Text: Songs of Solomon 2:10-13
Theme: Blessing blossoms up
Introduction to SS:
Song of Songs also known as Song of Solomon indicates that while King Solomon reigned the united Kingdom of Israel approx. 1000 BC, he wrote many songs, poems, proverbs, and sayings. The whole book has three characters of He, She, and others. This bride was a working-class woman of Shulamite ancestry (6:13, 1 Kings 3:1). Solomon remembered his FIRST LOVE with her and wrote about that sacred love after his polygamy with other princesses (Ref: fourpointschurch.com). The title ‘the Song of Songs,’ denotes its superior excellence, according to the Hebrew idiom, ‘King of Kings’, and ‘Lord of Lords’.
This book has caused a lot of debate over the years due to its secular language of love. The debate ended after Rabbi Akiba said, "The whole world is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Scriptures are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies" -Mishnah Yadayim 3:5 (ref: workingpreacher.org). The Judaic and Christian scholars wanted to interpret it as an allegory to show the relationship of Israel and Yahweh, and the Church and Christ respectively. The interpreters have also looked to prophetic, wisdom, and apocalyptic passages of Scripture, as well as, to ancient Egyptian and Babylonian love songs, traditional Semitic wedding songs, and songs related to ancient Mesopotamian fertility religions’ (ref: biblica.com).
ORIGEN (185 AD) and JEROME inform that Jews prohibited to read this book until they attain thirty years of age. Of course, it certainly needs spiritual maturity to understand the holy mystery of love allegorically articulated. (ref: biblestudytools.com). This book does not mention a single word about God.
Song of Songs has the themes of hardship, beauty, diligence, pleasure, passion, family, and joy (ref: theologyofwork.org). It has a poetic expression of romantic love between a young man, and a young woman in ancient Israel. The boy was a shepherd (1:7), and the girl was a shepherdess (1:8). The comparisons are figurative rather than literal.
The text selected for this Sunday begins with the man speaks to his love: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come." This text celebrates the mutuality and fidelity of one another. We will learn three mystic meanings and teaching from them.
Winter is Past rain has gone
Seasons of singing has begun
Blossoms of Fragrance Spreads
1. Winter is Past, and rain has gone:
Rain brings rejoicing yet frightening. A heavy downpour can bring down gigantic trees and rooftops, quickly the creeks swell, and rivers overflow, mudslides down the mountains, and floods fill the valleys. Hurricanes batter the coastal areas, and tornadoes devastate the plains.
Lightning flashes like a dagger, stabbing the earth, and thunder cracks the ground (ref:Kathrynarmstrong.wordpress.com).
This STANZA begins and ends with the same refrain, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.” (Song of Songs 2:10, 13). The bride reports the invitation of the beloved that she should come forth with him into the open field, there is a scene of verdure and beauty, and mirth and mutual affection. In this book, God uses a picture of human love to convey to our dull minds, our dead hearts, our distorted affections, and our diseased wills to know His bounty love (ref: ttb.org).
The winter may mean our life years passed in ignorance and sin, unfruitful and miserable, or by storms and tempests that accompanied our conviction of guilt and danger. Even the unripe fruits of holiness are pleasant unto Him whose grace has produced them. Christ invites the new convert to arise from sloth, and despondency and to leave sin and worldly vanities, for union and communion with him (Mathew Henry).
The Rain: It could be understood and interpreted as, of worldly tribulations, past and gone, they shall not destroy us nor hurt Church. But, does her much good, both by multiplying her members, and increasing her graces; and promoting her eternal happiness. It could be a referral to spiritual troubles arising in the minds and consciences of sinners, from a deep sense of the guilt of sin, the justice and wrath of God, and the sentence and curse of the law; all of which made them afraid to come unto God, and desirous to run away from him. But, Christ removed this worst impediment. God is ready to be reconciled, and therefore cast off all discouragements and excuses, and come unto Christ (Matthew Poole).
Wesley writes: The winter refers to Spiritual troubles arising from a deep sense of the guilt of sin, the wrath of God, the curse of the law; all which made them afraid to come unto God. According to Gill Exposition: The winter is past, the rain is over and gone refer to a season of the year which keeps persons within doors, makes going abroad unsafe, unpleasant, and uncomfortable; very unfit for traveling, roads bad, rivers impassable, and journeying very difficult.
Yes, it is true, we have been into the same circumstances since the outbreak of Corona. Our rulers and the Governments around the world, and WHO have not comprehended it, and they were in utter chaos about how to tackle it, and to overcome the situation to bounce back quickly to normalcy. We were worried, locked down, shut our doors out of fear. Now the Lord would like to revive all of us. But they have allowed us to go out. However, life risks are present, but we have to enjoy life with accountability and responsibility.
