Song of Songs 3: 1 – 11
A Good Ending To A Nightmare
By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. 2 “ 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. 3 The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, “ Have you seen the one I love?” 4 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. 5 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. 6 Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders? 7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch, with sixty valiant men around it, of the valiant of Israel. 8 They all hold swords, being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh because of fear in the night. 9 Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the King made himself a palanquin: 10 He made its pillars of silver, its support of gold, its seat of purple, its interior paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day of the gladness of his heart.
A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'
A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether 'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:
1 No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be
Masculine ('el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
You have to decide who won.
Our Precious Holy Spirit opens chapter 3 with the woman having a dream. Our Holy Lord desires for couples to have the best. When it comes to the important stage in our lives when our Gracious Master grants us a partner, we need to follow His instructions if we are to receive the greatest benefit. Unfortunately, many do not wait for the proper time before experiencing the intimacy of the sexual union. They have in the long run cheated themselves. If privately the couple makes a commitment to wait until the honeymoon then they will feast on the peaceful pleasures for the rest of their lives.
Fighting the good fight our lovely maiden dreams of being with the one she loves.
By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. 2 “ 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. 3 The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, “ Have you seen the one I love?” 4 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. 5 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.
In her dream the woman reached over in bed to draw close to the one she loved but he was not there. She jumped out of bed and ran all over town trying to find him. The night watchmen spotted her and possibly with their help found her love.
I love the statement, ‘when I found the one I love, I held him and would not let him go.’ In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 28 there is a story of women who loved a special some One and when they found Him, also would not let Him go. I am sure you know the story,
“1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” 8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. 9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
It has always been the Holy Adoni Yahweh’s desire that the nation of Israel might one day realize her folly in turning Him away by seeking out phony gods to love and worship. Nothing would have delighted Him more than to be sought out by them with a genuine desire to love and please Him. For this in reality was also a dream. Even though the Gracious Loving Majestic King informed them over and over of this point they nonetheless wandered the streets ever searching but failing to come to knowledge of the truth. Do we not also follow in the same footsteps today. This is what our Lord calls out to us as He points out in the book of Revelation chapter 2,
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
In this crazy sick world we need daily to be like the women and cling to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and never let Him go from the number one position in our lives.
Please note again the young woman’s plea to remain pure until the marriage. We see the same statement given by the woman,
5 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.
I think a key thing to remember from this verse is that in order for a commitment to be fulfilled there must be love and loyalty working together.
We now come to the second section of this chapter which is where the bridegroom is coming to get his bride for the wedding ceremony. After an engagement contract had been agreed to by both families, the bridegroom would return to his father’s house and build an extension onto the dwelling. The bride could know how anxious he was in getting to the marriage ceremony on how fast he worked on the addition. If he had a whole team of his buddies working on it day and night you would definitely know that the wedding day would be in the near future. However, if hardly any work was being done, well, you get the picture.
Upon completion of the addition to the father’s house the young man would ask his dad to arrange for the wedding ceremony. The father would take care of all the arrangements and set a date and time. On the day of the wedding the bridegroom would travel to his brides home and bring her back to his father’s house for the wedding ceremony. How awesome are the words then of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as He informs us similarly in the Gospel of John chapter 14,
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
So, let’s see what king Solomon is doing,
6 Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders? 7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch, with sixty valiant men around it, of the valiant of Israel. 8 They all hold swords, being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh because of fear in the night. 9 Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the King made himself a palanquin: 10 He made its pillars of silver, its support of gold, its seat of purple, its interior paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day of the gladness of his heart.
Picture this scene with me from the young woman’s perspective. She gazes in the distance and sees this cloud of dust coming down the road heading in her direction. The wind must have been behind the procession because she picks up the pleasant smell of the crowd,
6 Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
Her eyes take her to the one in which she is in love with. She spots Solomon sitting on this chair being carried by these strong weight lifters. Her eyes then pick up the unique impressive military guard accompanying their king,
with sixty valiant men around it, of the valiant of Israel. 8 They all hold swords, being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh because of fear in the night.
These men were special service quality being no one to mess with.
Now the parade is right near her. She makes out all the extreme beauty and craftsmanship of Solomon’s portable throne,
9 Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the King made himself a palanquin: 10 He made its pillars of silver, its support of gold, its seat of purple, its interior paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.
She calls out a unique statement,
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day of the gladness of his heart.
On our church’s marriage application we have a unique question to be filled out by the bride and groom. It is this, What do your parents think of you two getting married?’ ‘Hey’, you might say, ‘I’m marrying her not her parents’. Yes, that is true but godly parents’ position is important to this arrangement. As a pastor you do not get the full information on how this potential couple has been getting along. If they have any red flags that have been going on in their dating relationship, the parents know about it and in many instances are not for the wedding. I would rather not marry a couple then enter into tying a couple together in marriage when it can be a future disaster.
Our bride is telling the bridesmaid’s that queen mother Bathsheba has approved of their union. She has the full family support of their marriage.
