Read Song of Songs 1
Friends
6 Where has your beloved gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way did your beloved turn,
that we may look for him with you?
She
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he browses among the lilies.
He
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as majestic as troops with banners.
5 Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is missing.
7 Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
8 Sixty queens there may be,
and eighty concubines,
and virgins beyond number;
9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised her.
Friends
10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
He
11 I went down to the grove of nut trees
to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.
12 Before I realized it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.
Friends
13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
He
Why would you gaze on the Shulammite
as on the dance of Mahanaim?
Go Deeper
The MacArthur Bible Handbook separates Song of Songs into 3 segments: The courtship (leaving), the wedding (cleaving), and the marriage (weaving). Chapter 6 falls into the “marriage” segment, specifically celebrating restoration within the marriage after its first major disagreement in chapter 5. In chapter 6, we see how Christian community helps restore a marriage.
The new bride (the Shulamite) is looking for her husband in an attempt to reconcile and express her love for him. What makes this example of restoration even more beautiful is the support and encouragement of the “others” or “friends.” The passage opens with them asking the woman where her husband is, concerned about the division within marriage. They then offer to seek him with her. They are showing concern, encouraging her, and offering to help with the process by giving their time and effort.
Marriage is God-sustained! These Others are following God’s admonishment in Galatians 6:2 that brothers and sisters should “carry each other’s burdens.” We see examples of this play out in other parts of the Bible, such as in Exodus 17:12-13 when Moses’s friends held up his arms for him in battle when he was exhausted. God ordained things are always worth our effort, and the Others are encouraging this!
Once the married couple has been reunited, the Others exclaim, “return, that we may look upon you.” They are sharing the joy of something that is holy and good! This feeling is likely akin to watching the bride and groom being united on their wedding day. Psalms 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” When we fix our joy in the Lord, our hearts will be more attuned with His, and we will find joy in the things that are holy and good like He does.
When we encourage the things of God, we help God’s will to be fulfilled on this earth, ultimately for our good and happiness! Therefore, we ought to surround ourselves with fellow believers and be the community for others. When we do this, we allow God to work through others to point us back towards Him and the things He has ordained!
Questions
- Are you open to friends speaking into your life and encouraging you towards God?
- Do a self-inspection. Are there any areas of your life that you are not allowing others to speak into? Why is that?
- Are you encouraging your friends towards things of God? In what ways?
Did You Know?
Per the MacArthur Bible Handbook, at the time that Song of Songs was written, Greek worship of gods and goddesses was already fully developed. Major deities included Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, Ares, Demeter, Athena, Hermes, and Artemis.
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3 thoughts on “Song of Songs 6”
I read of a secure, confident wife in this passage. She only speaks once, and she closes by saying, “ v3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he browses among the lilies.”
The friends were concerned because he was not with her, but she confidently states she knows were he has gone.
Is that not the confidence that we are to have in God? She spoke of truth—the covenant of their relationship. That even if we don’t feel Jesus near sometimes, he still loves and adores us greatly.
In the meantime, we remain and abide in his promises and love, and encourage each other of his return.
Bringing community in to your marriage will either be very hard, or way to easy. Hard is you do not want to admit you and spouse are having difficulties. Easy is, you are telling your friend everything any way but so far that person is not most likely speaking godliness into your situations. Early in our marriage I had a group of people and a good friend who spoke Biblical truth to me about my marriage. We were not having much difficulty but it was a blessing. After we moved away we muddled our way through without the community, still had the good friend speaking into our lives. All that to say it is a true blessing to have Godly community speaking into your marriage or having a few folks that truly LOVE God and are serving Him to surround you in all of life’s trials but especially newly married.
“Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam. So drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.” (Proverbs 17:14) “Without wood a fire goes out. Without gossip a quarrel dies down.” (Proverbs 26:20) The commentary for Life Application Study Bible says the following concerning this verse: “Talking about every little irritation or piece of gossip only keeps the fires of anger going. Refusing to discuss them cuts the fuel line and makes the fires die out. Does someone (like your spouse) continually irritate you? Decide not to complain about the person, and see if your irritation dies from lack of fuel.”
Life and death is in the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 so we need to be bring life into to all we speak to whether spouse or children, friends, and even foe.
God thank you for my words today (and every day) that they are seasoned with You and Your goodness. God thank you for how you have blessed our marriage above and beyond all we both could ask. Thank you for the marriages in our church body for blessing and good communication in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!
We are blessed with an amazing Life Group, a biblical community that we share life with. It is both a gift and privilege that amazes us. The love, prayer, support, encouragement and wise counsel are invaluable as we navigate life together. We’ve carried each other through the greatest sorrows and celebrated the sweetest victories. They are the hands & feet of Christ to us and others.