SONG OF SOLOMON 1-22007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Song Of Solomon 1-2

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2007. Song of Solomon. We begin tonight. Interesting book. I'm sure you're looking forward to it. Let's start with verse 1. It says, The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Now, this book, Song of Solomon, was the third book written by Solomon. We have Proverbs that was largely written by Solomon. Ecclesiastes that was written by Solomon and was the life of Solomon towards the later end of his life. And then here we have the Book of Song of Solomon.

Couple notes as we get into this that we need to discuss. This is the last of the poetic books in the Bible. The Bible is arranged and kind of grouped together in different categories. You have the historical books that are really Genesis all the way through the book of Esther. And then the poetic books are Job. We studied that with Pastor Tom. The

Psalms. We studied half of that with Pastor Tom. I came in at Psalm 66. And so we've been studying that for a while. And then Proverbs. We studied that for about 31 chapters. And then Ecclesiastes. We've been spending some time in that. Just finished that two weeks ago. And now we're entering into Song of Solomon, the last of the poetic books. And as a poetic book, it's important and a little bit unique in...

in that way because it's not a historical account necessarily, but the language is poetic in nature and not necessarily poetic like we might think of, that it rhymes and things like that, but it's Hebrew poetry, which is ancient oriental poetry and has some different classifications and indications for us. But the language is...

is much like that you could consider of Shakespeare or those eras, where it's very colorful and they say something...

by describing something completely different and giving you the picture and understanding of what it is without really addressing specifically or clearly what it is they're talking about. And so Solomon, in this song or poem, some have likened it to an opera or to a play, he expresses what he wants to share in very colorful flowery, flower, never

Never mind. Colorful language using lots of adjectives and different pictures. And you'll notice as we go throughout, there's lots of scents and lots of different pictures of growth and spring. And that's kind of the idea that's going on. And so Solomon uses all of these different types of pictures to bring across the point that he is sharing or the story that he is trying to tell.

Now, as you came in, hopefully you received this little handout. That's just a kind of an overview. Jesse accused me of just giving you this and moving on to the next book. That's not what we're going to do. We are going to cover this book, A Song of Solomon. But that's so you can have a little bit of an overview and understanding of what the chapters are about.

So the book is somewhat like a play, somewhat like an opera. It's a song of songs, which means it's the best of the best songs that Solomon wrote. We know from 1 Kings 4.32 that he wrote a thousand and five songs. And so this is the one that he prized the most. That was the most valuable. That was the best seller, the best hit, however you want to relate to that.

This song, again, it's laid out much like a play. And so there's different characters that we'll see throughout the book. We have, first of all, the Shulamite, who is the bride. This is the bride to be or the bride. And it's the story of her love with the next character is the beloved, which I will share with you as Solomon.

The beloved is one of the characters. And then we have somewhat of a chorus of a chorus who stands off and jumps in from time to time. And that is the daughters of Jerusalem. And then very rarely, but there are a couple of times we have the Shulamites brothers. And then also we have a relative. So different characters that we'll see throughout. We won't see Shulamites.

Well, the main ones we'll see is the Shulamite, which is the bride, and the beloved, which is Solomon. Now, in saying all of that...

There is an enormous amount of variations and interpretation when it comes to the Song of Solomon. Because it's poetic language, because it's colorful, because it's the way that it's designed, there's different people who look at it and see it different ways and read lots of different things into this book. And so I'm just going to be sharing with you the way that I see it and the way I believe the Lord is speaking to us.

But there's lots of other variations as well. If you'd like to study and dig into it on your own, I would encourage you to do so. There's some great fascinating materials and alternatives on how to study and understand this book.

Why is this book included in the Bible?

in the Bible. It doesn't talk about God. It doesn't teach us about relationship with him. It doesn't teach us about those things. You know, it's just this kind of poem, you know, that really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And so why is it in the Bible? I would like to share with you a couple of things regarding that as we get started in this book this evening.

The Song of Solomon, first of all, is a love song. It's a romantic story that takes place between this man, the beloved, which we believe is King Solomon, and the Shulamite, the bride, who is the person that he is in love with. And it's this love story of them coming together and what takes place around that.

