Song of Solomon 2:1

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 2:1-5, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.[2] As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.[3] As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.[4] He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.[5] Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.” The phrase “I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the Valleys” actually refers to Jesus. Jesus is the most desirable of all. Jesus is the Lover of our souls. Jesus is the One who should be first above all else. That was the testimony that John the Baptist gave when he first spoke about Jesus. John said in the Gospel of John 1:15, “John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.” John said that Jesus was “preferred before me.” John gave Jesus the place that Jesus should occupy in every believer’s life: first place. If you are going to be a follower of Jesus, you must look at life in this way: Jesus first and me last. First you must say it and believe it, and the hard part will come: to actually put it into practice when something comes along that you really want.

It is interesting that the husband said about his wife in Song of Solomon 2:2, “As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” We have a similar phrase that we use today when we say that someone is “a rose between two thorns.” This phrase is another way of saying, “I only have eyes for you.” It is easy to have a commitment to just one person when you marry a person that you really feel about in this way. Do not marry for money, or status, or convenience, or because of a guilty conscience. Marry for love: the kind of love that only God can give to two people for each other.

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 2:6, “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.” I would not try to read too much into this verse, other than the fact it is another of many verses in this book that demonstrate how much this husband and wife love each other. They caress, they kiss, they hug, and they love on each other. That is what marriage is supposed to be: a loving relationship.

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 2:7, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.” You only want to marry a person who truly loves you. How do you recognize such a person? How do you tell if the person that you think you love really loves you? One important way to tell is in the little things in life, do they show a genuine interest in your well-being. As in the example here in verse 7, if they do not care if you get rest or not, you might want to question their love. If they do not care that you get hurt or not, you might want to question their love for you. Do not marry someone who does not love you.

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 2:8-17, “The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.[9] My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.[10] My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.[11] For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;[12] The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;[13] The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.[14] O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.[15] Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.[16] My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.[17] Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” If you are like me, you have never heard a “turtle” as is found in verse 12. Actually, the word should be translated “turtledove.” It is a part of the singing of birds that symbolizes how happy this couple is with each other.

In these last few verses the husband and wife are separate from each other. They are in separate bed chambers. That is not hard to imagine because the husband here is King Solomon. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and so there would have been many bed chambers for all those women. This is a good place to point out the fact that having all those women did not make Solomon happy. As a matter of fact Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes 7:28, “Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.” Back in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon is talking about finding a soul-mate. He said that out of a thousand he could find one man that could be his soul-mate as a friend. But out of a thousand he could not find even one woman to be his soul-mate. By the time we get to the book the Song of Solomon, we see that Solomon eventually did find just one woman to be his soul-mate. Solomon’s life is one more example that God’s plan is for one man and one woman to be united together. God did not plan for one man to be united with many women. That will never work. It did not work for Solomon, and it will not work for anyone else.

Back to Song of Solomon 2:8, “The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.” This is the wife talking, and she is saying that she realizes how much they hate being apart, and she knows that her man is coming to her as soon as he can. He misses being with her so very much. As soon as he gets there, he looks through the window just to get a glimpse of the one that he loves. And so the wife said in verse 9, “My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.” Of course, the husband enjoys looking at his wife. This is something to remember: God gave you the looks and the body shape that He meant for you to have. Do not be too hard on yourself. The one that God has chosen for you will love you and will love your appearance. But this husband did not just want to see his wife, he also wanted to be with her, and so he called her to leave her chamber and come and be with him. He said to her in verse 10, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” The time had come for them to be together once again. There is a time to be separate and there is a time to together, but you will never be happy until you are together once again with your beloved. This symbolizes being in fellowship with Christ. Once you are a true Christian, you cannot be happy unless you are in fellowship with your Savior. He is always calling you to be in fellowship with Him. That is the importance of First John 1:9. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You can be in fellowship with Jesus because He will always forgive you and receive you. One of the reasons that human relationships fall apart that were once very loving relationships is because of this inability to understand the importance of forgiveness, or to be able to forgive, or to be able to ask for forgiveness. Jesus knows the importance of forgiveness. He died on the cross so that He could forgive us. And Jesus is always willing to forgive anyone no matter how great is our failure, nor how often we fail. Too bad that many people are just not able to do that. How many marriages have failed because of this? The day may come when you cannot count on someone, but you can always count on Jesus.

In verses 16 and 17 the wife continues her theme of comparing her dear beloved husband to a deer. She said, “My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.[17] Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” Remember that the husband was coming to the wife perhaps after a journey. One of the things that a deer, “a young hart,” is known for as well as being a beautiful animal to behold, is its swiftness. The wife is looking forward to the husband returning to her arms, and she wants him to come quickly “like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.”

In the next three verses this loving wife tells what anguish she felt when her husband was gone away on a trip. How much she missed him and longed for his return. The Bible says in Song of Solomon 3:1-3, “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.[2] I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.[3] The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?” Notice that she said of her husband in each of the three verses, “him whom my soul loveth.” If you really love someone, then you are only satisfied when you are with them. That is also true concerning your relationship with Christ. If you are a Christian, you will never be satisfied unless you in fellowship with Christ, walking “with” Him.

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 3:4-5, “It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.[5] I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.” Finally, they are together, and they retire for the night. Perhaps because of the husband’s long journey, he is very tired. At least he can rest with his love. Her concern is only for him. She watches over him while he sleeps.

In the next verses the wife gives an impressive description of the extravagant bed-chamber that she shares with her husband King Solomon. Solomon was the great king of Israel and he evidently spared no expense on this. She says in in Song of Solomon 3:6-11, “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?[7] Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.[8] They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.[9] King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.[10] He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.[11] Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.” Do not miss the practical element to this bed-chamber setup. The bride said that there were “threescore” (sixty) guards on duty to make sure they were protected. Remember that King Solomon had been given great wisdom, and he understood the dangers of this world. He was not blind to them, and he took steps of preparation in case the worse happened. Every leader of a country and every leader of a family needs to do the same thing. How do we defend our homes, our neighborhoods, and our country? Those who are not prepared might pay a high price.

One important point to make in these last few verses is the fact that this woman was married to the rich and powerful king. From a spiritual standpoint if you are a believer in Jesus, you have an even closer and longer-lasting relationship with the King of kings. Your King is richer and wiser and more powerful than anyone, of course. Jesus will have no problem protecting you or providing for you. You can be confident and secure and trust Him. This is one of the benefits of being a Christian.

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