Song of Solomon 8:1

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 8:1, “O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.” The husband and the wife are separated because the husband is on a trip. The wife is thinking of how much she wishes that they were together, and she is thinking of ways that this would happen much easier. If he was her brother, he would be there all the time. Another thing to remember is that marriage is the closest of all family relationships, and so you can take all the other family relationships and what they mean, and replace them with the marriage relationship. Once a man and woman get married, their marriage relationship is now the most important of all the relationships. That is why it says in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Some people do not know how to properly switch from mother or father to their spouse, and that can cause many marital problems. This wife in Song of Solomon understood that her husband now represented all family relationships for her.

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 8:2, “I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.” Here is a young bride who wants to have her husband home, but the woman still realizes that she can learn from her mother. She said that her mother would “instruct” her. Too bad that more young adults do not realize how much they can benefit from their parents’ wisdom and experience. Older means wiser, or at least it should. You do not know everything. When you first enter into marriage, you have so much to learn. If you are a Christian, you want your marriage to be a testimony to what Christ has done for you.

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 8:3-4, “His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
[4] I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.” This is, of course, a very romantic relationship. God has given to this man and this woman true love. This is love the way it should be in marriage. She looked forward to when she would be able to kiss and hug her husband again. At the same time, this wife was always thinking of her husband’s needs. In verse 4 she was making sure that he got the sleep that he needed. In verse 2 she was saying that she would get him the best of drinks to quench his thirst. She said, “I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.” One of the great values of marriage in addition to love and affection is having someone to help you with the practical needs of life. Two is better than one. Instead of having two hands, you have four hands. Instead of one head, you have two heads, etc. That is what God was saying when He invented marriage between a man and a woman. It says in Genesis 2:18, “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him an help meet for him.”

The Bible says in Song of Solomon 8:5, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.” The wife is leaning upon her husband. There is a symbolism here. She relies upon him and depends upon him. She has confidence in him. This can be a dangerous world. It is good for a woman to have such a man by her side as her companion on the journey through life.

The wife is speaking to her husband and says in Song of Solomon 8:6, “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.” The wife brings up a critical point that every married couple should remember: the importance of faithfulness. She says to her husband, “Set me as a seal upon thine heart.” She gives a reason that he needs to do that. She says, “for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave.” “Love is strong as death.” Love is the most powerful force in the world. Nothing is stronger than love. Love conquers all. It is probably that way because God is love and He is the All-powerful One. The place where love is supposed to manifest itself the most is in marriage and the family and then branch out from there. One of the great passages on love is found in First Corinthians 13:1-13. In the King James translation, you need to remember to change the word “charity” to “love” because the word used in the Greek is best translated as “love.” It says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.[2] And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.[3] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.[4] Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,[5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;[6] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;[7] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.[8] Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.[9] For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.[10] But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.[11] When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.[12] For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.[13] And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Love is as strong as death, and death is really strong. No one shall escape its grasp. Death draws everyone to its clutches. No one has the power to back away from it. Each day we are closer to this irresistible force. Love really is like that. Just keep loving in every way that you can for one reason because of how strong a force that love is. It is better to love than to hate anyway. But in the final analysis love will conquer all. God is love. Many have been drawn into the arms of God through the love of Christ, and God wants to use believers to show that love. Every day God is drawing people to trust in Him through the power of His eternal love. Love God with all the heart. Husbands love your wives. Always love what is good, and always love your enemies. Remember that love is as strong as death.

If you are married and have love between a man and a woman as a gift from God, then you are blessed indeed. But be careful. You had better always remember the warning that this wife gave to her husband. You can lose what you have, and there is one thing for sure that has the power to ruin it: unfaithfulness. God says in the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” This wife said in Song of Solomon 8:5, “jealousy is cruel as the grave.” Even Jesus said that fornication (unfaithfulness) could cause any marriage, including those made in heaven, to end in divorce. Jesus said in Matthew 19:9, “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”

Song of Solomon 8:7 makes two great statements about love. It says, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.” This is one of the reasons that you want to make sure that you marry someone who loves you, and who loves you exceedingly. This kind of love is one of the important ingredients that will help your marriage endure. You want your spouse to have the type of love that water cannot quench. There will be floods that will come against the love that you both have for each other: the floods of separation, the floods of disagreement, the floods of annoyance, the floods of trials and temptations, the floods of disease and sickness. How will your love endure the afflictions of time and life on this earth? It must be true love that only comes from God. Before you get married, ask God for wisdom to be able to identify if this other person really loves you. Just because you are fixated on them does not mean that they really love you.

The second thing that verse 7 says about love is a truth that we all know, but it is good to be reminded: love is one of the valuable things in life that money cannot buy. It says, “if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.” If you are truly loved, you are rich indeed. One of the great purposes of life is to love and be loved, and the God of eternal love has given you and your spouse true love, He has given you something more valuable than millions of dollars. All true human love is symbolic of the love of God that is showered upon us through Jesus Christ. Even if you never find a human to love you like it is represented in Song of Solomon, you can always have the love of God which is far better.

The wife says in Song of Solomon 8:8-10, “We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?[9] If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.[10] I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.” It is interesting that right at the end of the book the wife puts in this information about her little sister. But I can think of why the Holy Spirit gave her these words. This wife knows how much her husband loves her. She knows that her husband loves everything about her, including her figure. But then she realizes that her sister does not have the same kind of figure that she does. Does that mean that her sister will have to go through life without finding a husband to love her and to love everything about her? Notice the solution that is given. The wife says about her sister in verse 9, “If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.” They will do other things for her to adorn her to make up for any differences. Always remember this: God made females to be prettier than the males. Every female is pretty in some way. And every female will be pretty and will be attractive in every way to the man that God has prepared for her. Once you find the man that God has prepared for you, he will love your figure and you will love his. God is not against a woman adorning herself, as long as she remembers that she is trying to catch her husband, and not everyone in the world. It is sad to see women who are in the entertainment industry who think their careers are dependent upon being attractive to all men. A Christian woman only needs to attract her Christian husband. Remember that a Christian man who has his priorities right values a woman’s Christian character above her appearance.

The wife says in Song of Solomon 8:11-14, “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.[12] My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.[13] Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.[14] Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.” This is one last expression of the wife’s desire to have her husband with her once again. She is not complete without her husband. She is not satisfied without her husband near her. That is why the separations are so difficult. A man needs to be aware of this need that the wife has. The husband should limit, reduce, and eliminate any trips whenever he can. When God brought a man and a woman together, He meant for them to share life together, not apart. The woman knows this better than the man sometimes. Of course, this symbolizes how the Christian needs to always be close to Christ. Some women get angry at the man when he is not there, or they turn to complaining, which will not help. But this wife in the Song of Solomon just kept longing in a positive way for her man to be back with her. That is why she said in verse 14, “Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.” She is asking him to come back as quickly as possible, just like a deer running across the side of a mountain. “Lover come back to me.”

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