There's also, aside from that, in addition to that really, is as we look at this book and study it, we can see not only this romantic story that takes place, but a picture of

A picture of God's love for the nation of Israel. This is how the Jewish people have interpreted and understood this book since the beginning for many, many years. They look at this and they understand that, yes, it's this love story that takes place, but also it describes and paints then a picture of how much God loves them and how they're to relate to God. And along those same lines, the third way that we see this book of Song of Solomon is

The importance of it in the scriptures is it paints for us a picture also of Jesus and his love for the church. Just as the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 5 tells us that the church and Christ is a picture, or husband and wife rather, is a picture of the church and Christ and there's this...

This picture that relates back and forth, that correlates so that we can understand how husbands and wives are to relate also so that we can understand how Christ and the church relate to one another. So we see the book of Song of Solomon because it's the coming together of a married couple. We see that picture painted of Jesus Christ and his love for the church or his love for you individually. Right.

And our response to him, we see through the person of the Shulamite throughout the book. There's a fourth view of how this book should be interpreted, and I'll share it with you, but we won't really be going into it throughout our studies. And that is that instead of two main characters, the beloved, which is Solomon and the Shulamite, that others say that there's three main characters here.

that one of them is Solomon, one of them is the Shulamite, who is the bride, and another is the shepherd. And they describe this, that the Shulamite is in love with the shepherd, and Solomon, much like the world, is trying to

Turn her away from the shepherd and bring her to himself. He's trying to seduce her or or bring her into his harem rather than her to marry the shepherd whom she really loves. And so they see it as a picture of the world trying to turn the church away from the true shepherd, which is Jesus Christ himself.

And that is one interpretation that is there as well. And there's many who hold to that and perhaps you do as well. And that's OK. We won't fight about it. The problem with allegories and illustrations and pictures is that it's subject to everybody's interpretation. You know, you might see a little bit different than I do or or I may see a little bit different than you do or you guys might disagree and disagree.

throw Bibles at each other, but there's no need to do that. We can look and understand the story, and that's what we'll be doing. Primarily, we'll be following the story that's here in Song of Solomon, and then as the Lord leads, I'll be sharing different pictures of Christ in the church that I believe God wants us to look at and pay attention to. Looking at the story of the book of Song of Solomon, looking at this romance that takes place,

I believe in and of itself is important and essential and worthy enough or valuable enough that as such it should be included in the word of God. Even if there is no pictures, even if there is no allegories, even if there is no demonstrations or examples of what might come or what might be in these pictures of God and his love for Israel or the church. Even without all of that, this book in and of itself, in the story that it tells, is

is enough for us to understand that it needs to be included in the Word of God. Because it's so important for us to have God's model, God's perspective on love, on relationships,

On the way that husbands and wives are to relate. Now, in preparation for this, throughout the last couple of weeks, it's been interesting to hear the, you know, different concerns and comments that are being made as we're heading into the Song of Solomon. Some are excited. Some are skeptical. Some are wishing we just, you know, covered the eight chapters in one night and that was it. Some parents have expressed concern.

Because of the content in some different parts of the Song of Solomon. And I understand that. I understand, please, I'm not going to get into any of the gory details as we go through. But also understand that there is a need for us to know what is right and good. In this world, we are bombarded by...

Things that are wrong, that are completely contrary to what God says about love, about sexual intimacy and relationships within a marriage, about husbands and wives and how they're to relate. By bombarded, I mean bombarded from every side. The billboards that we see as we drive the freeways are filled with false pictures and false images, false images.

teachings about love and what love is and relationships that are to take place. It's desire out of context, out of place in ways that God has not designed it. The commercials that we see on TV are filled with these perverse and corrupt perspectives on what love is. The music that we can hear, the movies that are watched or that are put out

The books, the romance novels, but beyond that, all kinds of literature is published and brought forth that is completely contrary to the word of God and what God has to say about love and the place of love within a marriage. And so it's important for us to have this book in

Even for no other reason, even if there is no pictures, even if there is no allegories for us to know, hey, this is right. And this is the way that God has designed love to take place within a relationship and specifically within a marriage. You know, in the book of Proverbs, as we are studying through that, we talked a lot about the seductress in chapters five, six and seven.

The seductress and and her ways and the language that she uses and and the tactics and techniques and and the things that that she does. And so if God spent some time to share with us the methods and the ways of the seductress and the immorality.

