Today’s Reading: Song of Solomon 1-2
This
book of the Bible introduces itself as the “Song of Songs,” which is a Hebrew
way of saying, “The Greatest Song” (similar to saying “King of Kings” or “Holy
of Holies”). It appears to be authored by Solomon and contains eight chapters
of love poetry. It is actually a collection of poems meant to explore the human
experience of love and desire. Although authored by Solomon, the main voice of
the book is that of a woman, portrayed as “the most beautiful of women.” The
poems flow back and forth from the woman’s voice to the man’s voice shifting
from scene to scene and expressing their deep love and affection for one
another.
In
addition to this being a Hebrew collection of poetry reflecting on the Divine
gift of love between a man and a woman, this book also metaphorically reflects
on the love between Jesus Christ and His beloved bride, the Church. This view
of the book was inspired by Paul the Apostle’s words in Ephesians 5, where a
husband’s love for his wife is presented as a symbol of Christ’s love for His
Church (Ephesians 5:25-32).
In
Song 2:10, we witness the joy and excitement of the woman as her beloved calls
out to her and invites her to “come away” with him. You can sense in His call
that there is not a hint of regret, or dissatisfaction, or second thoughts.
Nothing would please him more than to finally be in the arms of the one he
loves. We see in this a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ calling to His Church,
who He views as “beautiful and truly delightful.” (1:15) He calls His beautiful
bride to “come away” with Him. He has no regrets. He has no hint of
dissatisfaction with His Bride. He has no second thoughts. Jesus loves His
Bride, the Church, and sees Her as pure and unspoiled. As a follower of Christ,
He is not displeased with you, or dissatisfied with you in any way. His love
sees beyond all of your human imperfections and He views you as “perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:4) He is in love with you!
We
often think of how anxious we are to finally be called home to Heaven by our
Beloved Savior. And that day is coming soon when He will say, “come up here.”
(Revelation 4:1) But don’t miss the amazing truth that He is just as anxious –
and infinitely more so – to have us in His everlasting arms. He longs for the
day when the “Marriage Supper of The Lamb” will be ready and we will share in
His Divine love for eternity.
No comments:
Post a Comment