark, uncomfortable, and solitary condition the church was in through fear of enemies; in which situation Christ addresses her, saying, let me see thy countenance, or face; and encourages her to appear more publicly in his house and courts for worship, and present herself before him, and look him full in the face, and with open face behold his glory, and not be shamefaced and fearful; not to be afraid of any thing, but come out of her lurking-holes, and be seen abroad by himself and others, since the stormy weather was over, and everything was pleasant and agreeable. Let me hear thy voice; in prayer to him and praise of him, commending the glories and excellencies of his person, and giving thanks to him for the blessings of his grace. For sweet is thy voice; pleasant, harmonious, melodious, having a mixture of notes in it, as the word signifies; and so exceeds the voice of a natural dove, which is not very harmonious: Herodotus makes mention of a dove that spoke with a human voice; and such a voice Christ’s dove speaks with, and it is sweet; that is, pleasant and delightful to him, who loves to hear his people relate the gracious experiences of his goodness, and speak well of his truths and ordinances; prayer is sweet music to him, and praise pleases him better than all burnt-offerings. And thy countenance is comely: fair and beautiful, and therefore need not cover her face, or hang down her head, as if ashamed to be seen, since she was in the eye of Christ a perfection of beauty. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 4, pp. 648–649). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Last Saturday, the country was left grappling with another reminder of human depravity. An 18-year-old gunman entered a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 and injuring three more. The victims, who were predominantly black, included Heyward Patterson, a local church deacon; Pearl Young, a retired school teacher; and Aaron Salter, a retired police officer.
Mass shootings are too familiar, but no less overwhelming: friends and family in agony, communities left to pick up the pieces, collective rage over the brutal violence, a longing for justice, and a rush to explain why.
For many news outlets, the narrative is a cut-and-dried example of right-wing extremism. The shooter’s manifesto pointed to an embrace of “replacement theory,” the idea that white Americans are being systematically edged out of society by minorities. “That idea,” write Isaac Stanley-Becker and Drew Harwell of The Washington Post, once relegated to the fringe, has gained currency on popular right-wing television programs and in the halls of Congress. The apocalyptic vision has accumulated followers during the coronaviruspandemic, which has deepened political polarization and accelerated the online flow of racist ideology.
The shooter’s 180-page document confirms that he was indeed motivated by replacement ideology and outright racism. In it, he described his plan to deliberately attack a black supermarket, as well as his support for antisemitic and neo-Nazi causes. “I will carry out an attack against the replacers,” he wrote, “and will even livestream the attack.”
In a sort of guilt by association, blame was leveled at Republicans, especially those who hold conservative views on immigration, whether or not they harbor any ill will towards minority groups or immigrant neighbors. Ignored was the shooter’s description of his own ideals, which includes outright rejections of conservatism as “corporatism in disguise.”
“Are you right wing?” he asks rhetorically. “Depending on the definition, sure. Are you left wing? Depending on the definition, sure. Are you a socialist? Depending on the definition.”
As Kyle Smith at the National Review summed up:
The manifesto, while certainly political, is ideologically all over the map, as was the Unabomber’s. Whoever your ideological boogeyman of today’s discourse is, this person doesn’t link up to him very easily.
How do we make sense of this? Human beings are meaning-making creatures. The fact that we have an instinctive need to know why bad things happen says something about the kind of creatures we are and the moral kind of universe we inhabit. But we are also prone to misdiagnose the problem, and therefore mis-prescribe a solution. Allegiance to false ideologies become a hammer looking for nails.
People are more than most popular ideologies can explain. This is why Communist and Fascist dictatorships end up looking like each other over time. As my colleague Tim Padgett put it recently, “Sometimes worldviews simply give shape to the evil already within individuals.”
And that’s what a Christian worldview says: That evil is already within individuals. The more the social bonds of a culture unravel, the more people are pushed to their ideological extremes. (BreakPoint)
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THE PLACE OF THE MIND
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:29
I am not suggesting that the gospel is irrational, nor am I simply proclaiming that because it is miraculous and supernatural it is therefore unreasonable. Not at all! What I am saying is that we are here entering a realm that we cannot enter by reason alone. It is not unreasonable, but it transcends reason. It is not unreasonable for me to believe that when God acts, I cannot understand Him; and that is precisely what we are confronted with when we come to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let no one imagine, therefore, that the teaching is that we just leave our intellects outside when we come into the house of God and abandon ourselves in a passive state to any feeling that may come or to any kind of emotion. Far from it! But we do say that when God does something, we must accept it as being supernatural and miraculous, and we must not, therefore, be surprised when we find that it is so.
We must believe and accept what God has done and then proceed to understand. To me the argument comes in this way: As a human being in this world I have been conscious of the need of rest. I have used my mind and my reason, I have listened to the world and its teaching and all its philosophies, but I find that they cannot give me rest and I am at the end of my tether. Then I am here confronted with a new offer that says, “Listen to this.” I say it is reasonable to listen, and the moment I do so, I begin to find that what Christ has to say is indeed essentially different.
A Thought to Ponder: We are here entering a realm that we cannot enter by reason alone. It is not unreasonable, but it transcends reason.
(From The Heart of the Gospel, p. 183, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Communicate Well
“Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.” (Philippians 4:14)
“Communicate” is one of the older words from the era of the King James Version that takes some reconnecting in order to clarify the term. Our use today normally means speaking, understanding one another, or simply passing on instructions. The Greek word is sugkoinoneo, a compound of the preposition “with” and the primary word for “participation.”
The basic term is often translated “partner” or “partake” and is frequently connected with the act of sharing finances in the ministry of others. That is the application in the context of today’s verse. Paul commends the Philippian church for partnering with him over his journeys and recognizing time and again the needs that were necessary to fulfill for the success of the ministry.
Today, there are a vast array of charity-based organizations, from large hospitals and universities to local food and clothing distribution efforts. Most of those, by the way, were started by Christian groups as a way to “communicate” to the “affliction” of many. But how do we determine who among the many, or at what ratio, to attempt to distribute “to the necessity of saints” (Romans 12:13)?
Two main principles must guide our “communication” in the Kingdom. First, it is clear that our New Testament responsibility is first to the church in which our Lord has placed us. Some disagree, but “storehouse” tithing appears to claim our first priority. Then there is opportunity to follow the specific leading of God among those ministries with which we are familiar and of whom we are confident that first seek the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)