Song of Songs 2

Song of Songs 2
Christian Standard Bible
​
2 I am a wildflower of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.

Man

2 Like a lily among thorns,

so is my darling among the young women.

Woman

3 Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banquet hall,
and he looked on me with love.
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,
for I am lovesick.
6 May his left hand be under my head,
and his right arm embrace me.
7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.

8 Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
See, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:

Man

Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.

14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.

Woman

15 Catch the foxes for us--
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards--
for our vineyards are in bloom.

Woman

​16 My love is mine and I am his;
he feeds among the lilies.
17 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the divided mountains.

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Although this is mostly a song sung back and forth between Solomon and the Shulamite Woman, who would become his first wife, it is also tells the story of how much God loves us for He is our Husband, and we are His Bride.  Therefore, there are many names for God that come out of the Song of Songs, a couple of which are right here in this chapter--The Rose of Sharon and The Lily of the Valley.

It may sound strange to imagine this poetry being between the LORD and us, but that is part of the underlying theme of this book--the LORD loves us passionately (though not in a sexual way, but in a much stronger covenant love way that we call Agape love in the New Testament and Hased in the Old Testament.  Both are much deeper, stronger forms of love than erotic love that we normally think of when we read the Song of Songs, but this is a man pursuing his soon-to-be bride that he is willing to sacrifice everything for to enter into a lifetime covenant love relationship.  God loved us so much that He literally gave His own life for us so that we could have an everlasting covenant relationship with us that surpasses marriage (though that is the closest thing we can compare to it) that lasts even after our physical death because He is able to give us eternal life.

This brings deeper meaning to "I'm my Beloved's and He is mine" and "His banner over me is love" that we start to read about here and will continue to read about in the Song of Songs.

The theme of these verses about fruit ripening for harvest and protecting the harvest from the wild animals that destroy the harvest.  The role of the husband here is not only to comfort, but also to protect and defend.  The woman is seen as priceless, and the man sees her great value.  We know we are not priceless, but Jesus is priceless, and the Father sees His Son when He sees us.  That is the only reason we have worth and value--because of the surpassing worth of the Lord Jesus Christ.  So, when we read this song, we should understand that we are only beautiful because He makes us that way.