Introduction: Solomon wanted this Shulamite girl more than anything. He apparently heard her desire for her shepherd and breaks into the conversation. This was not the first time this has happened.
Back in chapter 1:9-11, he did the same thing after the Shulamite spoke of her shepherd to the daughters of Jerusalem. It seems as if he was not going to let the Shepherd get the upper hand in the wooing of this beautiful young lady.
In Song 1:9-11, Solomon voiced his great admiration for this young maiden, "I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver."
It is the king himself addressing her. Here, he reveals his great admiration for this girl. He saw her differently than the other women in his harem. However, he does only speak of her appearance. After he addresses her in this way, she expresses that all she wants is her shepherd boy.
However, Solomon not only breaks into the conversation, he tries to use similar words used by the shepherd as he speaks of the Shulamite. Remember, in Song 4:1-5, the shepherd expressed what he saw in the Shulamite? Though this girl was not perfect, to him, she was! He loved everything about her. He loved her from head to toe and mentioned:
* Her eyes.
* Her hair.
* Her teeth.
* Her lips.
* Her speech.
* Her temples.
* Her neck.
* Her bosom.
Now, in Song 6:4-10, Solomon pours on the flatteries, "Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?"
Not to be outdone by a lowly shepherd, Solomon mentions:
* Her beauty.
* Her eyes.
* Her hair.
* Her teeth.
* Her temples.
* Her purity.
Solomon could only hope that his deceitful words would be enough to dissuade this girl away from her lover to himself.
I mentioned in an earlier study that there are three enemies we face every day when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. Those enemies are mentioned in 1 John 2:16, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
Our flesh, our eyes, and our pride always seem to get in the way. The world and its allurements are very influential in our lives.
The allurements of Satan are more than just lies or twisted truth. His wiles are well-thought out craftiness. He knows what he is doing to lure us away from our Shepherd. The Bible says, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11)
- "Wiles" are the "cunning arts, deceitfulness, and trickery" of the devil.
This is just what Solomon was doing to the Shulamite with his words. He wanted the thought of leaving her shepherd to be a pleasant one.
Conclusion: This all reminds me of another story found in Proverbs 7. I want to close with a Bible illustration taken from Proverbs 7:21-22, the story of the "unvirtuous woman." "With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks."
Just like the wiles of the Devil, the wiles of this unvirtuous woman were well-thought out, cunningly maneuvered, artistically crafted, and deceitfully done. Satan is well-aware of what it will take to turn our hearts away from the Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
- The unvirtuous woman knew what strings to pull in the heart of this simple young man.
- Solomon thought he knew what would pull the strings in the heart of the Shulamite.
- Satan knows what strings to pull in our hearts.* For Eve, it was the lust of the flesh.
* For Achan, it was the lust of the eyes.
* For King Uzziah, it was the pride of life.
God knew what would turn Solomon's heart away from the Lord. It was mainly women. When he disregarded the Lord's warning, the Bible says in 1 Kings 11:4, "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father."
Has Satan been pulling your strings?