My dearest one, let me tell you how I see you -
you are so thrilling to me.
To gaze upon you is like looking at one of Pharaoh's finest horses -
a strong, regal steed pulling his royal chariot.
Your tender cheeks are beautiful -
your earrings and gem-laden necklaces set them ablaze.
We will enhance your beauty, with golden ornaments studded with silver.
As the king surrounded me at his table,
the sweet fragrance of spikenard awakened the night.
A sachet o myrrh is my lover,
like a tied-up bundle of myrrh resting over my heart.
He is like a bouquet of henna blossoms-
henna plucked near the vines at the fountain of the Lamb.
I will hold him and never let him part.
My darling, you are so lovely!
You are beauty itself to me.
Your passionate eyes are like gentle doves.
My beloved one, both handsome and winsome,
you are pleasing beyond words.
Our resting place is anointed and flourishing,
like a green forest meadow bathed in light.
Rafters of cedar branches are over our heads
and balconies of pleasant-smelling pines.
~ Song of Solomon 1:9-17 (tPt)
The Song of Solomon has much controversy and many commentaries conflict with each other over the meaning and purpose of the song. I'm not a scholar, but I do have a bit of an artistic personality so this week (as most weeks) I wanted to look at the portion of scripture with an artistic eye and poetic heart. One thing all agree on is this book of the Bible is a poetic song.
I'm going to ask you to put on your best artistic persona and reread verses 9-17 as if you were a poet.
Poetry and song is one of the ways we humans attempt to define the world around us. Often it describes our world in a way that is not literal but figurative, it defines a feeling, a mystic vision that words in and of themselves can't express. Music does the same. Something in a melody can evoke deep longing, or joy, or somehow express an ancient language our hearts know but our minds can't interpret. We settle into it and just let it linger and be, without definition, but somehow we know what is being expressed.
The poet in Song of Solomon is doing just that throughout the whole book. In verses 9-17, observations in the world are used to compare how the lover sees his beloved. How the lovers see each other and what they sense in their relationship together.
At the time, Pharoah's finest horse was spectacular. I don't know if you are like me, but my jaw drops when I see a muscular horse running in its splendor. The sheen of the coat, the sinews defining each movement, it's awe-inspiring.
The lover is then described with beautiful enhancements as earrings and gems ablaze surround her neck. Imagine the glimmer of sapphire, emeralds, amethyst, gold, and silver. She is royal in his eyes.
In verse 12 the Shulamite describes her response to her lover. She mentions the fragrance surrounding them: spikenard, and the bundle of myrrh resting against her heart, then she describes him as the henna blossoms of En Gedi (fountain of the Lamb). All these are rich with meaning beyond the times when this was written, but isn't that so often what we find when we open our Bible? After all the Word is alive (Hebrews 4:12).
Spikenard is a spice, a costly aromatic perfume. It was often used for preparing a body for burial. This was what the woman who anointed Jesus before His death broke open for Him. She followed the call deep in her heart to express the depth of her gratitude and love for Jesus despite the lack of understanding of those around her (Mark 14:3-9). Jesus said, "She has done a beautiful thing to me (Mark 14:6b).
Myrrh was brought to Jesus at His birth by the Magi, it also was an embalming spice associated with suffering. Historically myrrh resin was put into a sachet and placed between the breasts, over the heart. Body heat causes myrrh to express its fragrance. What an amazing picture of bundling our Savior's suffering love over our hearts allowing them to emit the fragrance of His grace.
Henna blossoms instead of being made into a resin like myrrh, were picked fresh and carried to emit the sweet fragrance. The Hebrew word for henna is a homonym meaning "atonement" or "redeeming grace". While we receive salvation due to Christ's suffering, we walk in atonement and the redeeming grace of Christ's resurrection which says we can be made new. No longer flawed by the sin of the world but seen through the covering of the blood of Jesus' redeeming love.
In the next portion of the scripture, the lovers express what they see in each other. They are enamored by each other's beauty. They are flipped out, crazy passionate for each other. Drawn to each other visually, physically, and in every way they create an intimacy that grows and thrives. "The green grass will be our bed; the cedars will be the beams of our house, and the cypress trees the ceiling. (Song of Solomon 1:9-17,GNT)
Another version calls their love a verdant garden. This garden is lush, green, full of life, and growing. I love this picture: Laying on soft green grass, the temperature is just right, a light breeze kisses your face as you stare up to the sky with cedar and pines soaring toward heaven emitting their fragrance, and next to you lays the one you love more than any other. Your heart is full to overflowing, hardly able to fathom the one next to you adores you, all of you, and only sees you as completely and utterly beautiful. You are his prized possession, and he is yours. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession (James 1:18 NLT).
I hope you will take the time to let each phrase stir your heart. What is your poetic soul hearing as you read this portion of Song of Solomon? What is the soft whisper of your Savior saying to you and singing over you? Take it in. You are beautiful to Him.
Prayer:
Father, thank You I am Your prized possession. Thank You I was the joy set before You Jesus. That You would give Your life out of love for me is hard to fathom. I am so grateful for Your love that reaches beyond space and time and rests as a sachet upon my heart. Let my life be a fragrant aroma pleasing to You, emitting the fragrance of Your grace to those around me.
This summer's challenge: sit quietly (or go on a walk) in His presence for five minutes each day. No agenda, no need to say anything, just sit (or walk) with Him in silence and see what He might stir in your heart. I am challenging myself to do the same. We just might find hidden treasure in the process.
(All Bible verses are from the ESV translation unless otherwise noted)
