Come in Love

Read Psalm 127, Song of Solomon
 
Song of Solomon 2:10-15 My lover said to me, “Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one! See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. 12 Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”
 
WE have this one lesson in Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs. Some look at this entire book as a metaphor to describe Israel’s and then the church’s relationship with the LORD. This makes sense because God has formed the human heart to love him and to love others. He has also formed humans to be very intimate creatures, expressing great love toward him and toward a spouse. Marriage is to be the world’s view of a true love relationship with God.
   But the evidence of this romantic poem is more correct to see this as a love song between Solomon and a Shulammite, a young virgin woman. A third voice, “Daughters of Jerusalem” could be the woman’s friends or possible wedding party. Some believe she is Pharoah’s daughter Solomon married. We’ll look at this Scripture in light of both human and God’s love. Song of Solomon can be an expression of loving God. But more so, it is a celebration of sexual love.
   Love awakens. Springtime is often used in poetry to emphasize emerging beauty and life. This is a new relationship. Falling in love can be a new season of life as we experience the world with a refreshed view.
   How good to know the winter is past. Flowers bud and blossom, doves coo, announcing spring’s arrival. Fig trees put forth their early fruit. Grape vines blossom, spreading their fragrance just before the grapes appear. Spring becomes vibrant through sight, sound, taste, and smell.
   We know these two love each other because they desire to be together. Love is a catalyst for a couple to find time to be alone – even after and especially when you are married! Solomon likened his beloved to a dove that hides in caves out of the light, hesitant to join him in the countryside. He urged her to leave her home, to come and join him in a loving relationship.
   “Come” begins and ends this invitation. The one who loves invites the one he loves. Is this also an illustration of the Lord Jesus’ invitation inviting you into a “spring-like” life of sensory and physical joy with him? Might obeying Jesus’ love command, “Come, follow me.” open your life to new experiences of special wonder?
   Yes, it’s true. In a God-based relationship, we can see God intimately at work in our emotions. Reading through the Song of Solomon will help you grasp the high value on true human love. Loving our beloved is loving God. There is nothing more stimulating than a God-based love. 
   True love fulfills one another. Truly loving God fulfills your life.
 
One More Note: See the reference to the fig tree having fruit in March. Many have criticized the passage in Matthew 17:18-19 where Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree at the Passover feast, which is in spring. It is said that fig tress did not have fruit then, so Jesus shouldn’t have expected it. But the Creator knows his creation. Small edible buds or late ripening fruit from the previous year were common on the early spring trees.