Song of Solomon 2

We suggest Song of Solomon 2.1-7 should be connected with the thoughts of chapter 1. The end of verse 7 seems to suggest a suitable conclusion. verses similar to verse 7 are repeated several times throughout this Song.

In verse 1 we read: "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." This verse could refer to the Bridegroom and to the Bride. In Hosea 14.5 we read: "I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." verse 2 reads: "As the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters." The Bridegroom was made in all points like unto the Bride. He was one among the many in the field, so to speak. For this reason, he has deep sympathy for the Bride in her day among the thorns (temptations). "But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands." (II Samuel 23.6) .Sharon was noted for its beauty and fertility. In springtime, it was adorned with red and white roses, narcissus, carnations and white and orange lilies. Its beauty and glory was referred to by the Lord Jesus: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." (Matthew 6.28—29). The beauty of the rose is typical of the blessings of the kingdom (Isaiah 35.1-2) These thoughts of beauty and glory can be transferred in a personal sense to the Bridegroom and the Bride, the lily and the rose of the valley of Sharon. "So is my love among the daughters" - this seems to suggest "many are called but few chosen." The Bride will be the selected ones out of the many called to the Truth by the gospel.

It is quite likely that instead of the apple tree, we should understand the orange, and so the Bride referring to the Bridegroom says: "As the orange tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." We are reminded of such verses as Isaiah 32.1-2 and also Psalm 119.103: "How sweet are thy words unto my taste, yea sweeter than honey to my mouth." And again in Psalm 36.7: "How excellent is thy loving- kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light."

In verse 4. we read: "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." The banqueting house is the king's house of Song of Solomon 12.1, the house of pure wine, the house of feasting spiritually. "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat: yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" {Isaiah 55.1). "His banner over me was love" takes us back to Exodus 17.15: "The Lord is my banner" (Yahweh nissi) - "God is love“ .

"Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples(?) for I am sick of love", or R.S.V. "Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples(?)". The juice of the grapes well pressed out are the flagons, or a cake of grapes (R.V.). In this banqueting house, we can find true comfort and he stayed or strengthened in the hour of depression or spiritual sickness. There are times when all the servants of God need strengthening. There is the experience of Elijah who was sick unto death (I Kings 19.4): Daniel also was sick (Daniel 8.27). This house of wisdom is opened to all who seek after wisdom and spiritual food. (Proverbs 9.1-6).

"His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me." Here we see the care of the Bridegroom for His Bride in the day of her faintness and weariness, one hand under her drooping head, the other supporting her.

The Bride reconciles herself to the waiting period, knowing the Bridegroom will come at the appointed day. The reference to the roses and the hinds of the field is perhaps best understood by the peculiar characteristics of each, as pointed out in Proverbs 5.19: "the loving hind and the pleasant roe" . It may be an eastern expression for pleasant characteristics.

From verse 8 to verse 13, as already suggested, we have a vision for the benefit of the Bride, reminding her of the glory set before her, as a comfort and 'staying' power during her time of anguish and waiting for the fulfilment of the promise, "I will come again". The Bridegroom is seen leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills, like a roe or a young hart, a picture of perfect health and divine strength, joy and gladness, a vision of immortality (Isaiah 40.31). But her beloved "standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice." The time has not yet come for the Bridegroom to manifest himself in a personal sense, he is away in heaven, separated from his brethren (behind the wall), but he looks upon his Bride, in fact he stands behind the door and knocks (Revelation 3.20). He is ready to help and comfort her.

The next verses 14 to 17 take us back to the days of adversity and tribulation. The vines are not fully developed, the grapes (the fruit) are tender, the foxes are destructive, as ever. The day of redemption is not yet. In verse 14, the Bridegroom expresses his desire to see the Bride’s countenance and to hear her voice, even in the day that she, as a dove, dwells alone "in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs." This word "stairs" is translated "steep places" in Ezekiel 38.20, and would refer to the steep places about the rock. Perhaps it is difficult for us to realise that the Lord Jesus desires to hear the voice of his brethren and sisters and to behold their countenance, or manner of life. The word 'dove' is very interesting. It is first mentioned when Noah was about to come out of the ark. Noah sent out a dove three times. On the second occasion, the dove returned with an olive leaf in its beak. Under the Mosaic law it was reckoned as a clean bird fit for sacrifices. At the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit of God descended like a dove and lighted upon Him. The dove being in the clefts of the rock and the steep places of the rock reminds us of the homing instinct of the pigeon tribe, which cause the pigeon to traverse hundreds of miles unerringly to its desired home. The instincts of the Bride are Zionward — even Israel after the flesh has similar instincts. (Isaiah 60.8) "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows" (cotes).

"My beloved is mine and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies". Here we can think of the words of John 17.17-19.

"Until the day break and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether (separation)". The Bride is counselled to get to the mountains of separation, that is to remain in her separated condition in which she commenced her waiting for the Bridegroom, and not to touch the unclean, keeping herself unspotted from the world, its ways, its pleasures and pastimes, its forms of speech and fashions, in all things showing indeed she has been called out from the world. While she is waiting in this separated condition (upon the cleft of the rock), she purifies herself with myrrh, and her incense ascends to the throne of grace, and so she finds help in time of need. A roe or a young hart flees and hides when danger is near: "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself." (Proverbs 27.12)