Intro
• Have you recently heard about this story?
• Jim Golay, a Wyoming man who died in 2014 from a brain tumor, has kept Valentine's Day special for his wife -- even in death.
• Shelly Golay, of Casper, Wyoming, received a bouquet of roses at her office two days before Valentine's Day.
• She initially thought her children had sent them but after contacting the flower shop, she learned that her late husband, Jim, who died from brain cancer, had arranged before his death last year for flowers to be sent to her every Valentine's Day until the day she dies.
• The card read: “Happy Valentine’s Day Honey. Stay Strong! Yours forever. Love Jim.”
• The family called the florist and they confirmed that Jim had set it up last February. He had set up for her to have Valentine’s Day flowers for the rest of my life,”
• Golay said “I just started bawling. I couldn’t believe it.”
• Shelly says the gesture shows that when it comes to her late husband's love, there are no boundaries, even in death.
• How great of a story is that?
• Even in death, this man loved his wife so much that he was willing to go to the trouble & expense to remind his wife annually how much he loved her.
• The story of Jim Golay is a modern example of a husband going above and beyond to show his wife that he loves her.
• Last week we looked at True Love for Him in Song of Songs 5:2-6:3.
• We saw that the bride's true love for her husband was expressed through #1 Her Sacrifice, #2 Her Adoration and #3 Her Commitment.
• Today we turn our attention away from the Bride's love for her Husband and look at the Husband's love for his Bride.
• In examining his true love for his bride, we will see where husbands today can express true love for their wife as well.
• Today we will see that the groom's true love for his bride was expressed by him #1 Deepening His Love For Her #2 Making Her Feel Special and #3 Adoring Her.
• Prayer
#1 Deepen Your Love For Her
• Song of Songs 6:4-9
• When you look at this portion of scripture, you might think that it looks familiar - That is because some of it is a repeat of 4:1-5.
• It's not that the man can not come up with any more original thoughts, but the repetition is used to prove a point.
• By using repetition, he is reaffirming his love for her; in fact, it is not just reaffirming his love, but it shows that his love for her has deepened.
• We have seen in Song of Songs where the man had a desire to be with his bride sexually, Now that they have united their marriage through sexual union, he states that his desire and admiration for her has not diminished but has in fact deepened.
• We see in v4 where the bride is compared to the cities of Tirzah and Jerusalem. - Tirzah one of the capitals of NK, Jerusalem SK - beautiful, awe inspiring and can not be taken by force.
• The groom has spoken frequently about his brides eyes in 1:15, 4:1 and in 4:9 he states "You have captured my heart w/your eyes" - It's as if he is saying "I am so excited by the beauty of your eyes that I can not take it.
• The cities in verse 1 remind us of him comparing her to the tower of David; Also we have just seen where he has mentioned the eyes a lot.
• v5b is a repetition of 4:1c; v6 is a repetition of 4:2 and v7 is a repetition of 4:3b. - Remember, not a literal description, but he is describing his bride as a beautiful and desirable woman.
• Here in chapter 6:8-9, he again repeats an idea that he has previously stated about his bride - utterly beyond compare (Song of Songs 2:2)
• The groom is saying that his bride is better and stands out and above 60 queens, 80 concubines and an unlimited amount of young women.
• In his eyes and in his heart he only sees one woman: his wife.
• How many men today could start to deepen their love for their wife just by controlling their eyes and only looking at their wife?
• That means that you make a covenant with your eyes to not look upon another woman when she passes by.
• That means that you make a covenant with your eyes and a covenant with your heart to not desire any woman but your wife.
• That means that you make a covenant with your eyes to also not look at pornography but instead look to your wife.
• Too many times I have heard of couples being married for 20, 30 even 40 years before getting a divorce. The reasons are numerous.
• However, all of them can really go back to one reason - At least one person in the marriage did not deepen their love for their spouse over the years.
• As the years add up, let us continually deepen our love for our spouse.
