*this is writing 2 in a series of studying the Song of Solomon.
The opening chapter of the Song of Solomon reveals a facet of His character- a “face” of Jesus if you will, a tender-hearted shepherd. Getting to know Jesus in these different facets opens our eyes toward His character and His attributes in addition to forming a deeper relational bond to Him. The Shulamite begins by telling of her desire for her beloved and confessing her love and then we see that her love is directed toward this face, the shepherd.
Chapter 1, verse 2, “the kisses of His mouth”, speak of words, and in the light of ‘trusting God’, words are very important. Desiring His voice, His words, to be spoken to us, over us, and reinforced is not because we don’t trust Him, but because we need His words over us to bring us life. His word is alive and is life to us.
“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12, AMPC
His words are like water to our soul. We must have His word to live. His word is His bond. He will do what He says He will do and this is where we learn to trust Him and His leadership. When we live under the counsel of His word, we are refreshed and His leadership is reinforced in our lives. This is so critical that the entire book of the Song of Solomon is written on this foundation- the kisses of His word are revealing His love, which is better than (wine) any pleasure on earth. He designed us this way in fact, not that we would forget His love, but that the very essence of needing it and tasting of it to see that it is good, keeps us coming back to Him throughout life’s difficulties. This is the need for affirmation, really a need for intimacy with the shepherd we trust to lead and protect us.
In essence, verses 1:2-4 are saying, “I trust your word, and I need to hear it constantly! As long as I am close to you, I can do anything!” The confidence we receive gives us the trust in relationship and partnership with God. We would be naive to think that hard times wont come, that confusion or discouragement will never find its way to us. With any relationship, there will be ups and downs, times where we are confident and times we are in utter distress. This condition of the human heart we relate with when the next section of verses talk about the Shulamite’s view of herself as “dark, but lovely”. There are equal and opposing truths present and always will be.
Yes, I am sinful, imperfect, weak and broken. Yet, I am holy, pure, adored and lovely to Him at the same time. It reminds me of this old hymn, “I am covered over”, that says:
I am covered over with the robe of righteousness that
Jesus gives to me, gives to me;
I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus
And he lives in me, he lives in me,
Oh what joy it is to know my Heavenly Father loves me so,
And gave to me, my Jesus,
When He looks at me He sees not what I used to be, but
He sees Jesus, Jesus
THE PERFORMANCE = ACCEPTANCE SYNDROME
Chapter 1, verse 6 is commonly understood as being so busy with working for others (ministry to the church, or the second commandment) that we can neglect ministry to God (the first commandment).
“Do not look upon me because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me, they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.” SOS 1:6
While that is a true interpretation, there’s a few more things happening in this verse to frame the dilemma more accurately. Number one, is that it was anger that put her in the position of taking care of the vineyards- almost as if she wanted to make everyone pleased, or be a “peacekeeper” by this. The motivation to care for the ‘vineyards’ of the brothers (fellow church folk) was out of anger and accusation toward her resulting in the fear of man to preform. This obviously led to what I call, “performance-acceptance syndrome”.
Doing the right thing with the wrong motivation or stresses will most definitely set you up for building something that can only be sustained by more of the same.
The fear of man, the pressures of both real or perceived expectations, cause us to get busy in a way that forsakes our own growth in God. Even something as simple as giving time to others, good things, like volunteering, is still taking time from somewhere else. In our efforts to please God, our family, our church leaders and our community we must be careful we are not exchanging time in the secret place, and especially not for the wrong reason.
We can feel that taking bible courses, attending conferences, and things like that will increase our spiritual life, and perhaps they will, but we are to be on guard that that we aren’t doing things that seem spiritual for others, but are really things God is showing us to do for our spiritual growth.
JESUS IS WORTHY OF OUR TRUST
This is another facet of trustworthiness. This is believing that God’s way of leading you truly is the good path rather than succumbing to the pressure you feel others put you under to perform, measure up or keep up. I have often struggled with this because people are constantly suggesting books to me to read, giving me books, teaching etc. and referring to, “did you hear that word from prophet so and so…?” or “did you read…?” I have had to resign that I can not keep up with the latest books, teachings or even the news like some others, and thats ok! But there was a time I thought that was a reflection of my worth- having a beat on the ground, knowing what’s going on in the world, being studied while raising a family, cooking from scratch, having hobbies, etc.
What matters is how God sees me, not my jaded perception of myself through my lens or others. This is the critical reason to be a good ‘keeper of my own vineyard.” Trust in God. Trust in His love. Trust that His love is enough.
Our Lord is a tender hearted shepherd, full of grace and truth, constant and constant in His love for us. Consistent in reaffirming us through our trials and toils of labor. Tenderly speaking to us and drawing us back to Him, proving over and over how trustworthy He is.