2. Seasons of singing has begun
Meaninglessness expressed by King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 2:11-13 by the promise of pleasure, wealth, work, progress is to be an illusion, has been replaced with meaningful and lovely words in this stanza of Song of Songs 2:11-13.
A sign of spring brings seasons of singing by the birds. According to Preacher’s homiletical commentary, it refers to a THREEFOLD MYSTERY of Seasons for singing. Time of singing the song by the Red Sea (Aben Ezra). Time of the Jew's return from the Babylonian captivity (Broughton). Time of rejoicing at the advent of Jesus (Fausset). There is time for everything, so this is the time of singing comes outpatient waiting (Psalms 40:1-3; 89:15; 148:7-13; Isaiah 42:10-12; 55:12; Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16).
Spring represents us with a marvelous example of the sufficiency of means to produce, in a short time, a notable change in the appearance of the earth. Spring brings back to us familiar objects of new leaves, new plants. Spring is illustrative of youthful life. Spring is a period of importance to the farmers. Spring moves us to a new realm both in moral and physical. Soul cherishes in it. Spring is the period of renewed hope and quickened sensibilities.
"Cooing of the turtle": Which changes its place according to the season, as is observed (Jeremiah 8:7), and by all other writers, who affirm that it disappears in winter, and appears in the spring, as some other birds also do. Wesley Notes: The turtle - This seems particularly mentioned because it not only gives notice of the spring, but aptly represents the Spirit of God, which appeared in the shape of a dove, and which worketh meekness, and mercy, and faithfulness, in believers.
Catholics believe that it refers to Gospel dispensation through singing by the members of the Church the praises of the Lord in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Like the little birds, the young converts sing in warbling notes, and tuneful lays the songs of electing, redeeming, calling, justifying, pardoning, and adopting grace, to the glory of God, and mutual comfort and edification.
3. Blossom of Fragrance Spreads
Song of Songs refers to the FIG, and the Vine, the fig tree referred to Israel, and the Vine to both Israel and gentiles or the human race. The life in Christ promised to all with a prerequisite to standing on the words and deeds of Christ. Mystics illustrate the power of the Song of Songs to shape our understanding of life with God. Can our languishing love be transformed into a deep longing that knows only the language of intimate communion with Christ (ref: Dennis Tucker in textweek.com).
The epithet Shulammite occurs twice in Song of Songs 6:13. Medieval Jewish exegetes Ibn Ezra understood the word as “the Jerusalemite,” a feminine epithet derived from Salem (Hebrew Shalem), an ancient poetic name for Jerusalem (Psalms 76:2). The epithet Shulammite, with its root s-l-m, may have been chosen, also because of its allusions to Solomon (Shelomoh), who figures in the poem, and to the young woman’s role of bringing “peace” (shalom) to her lover (Song of Songs 8:10). Other less likely interpretations involve the village of Shunem or Shulem, home of King David’s attendant, Abishag, 1 King 1:1–4 (Ref: jwa.org).
The flowers of the field have the odor and pleasant fragrance in life. We have varieties of flowers in numerous colors and attractive smells and odors. Each flower has a different time to bud, blossom, and dry. Few stay for a week, some stay for a day and thrown away. But each one has a name, fame, and kind. The appearance of flowers in spring point to new life began in Christ. "flowers" meant either the graces of the spirit in the saints or the saints themselves, when in a flourishing condition and the exercise of grace.
Barnes Notes that the season indicated by six signs Song of Songs 2:11-13 is that of spring after the cessation of the latter rain in the first or paschal month Joel 2:23, i.e., Nisan or Abib, corresponding to the later part of March and early part of April. One of the interpreters, Cyril interpreted Song of Songs 2:11-12 of our Lord's Resurrection in the spring. Nor do any ever become fruitful until their hearts have been pricked and cut by the word of God, and they never grow better or being more fruitful than when attended with afflictions and tribulations.
So we can understand that the acceptance of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ gives us more grace and strength to overcome the present situation. The New Life begins in Christ and continues to be fruitful through him. Saints should bear fruit always, and ever continue to do so, even to old age(Read: Psalm 92:12-14). Acceptance of Christ brings new life, a new fragrance, and a pleasing smell to all those who are around. Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, the aroma of Christ has spread through us everywhere for everyone.
“Baby, it’s cold outside” a pop song premiered by Frank Loesser and Lynn Garland in 1944 and re-popularized by Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone in 2003 through the film Elf.
This romantic song depicts this passage. The back and forth teasing between the lovers has found here. The song features seesawing repartee between a suitor and his sweetheart. The man repeatedly attempts to convince the woman to stay inside with him because it is cold outside Ref:trivialdevotion.blogspot.com). But now Christ calls us beloved you come out and see the blossoms of the fragrance of the field.
