Living UnReserved | 365 Days in the Song of Songs/Solomon

 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep Which have come up from the washing, Every one of which bears twins, And none is barren among them. (Song of Songs 4:2) Teeth are primarily not accessories for beauty. Their real purpose is not to sit pretty in the mouth but to help us chew and break down food into tiny bits so it's easy to swallow and most importantly to digest. Just like babies are naturally born without teeth and fed milk for many months after birth, Peter insinuates the same for newborn believers. He said in 1 Peter 2:2: as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, Paul expresses the same thought in Hebrews 5:13. he said: For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. Therefore, teeth are an indication of maturity—understanding and skillful use of God's word. When Joshua was faced with the greatest task of his life (leading Israel on a military campaign into the prom...

 Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead. (Song of Songs 4:1) The second virtue of the maturing Bride is coded in the Beloved's compliment on her hair. The most significant mention of hair in the Bible is in Numbers 6 when the Lord gave the Nazirite law to Moses. Nazirites were people who took a vow to be separated/consecrated to the Lord for some time. There were many rules they were to abide by, and some of them were abstinence from alcohol (wine), vinegar, grapes (dried or fresh), and dead bodies. The most significant law however was that no razor could touch a Nazirite's head until their vow was complete. If they were defiled/unclean before the vowed period was over, they were to shave their heads, offer a sin offering and start the vow again. If they however completed the vowed days without being defied, the shaved hair was offered in the fire on...

Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead. (Song of Songs 4:1) After the bride describes the wedding procession and invites the daughters of Zion to behold Solomon in his crown and witness the wedding procession, this chapter begins with the Beloved praising her beauty. Just like he did in SoS 1:15, he uses the word behold twice and emphasizes her fairness twice too. In his eyes, she was perfect and free from blemishes. Each believer in Christ is perfect and blame-free before Jesus, regardless of what they are or do. No matter our imperfections and struggles, Christ never ceases to see the beauty and purity He purchased by His blood in us. The Beloved did not hold back on opportunities to affirm the Bride's beauty. From verses 1-5 of this chapter, he describes seven features of the bride that represent the seven budding virtues of a maturing believer. The appeara...

  Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of the gladness of his heart. (Song of Songs 3:11) Our text specifically mentions that the daughters of Zion were to see King Solomon with the crown that his mother crowned him with on the day of His wedding. Jesus while he walked the earth never got married so Mary who bore him never crowned him as Bathsheba did her son in this passage. Who is this mother of Christ who crowns him? Revelation 12 spoke about the Child (Jesus) and the mother that conceived him though she was unnamed. Our clue lies in the woman's description. Verse 1 says she was: ...clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. The only other place the sun, moon, and twelve stars were used to represent a family was in Genesis. Genesis 37:9 said about Joseph: ...dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, an...

  Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of the gladness of his heart. ( Song of Songs 3:11) In the previous lesson, we said this verse was the Bride's invitation to the people of her town (in our case fellow believers) to see the king's beauty. The invitation was not directed to foreign nations (unbelievers) because the basic criteria for recognizing the King and His provisions for His Bride is to be a daughter of Zion. This is the only place in SoS where the daughters are called daughters of Zion and not Jerusalem. Let's look at the significance of this. The first mention of Zion in the Bible was in 2 Samuel 5:7. The Bible says David captured Zion, an ancient Jebusite fortress located in Jerusalem and it became the city of David. Many years later Solomon built the temple on Mount Zion a high hill in Jerusalem where David instructed him to do. Since then, Zion has bee...

  Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of the gladness of his heart. ( Song of Songs 3:11 When a great procession such as Solomon's passed through ancient towns, people often came out of their homes and left their workstations to watch. They came out not just to watch but to pay their respects and homage. We see an excellent example of this in Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21. The Bible says that as He rode through the streets on a donkey, multitudes came out to welcome Him. They spread their clothes and palm fronds on the ground before Him and sang His praise as He passed through. The bride instructs the daughters to go forth to see the King with His crown. This indicates that to behold Jesus in all His beauty and splendor, we must go out of our way. We must arise from complacency, go out of our comfort zones, and do more than the average Joe. We m...

In the past few lessons, we examined Solomon's palanquin as he traveled to his Bride. Some Bible scholars say this represents Jesus' entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem after His death, burial, and resurrection. We have established the meaning of each material mentioned used to make it and how they relate to Christ Jesus. There is however another perspective that relates closely to all we've said in the last few lessons. This palanquin was not just made for Solomon but for His Bride too. As Brides of Christ His palanquin is also ours. So, the palanquin represents the universal church of Christ. All who proclaim Jesus would journey through the wilderness of this world until they get to heavenly Jerusalem (our promised land) at the end of their lives. Concerning the church of Christ, much of the palanquin description retains its meaning but gains more significance as it applies to her. Just like Christ Jesus came out of the wilderness, His church also will come ...