Song of Solomon – I sought him but found him not

Song of Solomon 5

As we come to the closing of our study in the Song of Solomon, we begin to bring things together to a close and reflect on what the song has been about from start to finish.

However, first we start with the shepherd speaking. It is a picture of joy and happiness, and many take it to signify a wedding. I also think that we are still eavesdropping on the dream of the heroine of the song, the Shulamite girl – dreaming of what it will be like on her wedding day with her lover, and their guests at their wedding feast. There is the image of the garden again, the image of her love; but this time, instead of the garden being locked, it is thrown wide open as she prepares to welcome her shepherd lover, who in the dream is now her husband. Whether it is a dream or reality, these verses are packed with vividness, intensity and drama.

Her lover, now her husband, has returned to her, and comes knocking at the door. Strangely she refuses to open, either she is teasing him or she is sleep and is slow to respond. The excuses she makes are rather thin, so it would appear that the latter is the case. She has only just completed her preparations for the night and dare not get her feet dirty by opening the door. She’s undressed already and in bed. But eventually she gets up, only to find that her slowness has tragically been rightly rewarded. Her dream husband is no longer there, he is gone. Love is not to be played with. She rushes out into the street as she is, into the night, seeking, searching, asking. The dream turns into a nightmare as she is assaulted by the night watchmen; and then, I think she wakes up suddenly from the dream, and with a cry from the heart addresses the other women in the harem, calling for her lost lover.

Her questioning leads to a further mocking question from the women in the harem, and gives her the opportunity to describe her lover.

It’s common in middle-eastern love poetry to find descriptions of women, but rarely of men. Here he is described, the shepherd, as healthy, tanned, strong. And something else, tucked away in the last verse. This is my beloved and this is my friend. For those of you who are married, and for those of us who are not, when we look at marriage – ours or those we know of – can it be said that the married couple, beloved in one sense of each other, are also friends? Whenever I counsel young couples who come to me to ask for a Church wedding, we go through the service and what it means generally, and what it will mean for them specifically. And I always, always say to the couple: the love you have for each other at this moment is great, it is wonderful, it is a thing to be delighted in and cherished. But if it is to last, if it is to sustain you throughout your lives together, you must also be friends. Unless a marriage relationship, and probably every other one, is based on a deep friendship, it will struggle to survive.

Love is the basis of so many good things, but always woven into it should be the thread of lasting, deep, committed friendship. An ornament to give further beauty. A sinew to give real strength and flexibility. The love that embraces mutual friendship is the love that invariably lasts and endures.

This ancient love poem talks not only of the love between a girl and her shepherd, it also speaks of the love between a believer and their God. Who comes to the door and knocks, but who may not wait forever for us to respond. When we do, however, the love that He offers will be found in a deep and abiding friendship. How is your friendship with God tonight?

Song of Solomon 8:1-7

The Song comes to an end. The girl, trapped in the harem, resists the mockery of the other women, and the blandishments of King Solomon who seeks to win her over with jewels and splendour. She holds fast to the love she has for her shepherd. This ancient love poem has had much to tell us about the love God has for His people, and how we are encouraged to relate to God.

In the first four verses the Shulamite girl speaks once more of her love. She wishes that he was like a brother to her, no incestuous thought here, simply that in the society they lived, and still among the Bedouin tribes today, public displays of affection were only permissible between parents and children, and brothers and sisters, not lovers. What the girl desires is the freedom to express her love and for it to be acknowledged publicly. Once again she sees herself with her lover in intimate embrace, the use of that lovely picturesque phrase again, O that his left hand were under my head, and that his right hand embraced me. Again she warns the women of Solomon’s harem in Jerusalem not to awaken such a love unless they were really prepared to give themselves over to it wholeheartedly.

But the scene moves on. In v5 the girl at last gets home, free from Jerusalem. Had even the mighty king Solomon relented and released her from his harem? It would appear so. The girl and her shepherd are pictured approaching their village home, and v5 is probably a question on the lips of the villagers. The girl has left behind the court and its luxuries and allures. She is now back home, in every sense. Her own folk see her arriving, supported by her shepherd after all their trials and travails. Verses 6 and 7 are a moving description of love by the girl. She asks her shepherd lover to set her as a seal upon his heart, as a seal upon his arm. This seal was an ornament that marked ownership or possession. The seal around the neck was a necklace, and so it would be close to the heart. The seal on the arm would be like a bracelet. And so we have this very intimate description – the shepherd is to possess her and love her privately, on his heart, and publicly, on his arm. Their love is to be as irresistible as death; none can resist the power of such a love. It is all-embracing, all conquering, just like the love of God. This true love is not only unquenchable, it is also unpurchaseable. Solomon may have made attempts to buy the girl’s love with all the luxuries his court could afford, but she had refused. She knew the priceless value of love.

With this powerful message of love our study comes to a close. Reading this short book we are challenged to look at the nature of love in our own lives, the quality of the relationships we have with those who are around us. We are also, perhaps more deeply and fundamentally, challenged to look at the relationship of love that we are supposed to have with God. A challenge which comes to us each time we gather at the table and we are reminded of what He did, at Calvary, through His Son, because of us, and for us. There indeed is a love that was stronger than death, that overcame the jealousy of the grave, that could not be quenched or flooded by all the evil of the world. There, with a price beyond money and possession, we were redeemed and saved. And for that we can give our heartfelt thanks tonight.

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