HoHum:
H.W. Jurgen, a West German sociologist, claims that married couples chat with one another 70 minutes a day in the first year of their marriage. This drops to 30 minutes a day in the second year and then only to 15 minutes a day in the 4th. His research shows that by the eighth year, a husband and wife, typically, share hardly any small talk and become nearly silent with one another. Now this is not all bad because we feel comfortable with silence after many years of marriage. On the other hand, this is bad because we have become complacent in our relationship. We get too comfortable.
WBTU:
Most of the time when I preach I center my thoughts on one Scripture text. That is my favorite way to preach. Now how would it be if I read a Scripture text and talked about everything but those Scriptures.
As I was preparing to preach from the Song of Solomon, I had a few commentaries and some ways that preachers have preached from this Bible book. After looking at the commentaries and seeing the erotic things that this book says and then reading how preachers have preached from this book, I found it laughable. How can these preachers do such injustice to the text.
We must try to stick with the main subject matter here and this is a song between Solomon and his wife called the Shullamite. This song celebrates married love and once we get beyond the poetic language and the cultural differences, we find that it is so sensual that it is difficult to present this material in worship except to spiritualize it. Many have interpreted this book in an allegorical way as a love song between Christ and his church.
Many preachers bring up a Scripture text from this book and then talk about things that have very little to do with the original meaning of the Scriptures that they bring up. As a matter of fact, this book was not read by Jewish men until they were 30 years old because too much.
However, there is one passage here that seems to me to be both helpful for married couples and also illustrates the love between Christ and his church.
Join me in this passage as we consider
Thesis: A heart for Him (spouse and Jesus Christ)
For instances:
Vs. 2-5 The Bride Dozing
It seems that they may be that they have been married for a while when the events described here take place. The honeymoon is over. This happens in marriage and in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
We see here that the bride is asleep and the bridegroom is outside her room trying to gain access. We sleep while He tries to draw near to spend some time with His beloved.
The Call of the Beloved (Vs. 2). Notice what he calls her:
My sister- should view our marriage partner as our sister in Christ.
My darling- speaking of the special place she holds in his heart
My dove- Speaks of the joyous, glorious relationship that has made them as one
My flawless one- Views her as perfect for him
We see here also a picture of the Lord Jesus seeking intimacy with His blood bought and redeemed people. He longs for us to be in His presence. He wants to fellowship with us
The complaint of the bride (vs. 3). She tells him that she has already gotten into bed and she doesn’t want to get up and indulge him.
How many of us have experienced something similar in our marriages? Something we would have done without hesitation when we were first married now seems like pure drudgery. If we were honest, we would all have to confess that we allow ourselves to become a chilly like this
Our walk with Jesus can be much the same way. Remember the early days after our baptism? Remember when church and the Bible were so exciting? Remember when prayer was an adventure? Remember when the Christian life was exciting?
How many of us have become so complacent with all of this that just being with Jesus and his people isn’t as exciting as it used to be? Many of us are there this morning, how sad
Steve Zeisler- I tell couples planning to be married that marriage is a school for faith. It teaches us to bless when we don’t feel like blessing. It teaches us to draw on reserves of love that we can’t manufacture naturally. It teaches us to make choices that are important because they are true, not because they are logical in the moment. Marriage is a school for faith, and I think the language of Song of Songs presents that lesson clearly.
The Compassion of the bride (Vs. 4).
When his tender words failed to arouse her, he tries to open the door himself. This is not possible because the door opens only from her side. Much like the picture of The Light of the World, The door in the painting has no handle, and can therefore be opened only from the inside. However, seeing him want to be with her so badly stirs her heart and she feels, “her heart being to pound for him.” Now, she too wants to be with him.
When we realize just how much Jesus Christ has done for us, how much he loves us, how much he desires to be near us and how sweetly he calls us to himself, it will awaken a desire in our hearts to be near him also. Many of us need to see him anew today!
Vs. 6-8 The Bride Desiring
When she finally arises, she finds that her beloved has gone. Still, she has been reawakened to the need to be with him. A renewed desire is kindled within her for her husband. Now, just as he desired to be with her, she is filled with the desire to be with him.
Vs. 6- The direction of her desire. I looked for him, I called for him.
Notice what she wants. She is consumed by wanting him. She desires him and nothing more
So it with the Christian who rediscovers how glorious Jesus Christ is. They are thrilled just to be in His presence. When we are more interested in being with the Lord than in getting something from the Lord, we have begun to grow in the Lord. When we come to the place where he fills our thoughts, then we have come to the place where He holds first place.
Vs. 7-8- The depth of her desire.
As she went her way looking for her husband, she was humiliated by the watchmen. Don’t be too hard on the watchmen, it is late and they are just doing their job. Even so, she is not deterred from her mission. She still sought him. And, when she could not find him, she enlisted the help of other women in the city. She tells them that she is “faint with love.” The whole point is that she is willing to endure anything just to be reunited with her husband.
What a lesson for the church. I wonder what price we are willing to pay to be near our Lord. Are we willing to suffer humiliation, beating, bruisings, stealing our stuff? When we, like this woman, reach the place where we are “faint with love” for Jesus, we will pay the price to be close to Him, but not until!
Vs. 9-16 The Bride Describing
Vs. 9- The Question Regarding Her Beloved-
The daughters of Jerusalem ask this woman to tell them just what makes this man more special than any other man. She is challenged to tell them why she loves him so much that she has become “faint with love” over him.
When we really fall in love with Jesus, there will always be those who will not understand our devotion to Him. They won’t understand why when we talk of him, sometimes we tear up and weep. They won’t understand any of this. Then they will want to know why. This gives us an opportunity to brag on Jesus. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15, NIV.
Vs. 10-16a- The qualifications of her beloved
She tells them that he is “outstanding among ten thousand”. Then She uses language here that describes him from head to toe and tells just how lovely he is to her. To her, he is the best specimen of manhood. To her, he is perfect!
Friends, when we think of Christ’s love, grace, death, blood, resurrection, salvation, his heavenly home He is preparing for us, and His return, not to mention His power and His glory, how can we see Him as being less than beautiful? He is “outstanding” among all. He is in a category all by Himself!
VS. 16b- The quality of her beloved- Altogether lovely.
She exhausts her vocabulary and basically says, “He’s all that, and so much more! I have looked Him over from head to toe and I cannot find a single flaw in this man.
We can search the farthest reaches of the cosmos and we will never find another like the Lord Jesus! He is altogether lovely! No flaw in Him! He is full of glory and perfect in every way! Such is the Lord Jesus to every heart touched by Him in power and saving grace. Those who know Him love Him and can find no flaw in the Lamb of God!
In 6:1 all of this awakens a desire in the daughters of Jerusalem. So it is with this lost and dying world. When they encounter people who’s hearts are aflame with love for Jesus, it creates a hunger within them for Him. Let our love for Jesus show. Let it make a happy glow For all the world to see
Conclusion and invitation:
Where does this message find your heart this morning? Is your heart burning brightly with a boundless love for the Lord Jesus? Are you hungry for him? Do you desire Him?
