Year 2, Day 350: Song of Songs 8

Well, here we are in another very familiar position.  Here’s a difficult book in the Old Testament that I was a bit cautious about going into.  We’re now closing at the closing chapter and I’m finding myself sorry to put this book back on the shelf.  I’ve enjoyed this book far more than I expected.  I’ve learned from this book in far ways than I could have anticipated.

Relationship Restored

As we conclude this book, we see that the relationship is indeed restored.  The first three verses speak to the intimate bond that is once again present.  There is a desire for the bride to care and nurture her beloved.  There is a desire for the husband to become a part of her family.

In verse three, we can also see the desire for the bride to be embraced.  One of her beloved’s hands rests underneath the head while the other hand reaches around her and embraces her.  She doesn’t want to only support her husband; she wants to be supported by him.  What a wonderful image of the give and take of marriage.

Do Not Awaken Love Until The Time Is Right

Then we get to verse 4.  Once more we hear the repeated line.  Do not awaken love until it pleases.  As we get to the end of the book we discover the fullness of this verse.  Why do we not awaken love?  We should not awaken love until the people are mature enough to deal with the ebb and flow of love.  We should not awaken love until the people are mature enough to struggle through the lows and not just soak up the highs.  We should not awaken love until the depth of love is there.

I can’t explain the amount of wisdom that is brought about by repeating this verse where it is repeated in this book.  People are quick to jump into “love.”  Shoot, I was quick to jump into “love” before I was ready and mature enough to go through the valleys and the mountaintops.  This is such a culturally apropos teaching.

The Most Valued Possession In Marriage

In verses 5-7 we hear the true completion of the book.  Spouse looks to the other spouse and asks to be the seal upon the heart and the arm.  A seal is a form of protection.  A seal is also a form of ownership – perhaps belonging is a better way of explaining it.  The beloved is to be the most valued possession in a marriage – protected and treasured.

Then we are told that love is as strong as death.  It would be easy to read this verse and hear it as a comment about love existing through death.  We want to hear that in this verse.  But that isn’t really what this verse is trying to say.  This verse is saying that love is as strong as death.  What is the strength of death?  The strength of death is that it is a universal truth in all of our lives.  We shall all die.  Thus, the author is saying that love is universal in our lives as well.  We all need love.  In fact, as we look to the end of this same verse we are reminded of the flame of the Lord.  We all need love.  We all need God.

Memories

The last section of text, verses 8–14, read as a flashback.  The others remember when their sister was young – prior to meeting Solomon.  They were concerned for their sister and the day she would be married.  Would she be strong and prepared?  This would indicate that she was ready to be built upon with respect to a family of her own.  Or, perhaps she would be unprepared and “open” – like a door – to the shallow advances of just anyone?  This would represent that the community would need to shield her from the advances of those who might not be interested in her best interests.

The neat thing about this speech from the “others” is that it shows the communal desire to prepare the young for the rest of the life.  To me, what this piece of scripture emphasizes is the “it takes a village to raise a child” mindset.  The others talk about how they looked out for the bride.  They were willing to evaluate her.  They changed their approach to her communal upbringing based upon the character and maturity she demonstrated as a person.

The bride’s own testimony was about her maturity.  She was a wall.  She was chaste.  She was prepared to receive a husband.  She didn’t need the protection of the others.  Her community supported her and taught her well, and it showed.

We end this book on a significant note.  The beloved and his bride call to one another.  They call longingly to one another.  Their passion is not fading, but growing.

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