#2 Make Her Feel Special
• Song of Songs 6:10-13
• At the end of v9 we see where the man states that "Women see her ... and they sing her praises." - Now the Jerusalem girls sing her praises.
• In 3:6-11 they sang an arrival song as the man was coming to pick up his bride, now they sing an arrival song for the woman.
• The bride was radiating with beauty because of her husband's love for her; because he made her feel special.
• First of all, they state that she "shines like the dawn" and is "as beautiful as the moon." Dawn and Moon (white) opposite of black (tan).
• Remember, in that culture, pale skin, not tan was considered to be beautiful and this description contrasts with her self-consciousness in 1:5.
• She is also described as being "bright as the sun." Have you ever tried to look at the sun for any length of time? You can't without hurting eyes.
• She was so happy and so loved that it caused her to radiate like the sun.
• As we saw this women's self-description in chapter 1, we see that she thinks of herself as very plain and ordinary.
• However, we have also seen that her husband does not agree with her self-assessment and believes she is the most beautiful woman ever.
• His love and his assessment of her has caused her to radiate; in fact, she was as majestic as an "army of banners"(v10).
• Remember, in ancient Israelite wedding customs the groom would arrive for the bride in a processional and together they would travel in this processional from the bride's house to the grooms house for the wedding. The bride did not know when the wedding would take place.
• This was described in 3:6-11 and it is what 6:12 is talking about.
• We have seen that the imagery of a garden was used to describe the woman's body and now the walnut grove describes the man's body.
• The Jerusalem girls call to her in v13 to come back but she has already left them; she is now married and has consummated her marriage.
• At the end of v13 we see where the man questions the Jerusalem girls basically asking them why they would want to keep her for themselves as if she is some type of entertainment to them.
• We have seen that this woman, who once was self-conscious about her looks and about how her husband felt about her, is now confident.
• Because of the confidence that she has from him making her feel special, she radiates with a glow.
• Men, we should be challenged to love our wives in such a way as to make them glow with beauty.
• Too many times I hear men refer to their wife as "my old lady" or "the old ball and chain." - Things like this are demeaning to the ones we should love the most! - You should always look for ways to let your spouse know that she is special to you.
#3 Adore Her
• Song of Songs 7:1-9
• If you have been following along in this study then you can see plainly that this groom and bride truly adore one another.
• He has already given praise to her beauty before especially in 4:1-7;6:4-9
• Here again, after they are married, he reiterates his adoration of her.
• v1 - First of all he admires the beauty of her feet.
• He then moves upward to her thighs where he compares them to jewelry, meaning that they are beautiful and finely crafted.
• In v2 he compares her navel to a goblet simply because of its shape and the fact that she will always satisfy his thirst.
• Likewise, her waist is a "mound of wheat" referring to the color and the fact that she is nourishment to him.
• Her breasts compared to fawns/gazelles relate to their tenderness.
• v4 describes her neck eyes and nose. Her neck is highly crafted, her eyes are as beautiful/deep as the pools; her nose complements her face.
• v5 - The beauty of her hair is so striking that it can only be related to royalty (is like purple) and its tresses captivates royalty.
• v6-8 he expresses again his thoughts on her beauty & his desire for her.
• Finally in v9, as he is expressing his desire for her, he compares her mouth to wine and she interrupts him to basically state that she desires him and belongs to him.
• Is there any doubt how this man feels about his bride? He adores her!
• Likewise, she should adore our spouse and our spouse alone.
• I mentioned it last week, but if we were to write a description of our spouse, would it sound like this or something negative?
Conclusion
• Today we have seen that the groom's true love for his bride was expressed by him #1 Deepening His Love For Her #2 Making Her Feel Special and #3 Adoring Her.
• Challenge
o Will you make a covenant with your eyes and your heart to only look at and desire your spouse?
o Will you make a commitment to do all you can to make your spouse feel special instead of a nuisance?
o Do you adore your spouse or do you only have negative feelings about your spouse?
o As much as we should love our spouse, first of all we must love our Savior and commit our life to Jesus Christ; Begin Relationship Today - Accept Jesus Christ