It's appropriate now for God to give us then a good picture, a good understanding, good insight into how we are to express love and enjoy a marriage relationship. God is not opposed to

To romantic or sexual relationships. He created them. It's part of his creation and his design. And it's important for us to know that and to understand that. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 4 tells us that marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled. But fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Here is the biblical perspective here.

God designed the sexual relationship. He designed intimacy, the capability for it, the ability for romance to take place, the ability for us to have relationship together as husband and wife, more than just the physical relationship, but just relationship in general, emotional and spiritual. He designed that, but it's designed to take place within the context of marriage.

Marriage is honorable among all. The bed is undefiled. That's God's view of marriage. It's sanctified. It's set apart. It's holy. It's part of his design and part of his command. But any type of relationship, sexual in that sense, outside of marriage is prohibited by God. It's celebrated by the world, but it's prohibited by God. He says fornicators and adulterers, God will judge them.

He will come against those who have a sexual relationship outside of marriage or have an extramarital relationship.

It's outside of God's plan. It's against what God has spoken and it brings judgment upon ourselves if we involve ourselves in those things. But the world celebrates those things and bombards us with, it's okay and it's normal and it's appropriate and it's right. But here, as we look at the book of Song of Solomon, we need to understand it's not right. This is God's picture. This is the way he has designed for us to relate to.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 7, Paul is there talking about issues with husbands and wives and whether or not you should be married or whether or not you shouldn't be married. But he begins in the chapter dealing with those who are married.

And in dealing with those who are married, he says, hey, it's important. He says, 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. Here in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, the Apostle Paul is saying, listen guys, if you're married, you need to be involved physically in a relationship together. You should not withhold the affection that's due to each other.

We're talking about a physical affection, a physical relationship, because he goes on to say, hey, you don't have authority over your own body. Your spouse does. And so within a relationship, God commands and commends sexual relationship. But outside of that, fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. And so we learn from Song of Solomon that.

The right and appropriate way, if nothing else. We do see the picture of Christ and His love for the church, and we'll look at some examples of that. But if nothing else, we see the right and appropriate way for relationships to take place, for love to be expressed.

As I said, primarily we will be following the story and as we go along, I'll point out some ways that we can learn about God and His love for us through the pictures that are painted for us in the book of Song of Solomon. Now the problem with pictures and allegories is

Not only can all of us interpret it differently. In fact, I was laughing with Cisco because we were looking at some different commentaries and different teachers. And every commentator, every Bible scholar has their own little twist on what this book is talking about. And even among conservatives, I'm not even talking about the liberals who disqualify the authority of the word and stuff. I mean, among normal Bible believing people,

people and teachers, there's lots of variations. And so there's lots of different perspectives. But not only that, the problem with allegories and pictures is that they break down. It's not intended that every line be applied to and figure out, OK, you know, there's a lot to be dug out. But that doesn't necessarily mean that every line, line by line, is meant to be a picture of Christ and his love for the church or God and his love for Israel and so on and so forth.

This is a love song. And I really believe it's very appropriate after we have just finished the book of Ecclesiastes, which, as I shared throughout and we ended with, fear God and keep his commandments for this is man's all. That is the truth. You and I are to fear God and keep his commands. But I'm so thankful that our relationship with God is not limited to that.

Our relationship with God is not just fear God, obey the rules, or you're going to be judged. There's many ways that God has provided for us to relate to him. We relate to him as God, as master. He relates to us as king or as father, as savior, even as friend. As is shared throughout the Bible, we can look at those, but we won't. But here, he also gives us this picture.

This love story as a picture. Not only are you to fear God, but you're to have this intimate and passionate and loving relationship with him. This is the type of relationship that he desires to have with

With you and I, and I would encourage you to spend some time in this book on your own. So much of this, because it's of an intimate nature, I really believe I can't share with you all of the things that God wants to speak to you through this.

There's some things just as husband and wife have their times of intimacy and the conversations that they have that nobody else hears and nobody else should be able to hear or find out what's going on or what's being said in the same way.

God wants to speak to you in a special way. He wants to have this intimacy, this special relationship with you. And so I would encourage you on your own throughout the week to be spending time and look over what we have read or what we're going to be studying in the coming weeks. Jesus is so madly in love with you. Are you in love with him? I would challenge you with that this evening. Are you in love with Jesus Christ?

