Song of Songs 3:1-11 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Song of Songs 3:1-11. I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Song of Songs 3:1-5 (NIV)
1 All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.
2 I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him.
3 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me.
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
On verses 1-5: All night long the girl is thinking about her boyfriend, whether consciously or in the form of a dream. When she finds him, there is the temptation to be sexually intimate with one another (v4), but once again she reminds herself: “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires” (v5). The girl restrains herself and wisely tells herself to wait until after they’re married.
One of my favourite verses is verse 4 where the girl says, “when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go”. We must be careful not to read too much into Song of Songs, but to me this verse is a beautiful picture of the day our hearts found Jesus, or perhaps more accurately when Jesus found us. It’s the idea that our hearts will always be searching and wandering until the day we find Jesus, the lover of our soul. When we find Him, may we never let Him go.
Song of Songs 3:6-11 (NIV)
6 Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage, escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel,
8 all of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night.
9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon.
10 Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced.
On verses 6-11: Thus far I have referred to the lover as “the guy”, as opposed to King Solomon. That is because there is some debate as to whether “King Solomon” in Song of Songs is the actual historical King Solomon, or if that’s just a fun nickname given to the groom, similar to where one might call someone “Prince Charming”.
Whether it is actually King Solomon or a guy nicknamed “King Solomon”, the guy is wearing the clothing of a groom dressed for his wedding day (v11). He is riding in an ornate and luxurious carriage (or some scholars say it’s actually a bed) accompanied by 60 soldiers. It is clear what’s going on: this is the guy and the girl on their wedding day. This wedding is described as the day the guy’s “heart rejoiced” (v11).
What can we learn from this?
First, when you seek to honour God in your relationships, there will be an aroma of God’s strong, gentle, royal presence on your life that will be palpable to others.
Second, those of you wanting to get married one day, when you and your boyfriend/girlfriend try to honour God with the way you handle your courtship, when you try to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the royal calling and the strong spiritual DNA you have in Jesus, your wedding will be a day of great rejoicing and celebration, a day when your heart rejoices. There will be a sense of God’s royal, joyful presence on your wedding day because you sought to give God glory during your courtship.
Third, whether you are single, married, widowed or divorced, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, you can look forward to being part of the most joyful wedding that there will ever be. It’s the royal wedding of the Lamb Jesus Christ with us His church, as described in Revelation 19:6-8. On that day there will be more celebration and rejoicing than any other wedding ever. And it will happen on the day that Jesus comes to take us home to be with Him forever.
Father, thank You that it is worth trying to honour You with the way we handle our relationships. In the way we handle relationships and treat those around us, may we live our lives worthy of the royal calling we have in Jesus. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
