Song of Solomon 1 – 2
This book is one of those books that can be taken two ways, either it’s a love poem to his wife or a poem to God. Either way it is beautiful prose. Verse 1:2 opens with an expression of love:
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
There is no doubt that this is the romantic love and not a love of friends. Just based on this one line I have a difficult time with the idea this is a love letter to God. Although that is the interpretation that some draw from this book, I tend to take it as face value. When I express love to God it is not with the idea of kissing. As we read we will explore areas where the implication is between God and Israel.
The phrase “your love is better than wine” has always made me giggle, since many can’t stand wine. I know as a child through my early 20’s I could not stand wine so a verse like this would make no sense. Once I started tasting quality wine it made a little more sense, but still I assume it’s the feeling and not the taste. If it were taste and I was writing it would be “you love is better than crème brulèe!”
Verse 2:1 can be considered as an analogy of Jesus:
I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
Many interpret Jesus as the rose, but that becomes a stretch I believe since the illustration is way too vague. The idea is this book pictures Jesus’ “bridegroom” love for his bride the church. Again, you really have to dig to find this connection, unlike most of the other prophecies of Jesus that are relatively blunt or make total sense once you know the story of Jesus. So again, read this as a love poem and apply it to the love of your life.
Verse 2:17 talks about the enduring love each have:
Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.
She adoringly gives qualities of animals to her love; the gazelle is swift and responsive while the stag is strong and dominant. Both are qualities of a man who can protect his love and ensure she is always safe. I fail at this often since Katy is so capable and I have been sucked into the “equality movement”. She can build stuff and repair engines like few men can. This often blurs the lines between the roles and often makes me forget she needs help.
One thing I never have stopped doing is opening doors and treating her with respect. I don’t stop giving her that kiss good bye, be it a short jaunt or a long business trip. Just often expect the deck to be finished or the 4 wheeler’s engine to be rebuilt without my input. I need to read this more often and rekindle our love from time to time.