Deeply, passionately, intimately. If you just have the Lord and Savior relationship with God, you're missing out. There's so much more that God wants with you and in his relationship with you.

So understanding that this is a love song, let's begin first with the Shulamite. Now, if you're following along in the New King James Bible, it has the titles there and indicates for you who is speaking. There's some debate, of course, as to if those are all entirely accurate. But for the most part, we'll be following those. And so we start with the Shulamite in verses two and three. And here's what she says.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine. Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth. Therefore, the virgins love you. Here we see the Shulamites expressing her desire for intimacy with the king. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.

There's this desire for this type of relationship with the king, for this type of intimacy and love being expressed between her and Solomon, her and the beloved. Now, here's where we can see a good example of the picture of Christ and the church. As she goes on to say, the fragrance of your good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul there speaks about believers, about Christians. And he says that through us, God diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. He says that for we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing to the one God.

Where the aroma of death leading to death to the other, the aroma of life leading to life and who is sufficient for these things, Paul says. So we diffuse as Christians the fragrance of Christ and to those who are saved, to those who believe it's a sweet aroma, it's an aroma of life.

But to those who are perishing, it is the aroma of death. And that's why she says there at the end of verse three, therefore, the virgins love you, the virgins, the pure ones, those who are saved. It's it's a sweet scent that your name is like ointment to them. It's a beautiful scent.

The fragrance of God, the knowledge of God, the character of God is something beautiful to behold and rejoice in the lives of those who are believers, in the lives of those who are the pure. But it's those who are walking away from God or in rebellion to God that it's not so nice of an aroma. It's the aroma of death leading to death. Going on in verse 4.

It says, draw me away, the Shulamite is continuing to say. And then the daughters of Jerusalem say, we will run after you. And the Shulamite says, the king has brought me into his chambers. The daughters of Jerusalem say, we will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more than wine.

And the Shulamite says, rightly do they love you. And so you can see somewhat of the picture of the play that's taking place and the lines that are being brought forth. And maybe later on in the coming weeks we'll see

do a better illustration of that. I was thinking about I'll bring up some of you guys and have you play it out. But maybe not tonight. So anyways, the Shulamite is speaking and so she's on one part of the stage you can imagine and says, draw me away. Again, she's been expressing her desire for intimacy with Shulamite.

Solomon with the king. She's been expressing her desire to be with him. And so she says, draw me away. And then, you know, like can happen sometimes, there's a little bit of competition. Now the daughters of Jerusalem jump in and they say, we will run after you. Now, who are they speaking about when it says you?

Again, if you have the New King James Version of the Bible, there's a footnote there on you. And it tells us that the speaker and audience are identified according to the number, gender, and person of the Hebrew words.

Occasionally the identity is not certain. So based on the language that's used, and we don't see that much in English. If you have a little bit of understanding in Spanish, you know that there's different words you use for different gender and different number of people that you're speaking about. And so that's how they determine who is being spoken about. In this particular spot where it says, we will run after you,

The girls there, the daughters of Jerusalem are saying, we will run after the beloved, the king Solomon. So you see the Shulamite here saying, draw me away. And then the daughters of Jerusalem are saying to him, hey, we'll run after you. She's saying, draw me away. They're

They're saying, we'll run after you. And so there's perhaps some little bit of competition taking place there. The virgins love him. They're saying, hey, we'll follow you. We want to be with you. And then the Shulamite responds saying, the king has brought me into his chambers. So it's kind of like, sorry, ladies, you're out of luck.

I won. He's brought me into his chambers. He's picked me. We're to be married and you're not part of it. And so they said, we will be glad and rejoice in you. This time the you is referring to the girl. So the daughters of Jerusalem say, OK, you won. We're going to rejoice in you then. We're going to just rejoice and be glad for you that that you were able to to win his heart. The Shulamite ends by saying, rightly, do they love you?

Because he is the beloved. And there's some wonderful things about him that we'll see in the coming verses. Let's go on now. Verses 5 and 6. It says,

Here the Shulamite continues to speak, and it's somewhat of a remorseful speech, saying, I am dark, but lovely. It's interesting, different cultures perceive this.

the color of the skin or the lightness or darkness of the skin in different ways. For many here in Southern California, you want to get the tan, you want to get dark. It looks nice. But, uh, in many other cultures, like it was here, it was better to remain light. And that was thought to be more beautiful and lovely than, than being dark. And so she says, I am dark, kind of like an apology. I'm sorry. You know, I I'm dark, but, but I am lovely. Uh,

She says, "...unlike the tents of Kedar," which were black tents that they would have out there in the wilderness.

