"For
lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the
earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard
in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the
tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come
away!" Song of Solomon 2:11-13 NKJV
Although I have shared this post before, it just seems every spring that it is appropriate to share it again. I am not sure if it is just part of a natural expectation resulting from a long winter or a prompting from events in the Middle East but for whatever reason, here it is. The news that the United States is going to move its embassy to Jerusalem in May to coincide with the anniversary of Israel becoming a nation might well prove to be significant beyond expectations as a sign that we are near to our date of departure. In any event, let's look at Solomon's thoughts today from his book Song of Solomon.
Did
you look forward to your wedding? Did
you possibly get a little more impatient the closer you got to the actual date? I think most of us have either participated
in our own, or observed someone else in this position and understand the
impatience and anticipation someone approaching their wedding day experiences. This though, raises a question in my mind
which I would like you to consider as well.
Since the Church is described as the bride of Christ, and the Word also
tells us He is coming to take His bride home at a future date, do you think
Jesus is experiencing those same feelings of anticipation and impatience that
we do?
When
is the last time you heard a sermon taught on the Songs of Solomon? To be completely honest, I don't recall
personally ever having heard one. Which
truthfully seems to be a shame because if you believe that all scripture is
inspired by God, and all scripture is profitable for instruction, you are then
left with the question as to why this book was included in the scripture and
what is its message? As Solomon wrote
this song to a Shulamite woman who he had fallen in love with, it is in essence
his love song to her as he is courting her with the intent of making her his
bride. You don't need to read very far
at all to understand the depth of his love for her, and the anticipation he has
for the day she will become his own.
Seen
in this light, it appears to me that this song can easily be considered to be
what Jesus is feeling as He looks forward to His wedding to His bride, the
Church. Although the Jews have always
looked at this book as signifying God's love for the nation of Israel, and it
easily could be, I can also certainly see Jesus' love for the Church and His
anticipation for the coming wedding in it as well. One of the many interesting things I found
while reading this book was this description of his intended which Solomon gives
us in chapter 4.
"You
are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you." Song of Solomon 4:7 NKJV
The
fact that he sees no spot in her immediately brought to mind the description of
the Church Paul gives us in the book of Ephesians.
"Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without
blemish." Ephesians 5:25-27 NKJV
For
many reasons, I can read this book and picture Jesus writing these words in
anticipation of His future wedding with the Church. Yet as long as we are going to talk about a future
wedding, it would also seem appropriate to consider the possible timing of it,
and see if Solomon gives us any clue as to when that might take place. Notice his description in the passage from
the second chapter, and everything that he says there. It is obvious that Solomon is talking about
the season of Spring, and all of the things that occur in Israel during that
particular time.
"For
lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone."
Solomon
tells us that the winter is past, as well as the early rains which normally
fall in March and April. It is these
early rains which help start the growing season in Israel.
"The
flowers appear on the earth;"
One
of the things I, and many others appreciate most about spring is watching all
of the flowers reappear after hiding under the snow for the winter.
"the
voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land"
Did
you know that the turtledove is a migratory bird? It normally leaves in the fall and returns to
Israel in the spring.
"The
fig tree puts forth her green figs"
The
fig tree normally produces its first crop in the spring, usually harvested in
early June.
"And
the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell"
The
grapes are on the vine ripening in preparation for the coming harvest which
normally occurs in July.
The
late Ray Stedman had this to say about this passage from Song of Solomon;
“There is the
springtime of life. But it doesn't lie in the past. It lies in the future. One
day this whole world will experience a springtime like that. The Lord Jesus
Christ, returning at last to claim his waiting bride, will greet her in words
very much like those. The springtime will come, the time of singing, the time
when earth shall blossom again and the curse will be lifted and the flowers will
appear on the earth. This is a picture of what can take place in the heart of
one who falls in love with Jesus Christ and enters into springtime. The cold
winter of loneliness, misery, and selfishness is past and the time of singing
has come”.
All
things considered, I think it is safe to say that Solomon was anticipating a
June wedding just like many others have.
Spring has certainly proven over time to be the season of choice when it
comes to weddings, and the wedding stories in the Bible are no exception. Many believe the Church is rapidly
approaching its own wedding in Heaven, and a close look at the state of this
world certainly seems to support that belief.
One day, very soon it would appear, the Church will hear the groom call
out for it to "come away" just as Solomon wrote in this passage. It is my prayer that you have made the
decision to accept the gift of eternal life offered by the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ for your sin, and that you are part of the body, the bride of Christ
which will live with Him forever in the place He is preparing for us.
Keep
watching.
