Intro
• I have had the blessed opportunity to sit down and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ so far with two of my three children.
• I’m still praying for my youngest and I have faith that he will one day come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
• Not only have shared the gospel with them, I have seen them accept Jesus Christ and have had the opportunity to baptize them.
• How truly precious it is to be able to share the Gospel with your children and see them come to Jesus Christ!
• As I have mentioned before, years ago my grandmother started giving me some of my grandfather’s things to me.
• One of those things that she gave me was an old handkerchief.
• There’s nothing special about this handkerchief; it’s just made of plain material. It’s been used a lot so it’s not in mint conditions.
• One of the things that this handkerchief has been used for is in the baptism of my children.
• I’ve done that just as a small token to remember the spiritual heritage and foundation that my grandparents set for me.
• Those special times of sharing Jesus Christ with my children are very priceless to me; nothing can replace those memories.
• Also, just as this handkerchief looks like nothing to you, it is priceless to me because of who it belonged to.
• Today, we come to the conclusion of our study in Song of Songs.
• We have seen where the man and the woman started with a true joy to their love.
• We have seen that even though their desires for one another were strong, they waited to express their love in a physical manner.
• We have seen also that this couple waited till the appropriate time to express their love, which was after their marriage.
• Also, we have seen the bride’s emotions as she expressed her true love for him and the groom’s devotion to his bride as he expressed his true love for her.
• This Groom and Bride have found something very special, true love and their true love is priceless.
• What makes true love priceless?
• True Love is priceless because within the confines of true love we can experience #1 Freedom, #2 Unity and #3 Peace.
• Prayer
#1 Freedom
• Song of Songs 7:10-8:4
• Last week we ended with Song of Songs 7:9; in this verse the man was interrupted by his bride but she was in agreement with his thought – they truly belonged to one another.
• Throughout this study we have seen the man call to his bride a few times to go away with him but they resisted.
• Now, after their marriage, we see in v11 where the woman now has the freedom to call her husband to go away with her.
• We have seen the emotions that the bride had about losing her virginity and especially after her wedding night; those feelings of anxiety and tension have left and now she is free to love her husband.
• She paints the picture of a country setting in these verses but the point of all this is found in v12 –“ There I will give you my love.”
• V13 is filled with the same kind of imagery of a country setting but they all point to the same thing.
• The ancient reader would have noted the mandrake in v13 – The mandrake was regarded as an aphrodisiac.
• Every delicacy of the garden was hung on the doors; We have seen this imagery with the doors before but as a barrier; now entrance
• She also speaks of “new and old” in v13; this implies that their love for each other has grown as well.
• Now, to us, 8:1 might sound a little creepy.
• In the ancient world, a woman could only show public affection to her father, brother or near relative; not looked at as weird in that society.
• Even as a married woman, she could not show affection to her husband in public.
• This shows us that what she is stating in v1 is that she wishes she could show her love for her husband to everyone as she has the freedom to show her brother.
• Since she does not have the freedom to show affection in public, she will express her love for him much more in private.
• The bride has truly moved from being the woman who had a low self-confidence, who wrestled with her emotions to one who has truly found freedom in her marriage.
• True love has brought to her a freedom that she never had.
• When we find true love, we too also can have this freedom to love each other; We can have a freedom to be who we are and not worry about what the other thinks. – True love brings this freedom.
• True love is priceless because through it we can experience freedom.
#2 Unity
• Song of Songs 8:5-7
• Just as in 3:6 when the Jerusalem girls were announcing the arrival of the groom, here they look to the wilderness again and see him coming but this time, with his wife leaning on him.
• With this picture, we see that the bride’s anxiety of chapter 5 is gone; she now has an attitude of trust and ease with her groom.
• Now, we don’t ride on chariots today but we do see this image in our society all the time.
• How many times have you seen a guy driving a pickup truck and the girl is leaning on him as he drives?
• Sometimes they are so close that you might not even know that it is more than one person.
• Illus – One day a husband and wife were out for a ride and wife she began to complain to her husband that she never put’s his arm around her or holds her hand or kisses her like they used to. She told him that she just feels like that he has become distant with her.
• At that point, the man took his eyes off the road and looked at the empty seat beside him and said, “Well, I haven’t moved.”
• Now to me that is funny but it shows how carful we must be with the unity in our relationship; must be careful not to drift apart.
• The woman continues into v5 describing the apricot tree as a place where his mother gave birth to him.
• The woman is actually using that as symbolism to represent her female sexual organs. – Meaning that they are now participating in the same act that made his mother able to birth him.
• They are united and their heart and arms have been sealed; their passion for one another is just as strong as the grave is fierce.
• V7 continues in that same tone stating that “mighty waters can not extinguish their love.”
• I get a picture here of God flooding the Earth in the days of Noah and yet with that much water, it is as if she is saying that even that could not extinguish the love that we have for one another.
• This type of passion and love are priceless, in fact she even states in v7 that it can not be bought.
• We surely see a strong bond that has been created between this husband and his wife.
• There is no wavering, no hoping for commitment, no wandering if they love one another – they are united in their love for one another.
• Only true love can bring this type of unity, it can not be bought!
• True love is priceless because through it we can experience unity.
#3 Peace
• Song of Songs 8:8-14
• In Song of Songs 2:7, 3:5 and 8:4 we have seen the call to not “awaken love until the appropriate time.”
• Here in verses 8 & 9 the Jerusalem girls are describing a woman who has not yet reached the appropriate age or time; this is described by calling the young woman a wall and stating that she has no breasts.
• The Jerusalem girls state that they need to protect the young virgin girl.
• They state that if she is a wall, then they will build a silver parapet on it.
• A parapet is a small wall on top of a larger wall; it is used for soldiers to stand behind and defend the wall.
• Also, they state if she is a door, then they will enclose the door; The image that is being conveyed is one of a chastity belt.
• However, contrary to this young virgin girl that needs protecting, the bride of our song states that she is a wall but her breasts are like towers.
• She has reached sexual maturity and she no longer needs protection; she is no longer one of the Jerusalem girls, but a married woman.
• King Solomon had great wealth; he had servants that kept up with everything that he had; he did not have to work his own vineyards but had people to do the job.
• This woman however is content with her vineyard and is free to take care of it herself.
• The vineyard represents the freedom that she has found in her relationship with her husband.
• Now, that she has found peace in the vineyard, she will nurture it.
• The song ends with their calling to each other as they begin the rest of their life.
• True love is priceless because through it we can experience peace.
Conclusion
• True Love is priceless because within the confines of true love we can experience #1 Freedom, #2 Unity and #3 Peace.
• Challenge
o True love is priceless because through it we can experience freedom.
o True love is priceless because through it we can experience unity.
o True love is priceless because through it we can experience peace.
o As great as their love is, it pales in comparison to God’s love for you through Jesus Christ.