Again, she says, don't look upon me because I'm dark. The sun has tanned me. She says, it's kind of like a Cinderella story. The sons of my mother or my brothers were angry with me and they made me the keeper of the vineyards. I had to work outside all day. I've been working out in the fields and the vineyards. And so I've been darkened by the sun. I've gotten dark by suntan or by sunburn there in the fields and in the vineyards.

So it's a remorseful thing that she is expressing. Now then she goes on to speak to her beloved in verse 7. She says, tell me, oh you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions? She begins now to speak again to the beloved. And she says, tell me where your flocks are kept, where you keep your flocks, where you feed your flocks.

Again, she has been expressing her desire to be with him, her desire for intimacy, to be close to him, for him to be kissing her, for him to draw her away. And now for him to invite her or to bring her next to him where he is in the fields, where he's feeding the flocks, where he's tending to the sheep. She just desires to be near to him and close to him.

It's this great passionate love that she has, this attraction and desire that she has for him. And it's not necessarily a sexual sense only, and it's not an inappropriate thing. It's an appropriate desire. It's appropriate before you are married to have these desires, but to not carry them out, to not let them control you, but to wait until you are married for it.

For the sexual relationship within the marriage. She's saying to him, I want to be close to you. I desire to be close to you. I want to be with you wherever you are. I want to be there. I'm dark. I'm dark.

But I'm lovely. You know, I've been out in the vineyards. She goes on to say, but my own vineyard I haven't kept. That means, you know, I haven't gone to the beauty salon. I haven't had time to go out and get my hair done. And, you know, I haven't been able to keep my own vineyard and dress myself up. But I desire to be with you. I want to be with you. And isn't that how God calls us to himself? He doesn't say, okay, go fix yourself up, make yourself nice and pretty, and then you can come to me.

Now you're dark. You have a past. You have a history. You have sin and struggles. But you can still desire. God still desires to have relationship with you, even though you haven't kept your own vineyard. And so we see the beloved's response now in verses 8, 9, and 10. He says...

If you do not know, that is where he keeps the flocks. If you do not know, oh, fairest among women, follow in the footsteps of the flock and feed your little goats beside the shepherd's tents. I have compared you, my love, to my filly among Pharaoh's chariots. Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with chains of gold. So he shares with her, hey, if you don't know, here's where to go. Follow this path. Go this way. Now,

He begins to speak to her in language, and we'll see this more in the coming weeks as we study through the book. But remember that this is poetry and it's at a specific context. And I wouldn't encourage you to try to use these types of things today. I wouldn't encourage you to compare a woman with a filly.

Not the cheesesteak or not the cheesecake and definitely not the horse that Solomon is talking about here. The filly is a mare. It's a female horse. And he says, I've compared you, my love, to my filly among Pharaoh's chariots.

You know, you've got teeth like a horse or whatever. I wouldn't encourage you to do that. But but what is Solomon saying here as he's looking at this? The Phillies, especially from Egypt, from Pharaoh, were prized possessions. These were valuable horses. These were were the best of the best. And so he could be saying to her, you are you are just like my prized possession, the best of the best.

Another perspective that is possible, since he talks about her among Pharaoh's chariots, the mares or the fillies were not used for the chariots. It was always stallions that were used to lead the chariots and drive the chariots. And so Solomon also might be saying, hey, you're like the only one. You're the only woman. You're the only girl in a world full of men. The only mare, the only filly in a world full of stallions. You're the only one.

He goes on to talk about her cheeks are lovely, her neck with chains of gold. And you see this attraction that they have for one another, this passion and love that they have for one another. And then in verse 11, the daughters of Jerusalem again chime in. They say, we will make you, that is the Shulamite, we will make you ornaments of gold with studs of silver.

And so they're going to adorn her even more and bring her more jewelry and beautify her even more. Now the Shulamite comes back in verses 12 through 14 and says, While the king is at his table, my spikenard sends forth its fragrance. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me that lies all night between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms in the vineyards of En Gedi.

