Are our marriages on earth meant to be a jubilant foreshadow of the marriage of the Lamb, a joyful celebration? Let’s look at Song of Songs 6.
Acting as narrators, what do the young women of Jerusalem ask the Bride?
Where did your beloved go, most beautiful of women? Where did your beloved turn, so we may look for him with you? (Song 6:1 ISV)
How does the Bride answer the question from the narrators, the women of Jerusalem? Does the Church ask where Jesus has gone?
My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. (Song 6:2-3 KJV)
What did the groom say to his beautiful bride? Did God love Israel? Does Jesus love His Church?
You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As majestic as an army with banners. Turn your eyes away from me, For they have overwhelmed me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have leapt down from Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil. (Song 6:4-7 LSB)
When a man is truly in love, how does he look upon his bride? How did God look upon Israel? How does Jesus look upon the Church?
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And young women without number; But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother’s only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her. (Song 6:8-9a NASB)
How did the young friends of the bride describe her?
The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her. Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession? (Song 6:9b-10 NIV)
When love came into his heart, did an ordinary stroll through the garden seem like a royal pageant? Is it like a return to Eden, as Jesus marries His Church?
I went down to the garden of nuts To see the verdure of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded And the pomegranates had bloomed. Before I was even aware, My soul had made me As the chariots of my noble people. (Song 6:11-12 NKJV)
Do the young women want to gaze on the Bride? Did the Groom ask why they look while the Bride dances between two lines?
Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again. Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? (Song 6:13 NLT)
Is the Church to be married to Christ, as a pure virgin, without sin?
For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you in marriage to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (2 Cor 11:2 WEB)
Are our marriages on earth meant to be a jubilant foreshadow of the marriage of the Lamb, a joyful celebration? You decide!
