You Have to Know Him to Understand
“What is your beloved More than another beloved, O fairest among women?
What is your beloved More than another beloved, That you so charge us?” (Song of Songs 5:9 NKJV)
Comparing Bridegrooms
The daughters of Jerusalem are asking the bride (or bride to be) what makes her guy so special. When looking at her answer you will never convince me that looks are not important to a prospective partner. And as we look at the rest of the book, the bride (or bride to be) is described in physical terms as well. Now we can say that basing a relationship on “good looks” is shallow, but facts are facts and often that is the first thing that attracts people to each other. However we know that attraction can be fleeting, particularly as we age. It can also be misleading once we get to really know each other and their habits.
It is always nice to see people who are really in love. And this gal basically says that her guy is head and shoulders above anybody else. And then she begins describing him starting at his head and ending at his legs. She then goes back to his mouth and not only does he look good to her, what he says seals the deal. She says, “His mouth is most sweet.” And then she concludes by saying, “Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem (Song of Songs 5:16 NKJV)!”
It appears that they are attracted to each other physically but that they have seen something in the character of their partners that make how they look that much more special.
The Symbolic Meaning of this Song
Obviously, the bride is the church and the bridegroom is the Lord Jesus. We who claim to be believers should be as infatuated with the Lord as the bride in this poem is to her bridegroom. Are we?
We don’t know what the Lord looked like before the cross but after the cross he was so disfigured that he was not recognizable. Do we look away because of his disfigurement or do we see those wounds as proof of His love for us?
We do know that because of the words that the Lord spoke, for those of us who believe, His mouth most sweet. Do we hang on his every word? Do we enjoy it when he speaks to us through the Scriptures that were written for us and in many cases to us?
Comparison to Other Gods
There are many other gods in the world that people worship. The biggest one is the god, “Me, Myself and I.” We want to decide for ourselves what the standards are for morality and truth. This is the god of the atheist in my humble opinion. But it is also the god of many who call themselves Christians today. They don’t seem to understand that when we were set free from sin (the devil), we were set free to serve righteousness (Christ). We were not set free to do as we please.
Then there are all of the other religions in the world and while I don’t have a handle on them, I know of no other religion with a God who would die for me. You might say, “Why that is a cruel thing that God would ask His own Son to suffer and die on a cross so that sinners could have eternal life.” And you would be right. I would never have planned a salvation like that, but of course, I would have had compassion on sinners without requiring justice. I would have let people “off the hook” so to speak.
God let me “off the hook” by demanding that His Son bear the punishment my sins deserved. And the Lord has told me over and over again that when I trust Him, that makes Him happy and it satisfies God on my behalf.
What is my beloved more than another beloved? He did something that no one else could do or would have done if they could. He died for me. He prays for me. He calls me His friend.
I love the words of an old hymn that say,
No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There’s no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O how much He cared for me.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of October 24, 2021