This song that we study, we'll see it tonight in the coming weeks. It's full of all different types of imagery, a lot of scents and spices that we see here. And we don't necessarily know what those smelled like. And sometimes it's difficult to understand specifically which fragrance is being referenced in the Hebrew language.

But we have the spikenard, which is a perfume, the myrrh, which was an ointment and a very beautiful scent. The henna blooms, which were blooms on the cypress trees that were there in En Gedi and the fragrance that they brought forth. And so you see the senses in play. And that's what a...

Poets does. I was looking for that word. They use the senses and try to give you these pictures and understandings. And she's saying it's like these wonderful, sweet smelling fragrances. The love that we have, the love that we share. It's something that warms our hearts and brings great joy.

In verses 13 and 14, what Solomon is describing or what the Shulamite is describing is really a way of saying that she's always thinking about him, that he is always upon her heart, that even at night she can smell the fragrance there. It's there upon her heart. She's thinking about him and thinking about him even when they're apart, even when they're not together. He's always upon her heart.

And he responds in verse 15 saying, Beloved, you are fair, my love. I'm sorry, behold, you are fair, my love. Behold, you are fair, you have dove's eyes. He responds saying, Behold, you are fair. Now, fair doesn't necessarily mean what we generally use it as in the English language. In fact, as I was thinking of the word fair earlier,

Just my mind, okay? This is how I think. I immediately went to Kelley Blue Book. You guys are familiar with that? KelleyBlueBook.com. You know, when you're grading a vehicle, you know, is it in good condition, fair condition, poor condition? Fair condition is described that it, you know, has some mechanical or cosmetic defects. And so Solomon's saying, you know, you have a bum knee and some, you know, cosmetic defects. Your eyes are a little bit crooked or something. That's where my mind goes. But

But that's not what Solomon's saying. Behold, you are fair. He's saying you are excellent. You are beautiful. It's something very complimentary that he is speaking to her. He's admiring her. He's captivated by her. Behold, you are fair, my love. Behold, you are fair. He repeats it again for emphasis. Again, you see this attraction, this strong desire, this strong love and passion for one another. Bless you.

The Shulamite now responds in verses 16 and following. She says, Behold, you are handsome, my beloved. Yes, pleasant. Also, our bed is green. The beams of our houses are cedar and our rafters of fir. I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys.

Here's her response. He says that she's fair and she says, behold, you are handsome, my beloved. So they admire one another. There's a attraction that they have to one another. She describes the bed being green. That word bed is really a reclining couch, which is what they would use to lounge around the banqueting table. Now, if you remember in verse 12,

She's talking about the king being at his table. And she'll go on in a few more verses to talk about him bringing her to his banqueting house. And the picture here perhaps is that they are brought together in a meal. They're brought together in a banquet. And they have this experience and they have this attraction to one another. And they're drawing close to one another and desiring to be together.

In preparation for a marriage, these reclining couches would often be covered with leaves and flowers. And perhaps that is what is meant when she says that the bed is green or the couch is green. In verse 1, she describes herself as the Rose of Sharon. That is a specific area there in Israel, a specific valley. And roses grow abundantly there.

And so she says, I am there, a rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys. Now, some ascribe this not to the Shulamites, but say this is the beloved speaking. This is a picture of Jesus Christ, the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon. And that is a possibility.

And verse two, the beloved responds and says, like a lily among thorns. So is my love among the daughters. Now he describes and says to her, hey, you're like a lily among thorns. Once again, we get the idea. Everybody else, all the other ladies, you know, they're pokey and pointy and they hurt. But but you're the lily. You're the beautiful flower amongst the backdrop or the background of of all those other ones who are like thorns.

She's the only one. She stands out as beautiful, lovely, and gentle. It's kind of like what Romans said. Remember when he shared his testimony? He's like, hey, you know, a girl will either build you up or destroy you and wipe you out. And that's kind of what Solomon's saying here. She's the one who will build you up. She's the lovely one. She's not like the other thorns that are out there. Verse 3.

The Shulamite now responds like an apple tree among the trees of the woods. So is my beloved among the suns. I sat down in his shade with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste. Here the Shulamite now responds. He says, you're like a lily among the thorns. And she says, you're like an apple tree among the trees of the woods.

