Song of Solomon 5 WHY IS HE SO SPECIAL? The beginning of this chapter is the response of the Beloved to the invitation of the lover. Our Lord Jesus Christ longs for the fellowship of His people who He loves dearly. All the church of God has that is real and meaningful, is our heavenly Bridegroom. “He is my everything, He is my all,” is true of our Lord Jesus Christ to every child of God who loves Him supremely. In whatever part of the world they are, whatever age they are and in the situation in which they are found, they are all part of His blood-bought church. He shares with all the family of God that of which each one is able to appreciate and enjoy.
Some of His people experience the bitter myrrh of sorrow with the taste of grace given for grace needed. Others mainly know the blessings and sweetness of the honey of sins forgiven. Those who by reason of a life lived for the Lord, share the wine of mature joy that comes at the cost of going through the wine-press of life’s testing times and pressures. The Bridegroom enjoys the taste of fresh milk when those young in Christ are nourished and built up in their “most holy faith” by the sincere milk of the word of God.
The Beloved has enjoyed that which is His portion from the blessings of the garden, His loved ones. Then He turns to His friends who do what He commands as individual believers, and invites them to find their personal joy and blessings in that which pleases Him. When we find what we want in our Lord Jesus Christ, the world and all it offers, holds no attraction for us. “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” The exceeding abundance of His provision and His garden are all we need to fill our lives with purposeful labor and significant rewards.
Strangely though, it is possible for us to get used to all we have in Christ, and take for granted the fullness and fellowship of divine Persons and the family of God. In a state of lethargy or dream-like sleep, the lover-bride hears the sound of the voice of her Beloved, but does not rise from her comfortable bed to go across the floor to open the door to her Beloved. She doesn’t want to have to put on her coat and go to the inconvenience of washing her feet again.
A condition of half-heartedness in God’s people can come very quickly if we get occupied with ourselves and our own comforts in this world. It doesn’t take long to get so spiritually sleepy that we find excuses to not attend the gathering of the Lord’s people. Then our words of personal testimony relating to the Gospel become fewer and fewer. Private prayer and meditation on the word of God becomes shorter because other temporal and material things claim our interest and attention. But what about the Lord Jesus? What does He think when I don’t take time for Him? If I don’t make an effort to meet with Him regularly and maintain close fellowship, how does my self-interest affect Him?
Like the sleepy bride, when the hand of the Lord comes near, and we remember again what He went through to save us, and all the blessings He has provided for us, then we are moved in our hearts to rise to see Him and spend time with Him. His love for us has reached our hearts and we finally respond to His voice – only to find He has gone from us. It is harder to get back to the Lord than to get away from Him. Our self-centeredness and careless attitude toward the Savior, has consequences. To try to pray after not having prayed in sincerity for quite some time is hard. To get something from the word of God to feed our soul if we haven’t been regularly reading it, will take time and effort to actually hear His voice.
When heaven seems shut to us, and the word of God has become only a book to study, we will know the pangs of guilt and loss. It is at times like that we have to stop as individuals, and take stock of ourselves and seek to reestablish close fellowship with Lord. Fellowship and communion are essential for our joy and effectiveness, both in the local assembly and in the body of Christ. What has happened to “Christianity” in general, is that not a lot of people take it seriously. Biblical Christianity and what claims to be Christianity in the world are very different. Complacency has led to inconsistency. Inconsistency leads to lack of commitment. Lack of commitment soon become apostasy. People then claim they have “my faith and you have yours,” rather than faith in Christ. So now most so-called Christians are that in name only. They have never been born again by the Spirit of God and made a new creation in Christ. They are not in God’s family and are not in the true church even though they may be part of a local church.
The watchmen of the city, are the world’s representatives. They mock and scorn those who mix among the people of the world all the while claiming to be earnest Christians. Unbelievers expect those who God has saved to be different than other people. When there is no difference to be seen, professing Christians are despised. Man’s rules and requirements do not fit well into the life of a true child of God. There is a modesty in believers that is in contrast to brazenness in those who are popular in society. There is dignity rather than disgrace.
Humility and repentance are needed when we get away from our Lord. Hopefully there are vestiges of reality that still attract “the daughters of Jerusalem” to a genuine child of God who is getting back to the Lord. The reality of faith will be seen and heard when we speak of our Lord Jesus Christ. One who truly loves the Lord and knows Him as their personal Savior, will be able to describe Him as the One who is the perfect Man, who is the only Savior of sinners. He is pure and undefiled compared to the sinful people for whom He died. That sets Him apart from every other human being.
Beginning at His head, the lover-bride describes His deity. The bushy black hair speaks of His spiritual vitality and vigor. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He lives in an eternal now and never grows old. His strength and vigorous manhood and His eternal deity will never diminish. He is sympathetic and sensitive. His eyes of love toward His own are that of tenderness and compassion for His loved one. There is a fragrance in the revealed character of our Lord that comes from His countenance and His words of grace.
The strength and beauty of His hand give security to those He blesses. The sensitive feeling of our Lord toward His own people is more precious than the brightest of jewels. Our Savior knows and experiences the emotions of manhood and knows personally why they are important. His torso and legs indicate not only the heavenly glory of the Lord, but the security and holy purpose of God in maintaining His own people for Himself. Nothing will shake that which is set in the solid gold of divine purpose and authority.
In His dignity He is as large and imposing as great cedar trees. Wherever we read of our Lord Jesus, He is the most singularly imposing Person of all history in His words, works and ways. The bride’s description goes from the blessings of grace that comes from His lips to the on-going sweetness of His love and intimacy with those who love Him. Language fails to allow us to fully describe our Lord. But we who love Him, do so with our hearts as the One who first loved us and cleansed us from sin and guilt, has brought us to God and who has befriended us and our Friend.