Love, Reluctance And Loss
Opening Prayer
Father, I thank You for leading me by Your Word. May all I do today be pleasing to You.
Read SONG OF SONGS 5:2—6:3
2 I slept but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my flawless one.
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe—
must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
must I soil them again?
4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened for my beloved,
but my beloved had left; he was gone.
My heart sank at his departure.
I looked for him but did not find him.
I called him but he did not answer.
7 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak,
those watchmen of the walls!
8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you—
if you find my beloved,
what will you tell him?
Tell him I am faint with love.
Friends
9 How is your beloved better than others,
most beautiful of women?
How is your beloved better than others,
that you so charge us?
She
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.
11 His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by the water streams,
washed in milk,
mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spice
yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies
dripping with myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold
set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as its cedars.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, this is my friend,
daughters of Jerusalem.
Friends
6 Where has your beloved gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way did your beloved turn,
that we may look for him with you?
She
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he browses among the lilies.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Open communication in a relationship is extremely important.
This is probably another dream sequence. It may seem odd, coming straight after the apparent consummation of the marriage. If the Song is an anthology of poems on different aspects of a love relationship, with sexual intercourse in marriage at its center, the oddness disappears. The woman responds reluctantly to her lover’s call. Her reasons seem flimsy. Is she teasing him? If so, the ploy goes wrong. Playing with someone’s emotions can damage a relationship. Is the reluctance genuine? In a good marriage there are times when one partner does not feel ready for love-making. Unless discussed sensitively and openly this can provoke hurts that adversely affect the relationship. When the woman eventually opens the door, her lover has gone.
As she looks for him in the streets, the watchmen abuse her. The sudden appearance of her friends in the middle of the night is odd if this is an actual event. Their response to her plea to help find her lover sounds mocking (5:9). She replies with a wasf describing his beauty, moving from head to feet. It is not a description to enable them to recognize him in the street but describes how she feels about him. It moves them to join the hunt (6:1)! Her response to them (6:2,3) is odd unless “his garden” is the woman herself (4:12). Then it can be seen as an expression of confidence in him and the full restoration of their relationship (Isa. 50:2; Jer. 7:13; Hos. 11:2).
Sometimes Israel did not respond to God’s call. Christians may think of the picture of Jesus knocking at the door. Sometimes we respond reluctantly when God calls us to a step of deeper commitment—and then find that he seems absent. However, we can still be confident that we belong to God and God to us.
Apply
Can you remember occasions when you responded only reluctantly to God’s call to take a step of further commitment? How do you think God felt? What happened subsequently?
Closing prayer
Lord, forgive me for when I have rebuffed You. Thank You for Your constant love and for not giving up on me but restoring our fellowship.
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