Could also probably better be translated like an orange tree among the trees of the woods. He compares her to a flower. She compares him to a tree, which is a picture of strength and protection and provision, a place where she can find shelter and rest. In verses four through seven, she continues to speak specifically to the daughters of Jerusalem. It says, 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. His left hand is under my head and his right hand embraces me. 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.

Here now the Shulamite points her attention to the daughters of Jerusalem, this group of ladies or virgins, this chorus. And she says, here's what he did. He brought me to his banqueting house. We had this banquet together and his banner over me was love. The banner that she refers to, it's something that would be used in those days as

To identify a particular group, the children of Israel, as they walk through the wilderness, each tribe would march under their banner to identify this is the tribe that they are part of, that they belong to.

Whenever soldiers were going to war, they would have their banners so that you would know which company was where and everybody would know which division you are a part of. And she's saying his banner over me was love at this banqueting table. Everybody knew it was like he hung a banner over my head and says, this is the one I love. And how beautiful and appropriate that is for a husband and wife.

For there to be that banner of love that everybody knows this is the one that he loves or this is the one that she loves.

And so his banner was over me was love. And then she goes on. This is the drama queen speaking. Sustain me with cakes of raisins. Refresh me with apples for I am lovesick. And so she says, give me something to eat. I need something to eat because I'm just I'm so in love. And it's just I'm so enraptured by these things that I need something to sustain me because of this great love that we share.

His left hand is under my head. Again, the picture of their desire to be close to one another. And then she ends with an interesting verse in verse 7. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases. And there's some various interpretations on how this should be translated. But let me just share with you this. Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases. She's expressing this loving relationship that they have and their desire to be together together.

And that is appropriate. It's right as they are becoming engaged. And we'll see them coming together in marriage next week as we continue the study. But she says, hey, for all those who are watching, for all those who are listening,

Don't rush into that. Don't stir up and awaken love. Don't try to fall in love. Don't be seeking it out. Don't be consumed and captivated with stirring up and awakening love. I need to find love. I need to find my true love. I need to have this type of relationship with someone. She says, don't stir it up. When it pleases, it will come. And then you will be able to enjoy it and move into the relationship that God desires.

But don't stir it up on your own. Don't stir it up and seek it out ahead of time. In this portion, and what we've covered here, we don't have the divisions in the New King James, but it's the first of six songs that are contained here in the Song of Solomon. And we see the beginning of their relationship, the beginning of their coming together. Now, I would encourage you,

As we begin to wrap this up, in fact, the worship team can make their way up and we're going to close in one last song. But as they lead us in one last song, I want to encourage you in this.

Remember back in 1 Timothy 1, I encouraged you about the four relationships that we're to have with God and to meditate on those and to see if you have those relationships with God as our Savior, with Jesus Christ as our hope, with God as our Father, and with Jesus Christ our Lord. If you have the relationship with God as Savior and hope and Father and Lord. But now I would encourage you a little bit differently. In addition to those relationships,

I would encourage you to challenge yourself and spend this next week, spend this next few days, spend this time as we worship before the Lord and discuss everything.

Do I have this type of relationship that is being expressed here in the book of Song of Solomon? The strong desire to be with the Lord, to draw close to him, to be near to him, to be embraced by him. Do I have this desire? Do I have this passionate and intimate relationship with God?

Let me tell you, if you don't have the type of intimacy that is described here in this book with Jesus Christ, if you don't have that type of intimacy, you're missing out. God has so much more for you. Jesus is madly in love with you. Are you in love with him? Are you captivated by him? Are you enthralled with him? Fascinated and mesmerized, enchanted by who he is, how great he is. I would encourage you.

Fall in love with Jesus Christ. If you don't know how, like the Shulamite asked, tell me, where do you feed your flock? How can I be close to you? And he said, go among the footsteps of the flock. Be with God's people. Be close to the shepherds. Draw close to Jesus Christ. Be with his people and learn how to fall in love with Jesus Christ. We need to have this intimacy, this passion, this

Because God has it available for us. And it's so beautiful and so sweet. If you don't have it, you're missing out. So let's learn to fall in love with Jesus. As a worship, let's worship together afterwards. There'll be people up here who would love to pray with you and encourage you if you need that. But let's worship the Lord.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.