Can the loving faithfulness of a monogamous groom for his one bride help us understand the love of Christ for the Church? Let’s look at Song of Songs 4.
Is this Solomon reevaluating his selfish, polygamous life and contemplating a life of faithfulness to one woman, or is this the shepherd bridegroom of his Shulamite bride speaking? Opinions are divided, so what is important to learn here about faithfulness in marriage and Christ’s love for His Church?
Behold, you are beautiful, my darling, Behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have leapt down from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young. Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil. Your neck is like the tower of David, Built with rows of stones On which are hung one thousand shields, All the small shields of the mighty men. Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle Which feed among the lilies. Until the day breathes And the shadows flee, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense. (Song 4:1-6 LSB)
How is this ideal bridegroom more like a faithful husband and like Christ’s love for the Church than the fickle, regretful polygamy of Solomon?
You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish on you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, You shall come with me from Lebanon. You shall come down from the summit of Amana, From the summit of Senir and Hermon, From the dens of lions, From the mountains of leopards. You have enchanted my heart, my sister, my bride; You have enchanted my heart with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand of your necklace. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much sweeter is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than that of all kinds of balsam oils! Your lips drip honey, my bride; Honey and milk are under your tongue, And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. A locked garden is my sister, my bride, A locked spring, a sealed fountain. Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates With delicious fruits, henna with nard plants, Nard and saffron, spice reed and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh, and aloes, along with all the finest balsam oils. You are a garden spring, A well of fresh water, And flowing streams from Lebanon. (Song 4:7-15 NASB)
How does the bride answer her lover, her husband? Do we invite Christ into our churches with such love?
Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. (Song 4:16 NIV)
How did Jesus set the example for every man, of a loving husband to His Bride, the Church?
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. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. (Eph 5:25-28 NKJV)
Can the loving faithfulness of a monogamous groom for his one bride help us understand the love of Christ for the Church? You decide!
