Introduction: In our last time together, we learned of the sweet bantering between the Shulamite and the shepherd. This was not a lover's quarrel but what happens so often between two lovers in love.
* He may say, "You're pretty!"
* She replies, "You're handsome!"
* To which he says, "Your prettier!"
* To which she insists, "You're handsomer!"
* He says, "You're the most prettiest!!"
* She banters back, "You're the mostest handsomest!!"
* On the bantering goes. It is not that they disagree; they are just being sweet. So it is here...in our story.
We have learned that she referred to him as a sweet smelling perfume, spikenard. She then refers to him as a little bag of myrrh she wore on a necklace which laid next to her heart all night, literally, all the time. She kept him close to her heart. She also compares the shepherd to "...a cluster of camphire." She just couldn't get him out of her mind. To her, he was the handsomest man in the entire world. The thought of him just lingered and lingered.
His words are quick in reply, "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes." In essence, he says to her, "No, it is YOU who is beautiful, not me!" Then, he says, "...thou hast doves' eyes." It meant, plain and simple, she only had eyes for her shepherd...and he knew it!
As the bantering continues, she says to him, "Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant..." She says, "No, it is YOU who is beautiful!" Love is not just an investment but also an exchange. It was important for him to say she was fair; it was just as important for her to say he was handsome. This was their friendly fire, not an argument.
Chapter two continues with this kind of chat between the them.
1. The Shulamite speaks. - Song 2:1
"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys."
- Her words continue from chapter one...
- Though we draw a much more precious picture than what is drawn here for us, she says to him that she is merely just another wildflower that grew profusely on the plains there.
- She fires a friendly shot at him disclaiming his assessment of her fairness by calling herself a simple flower of the plain, a common lily that grew in the lowlands.
- This reminds me of George Bailey complimenting Violet's dress in "It's a Wonderful Life." Her reply was, "What, this ol' thing? I only wear this when I don't care how I look!"
- She cared but enjoyed the compliment and truly wanted to hear more.
2. The shepherd speaks. - Song 2:2
"As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters."
- He turns her shot into a misfire by using her own words to compliment her once again.
- Compared to the rest of the women, even those in Solomon's harem, he saw her as a lily among the thorns.
- The phrase, "my love," is feminine showing that the shepherd is the one speaking here.
3. The Shulamite speaks. - Song 2:3
"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."
- The phrase, "my beloved," is masculine showing that the Shulamite is the one speaking here.
- She compares him to an apple tree among the wild trees that grow all over.
- She found him to be a place of refuge and refreshment in her life. Notice what she says:* "...I sat down under his shadow with great delight..."; refuge and comfort.
* "...his fruit was sweet to my taste."; refreshment and sweetness.
4. The Shulamite continues. - Song 2:4-7
"He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. 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."
- She recounts the fact that she knows he will care for her even in light of what Solomon had to offer her. Solomon sat at his banqueting table; her shepherd provided a banqueting house for her as well. The word used here did not mean a huge palace, it meant an arbor where grapes are grown. Little is much when God is in it!
- Notice the phrase, "...his banner over me was love" in verse 4. The word "banner" is the Hebrew word "degel," denoting the standard or flag given to each of the four divisions of the host of the Israelites when they left Egypt. She knew the thing that would get her through this ordeal and out on the other side, with some sanity, was his love for her.
- Verse 5 speaks of the strength he provided for her during this time of trial.* Stay = strengthen.
* Flagons = raisin-cakes.
* Comfort = refresh.
* Apples = "an apple a day..."
* Sick of love = weak because of his love. She was hungry for it. Solomon could not satisfy this desire of hers.- Verse 6 speaks of what she knows her shepherd can and will do for her, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me." It is a phrase that speaks of what she knows right now and what she will experience always and forevermore. He will sustain her with strength and will embrace or hold her up.
- Remember, she is weak because of love. Solomon has taken her, and she wants to go home and marry her shepherd. She is so weak and sick in her spirit because of all of this.
- Verse 7 is sort of a jab at the rest of the harem. She addresses them with masculine words. (Like our saying to a group of girls, "Hey, guys," only stronger. A drill sergeant might call his men "girls" when addressing them.)* She charges the harem not to try to excite or entice [stir not up nor awake] her to change her affection [my love] from her shepherd to their king or anyone else. The only way it would change is if either one of them desired it.
Conclusion: "Steadfast" is a good way to describe this Shulamite. She loved the shepherd to the point it made her sick because of being deprived of him.
Does it even bother us if we are away from the Lord? It should. Gordon Jensen wrote:
I can still remember the wonderful feeling
Back when I first got to know You.
It seemed the world was mine.
I had joy, I had spring time
But that's all just a memory anymore.
I guess I took my eyes off You, Lord,
But I don't want this callous feeling anymore.
Oh, bring back the way it was before.
May it cause us to be sick of love if we are away from the
Lord!