Love is not just about the relationship between a bride and her
bridegroom. It is much more wonderful even than that. In this chapter,
the poet mentions some new subjects, like love between brothers and
sisters. And the poet shows how love continues after marriage and even
to death. Love is, he says... [ Continue Reading ]
A WONDERFUL SONG ABOUT LOVE
SONG OF SONGS
_MARK KIRKPATRICK_
CHAPTER 8
THE WOMAN
V1 I wish that you were like my brother.
My mother fed him at her breasts.
Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you.
Nobody would say that it was wrong!
V2 I would lead you to my mother’s house.
She is t... [ Continue Reading ]
Such a little girl can show love to her brother in many different
ways. She can stay with him, and she can lead him about. She can take
him into her home. She can make a special drink for him.
That drink is wine. Its juice comes from *pomegranates. It contains
*spices. Elsewhere in the Song, those... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman repeats her words from 2:6-7. If she were still a little
girl, she could show love for her brother. But at that time, she could
not show love to the man who would become her husband. Even when she
became a young woman, she could not express love to him until the
right time. There is a prop... [ Continue Reading ]
As she walked, she leaned on him. She walked close to him. And she
depended on his strength.
The passage that follows is difficult to understand. But it is a
beautiful passage.
At its start, the passage mentions an apple tree. In 2:2-5, the woman
used an apple tree as a word picture for the man. S... [ Continue Reading ]
A *seal is a mark. Its purpose is often to show that someone owns
something. The mark is permanent. The woman mentions the *seal to say
that their love is permanent. It will last for their whole lives. It
is so powerful that they must never end it.
Love is as strong as death. This husband and wife... [ Continue Reading ]
Plentiful water can put out a fire. But nothing can put out love.
Nothing can destroy real love.
Love is not something that a person can buy. It is a gift. One person
gives it, without price, to another person. Or God gives it, without
price, to us.
Love does cost something. It costs the person wh... [ Continue Reading ]
After such serious matters, the poet returns to the subject of
children.
The woman’s brothers were cruel to her. They forced her to work hard
(1:6). But that is not a proper way for brothers to behave towards
their younger sisters. It is clear from the Song that a woman’s
purpose is not to live lik... [ Continue Reading ]
The people answer their own question.
If people want a wall to be stronger, they build a *parapet over it.
If people want a door to be stronger, they put boards round it. So,
the answer is clear. The family must look after the girl well. Then
she will become stronger.
But the family do not just wa... [ Continue Reading ]
The young woman seems pleased with the answer that the people have
given. She compares herself to a wall with strong *towers. By the
*towers, she means her breasts. This is not how the man described her
breasts earlier (7:3). He compared her breasts to small animals. But
now she refers to something... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman returns to the subject of her *vineyard. She mentioned that
*vineyard in 1:6.
It was not usual for women to own their own land in ancient Israel.
Sometimes they might receive land after their fathers’ deaths, if
they had no brothers. So we cannot really say how she began to own
this land.... [ Continue Reading ]
The gift in verse 12 is very precious. But the man does not just
appreciate his wife’s gifts! He genuinely loves her. He loves to
hear her voice. He respects her, and he gives her honour. He asks her
to end the Song.... [ Continue Reading ]
Other people are present (verse 13), but the woman does not speak to
them. Instead, she speaks only to her husband. She wants to show her
love to him alone. She invites him to join her. Like the *gazelles and
the *deer, he knows the right time for love. And she does too. The
right time is now. And t... [ Continue Reading ]