Reconciliation
Song of
Songs 6 is the chapter of reconciliation.
Just as chapter 5 discusses the natural and human problem of a love that
ebbs and flows (or fades from time to time), Song of Songs 6 gives hope for
reconciliation in spite of our human nature.
Where there is recognition and repentance, there can always be
reconciliation. There is no situation
that is beyond God’s ability to mend.
We can see
that the issue with the emotional indifference from which the bride suffered is
gone. In fact, we have proof in the
opening portion of this chapter that it is indeed emotional indifference and
not physical separation that is the problem.
When the young daughters of Jerusalem ask the bride where they can find
her beloved, she knows precisely where to tell them! Her beloved has gone to the garden. Again we can see that this is a classic human
condition of marriage. Two people know
where to physically find one another; but occasionally one of them lacks the
passion to desire to emotionally find the other.
Yet this
problem is able to be overcome. If we
can skip over the beloved’s section (the “He” part) and continue on with the
words of the bride, we can hear that she went to the garden to see if it was in
bloom. She wanted to see if the garden
was still in blossom. Symbolically, the
bride is saying that she went to find her beloved to see if indeed his love was
still there for her. She went to see if
reconciliation was possible. She went to
see if love still blossomed between them.
The Response
Before
dealing with verse 12, let’s return now to the response of the beloved. We can see that Solomon’s position towards
his wife is unchanged. Many of the same
images that were used to describe Solomon’s stance towards his wife on the
night of their wedding (Song of Songs 4) are repeated here. I’ll let you
revisit my post on that chapter if you would like to refresh what those images
represent. What is important in today’s
text is that in spite of his bride’s emotional barrier towards him, he has not
ceased to love her. In fact, he has not
ceased to love her in the same way.
That’s the
hard part about true reconciliation. We
as human beings are changed by every event in our life. It’s so easy for one spouse to say to
another, “I can forgive this, but it’s going to change how I relate to
you.” From a human perspective, that is
incredibly true. But from a divine
perspective, nothing could be farther from God.
When we sin, does God look at us and say, “I’ll forgive you, but now I
love you differently?” Does God say,
“This has changed how I see you?” No,
God see our faults and loves us in spite of them. He loves us so much in spite of them that He
sent His Son for us. He loves us the
same yesterday, today, and tomorrow in spite of the ways we have failed Him, we
do fail Him, and we will fail Him. From
this perspective, Solomon’s statement of love to his bride is quite an
incredible and awesome declaration of God’s love. In spite of the emotional
barrier that she had put up between them, Solomon’s love for his bride remains just
as true this day as the day that they were married.
Honestly? I’m in awe of the profoundness of this
passage. I’m also in awe of how I have
failed to live up to this example. I
daresay every one of us can make that comment.
I see that I have a need to grow in my marriage. I believe I have let life change me as a
husband too much. Sure, some of the
changes are for the good – and I’ll keep those changes around. But I’m sad to confess that not all the
changes are for the better. I can learn
from Solomon in this regard.
Shulammite
As we look
to Solomon’s response, it is now the right time to turn to verse 12. This verse is labeled “one of the most
difficult verses to translate in the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures.” The problem is that the words used here have
so many multiple meanings. But as I
researched this verse, I stumbled across a translation that I really like: “I
became enraptured, for you placed me on the chariots of the people of the
prince.”
Here’s why
I really like that translation. Listen to
how it speaks to Solomon’s love for his bride.
He took his bride – who had built up a barrier between them – and as a
sign of forgiveness he placed her upon his own chariot. Solomon took his wife and elevated her into a
position of prominence. Instead of
holding her confession against her, he exalted her. This verse – if we can accept this
translation – makes a profound statement towards Solomon’s forgiveness.
Then we
end this chapter with the verses containing the strange name: Shulammite. This is a literal transliteration of the
word. But the literal meaning of this
word in Hebrew is “Solomoness.” Quite
literally, it is the title for the woman with Solomon. It is the title indicating that
reconciliation is complete. It is a term
of intimacy and belonging and relationship.
It is a word that conveys that there is Solomon and his beloved. Separation is no more. The marital union is restored.
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