Song of Songs

I hope through this study you have found intimacy with Christ. I hope that even if you're still trying to get there, these words sink in and convince that Jesus' desire is for you. For me. For all of us individually. If we are ever going to be truly satisfied in life, we must answer his call as he gently draws us to himself - we must set him a seal on our hearts. 

As in the rest of the book, the bride gives such a feminine expression of love in these verses. She talks of spending time together, is enamored with their new life together, and prepares fragrant food and gifts for her beloved bridegroom. She also focuses more on their relationship than on his physical qualities: him being like a brother, kissing without being despised, enjoying intimacy, receiving physical support and the affection of her beloved.

In chapter 7, the beloved continues praising his bride. After reading it a few times, I found it easier to move past the interesting metaphors. These verses are such a masculine description of the incomprehensible beauty of the bride. 

What I love the most is the simple, feminine response by the woman: I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.

Sometimes I find nuggets of humor as I read the Bible, and for some reason verses 4 through 10 always give me a good laugh, more than all the other physical descriptions the lovers give one another. I take it seriously of course, but I can't say my husband won my heart by telling me my hair looked like a flock of goats or that my teeth looked like sheep pregnant with twins.

In this last part of chapter 5, the daughters of Jerusalem are asking the woman why her beloved is so special, why he's different. Why should they care? 

The choice of words by the woman may seem odd. Eyes bathed in milk? Ivory encrusted with sapphires?

"If you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love." 

This smacked me in the face.   

How easy it is for me to feel like the Lord has abandoned me, like he has left or hidden his face from me! Yet am I sick with love for him? Do I seek him and call him, waiting for his answer? Only sometimes.

I'm not sure if you're like me, but I have a tendency to be a little hard on myself. In weaker moments, I find myself tirelessly and hopelessly trying to make my garden, my heart in a sense, perfect.

I know while looking in the mirror this morning I found a list of things that was wrong: my shirt, the shoes, my hair - all wrong. As I was driving into work, I felt defeated at the idea of trying to figure out how to teach a certain topic. As I went to get ready for church on Sunday I changed my outfit three times

If only you knew how much this chapter meant to me. In the days before, I have talked about nourishment for our hearts. This is one of those things where I can get spiritual nourishment from. When at Franciscan, I joined a household; which is a group of women or men that gather together with same interests regarding their spirituality. The one I joined is called Love of the Lamb. Each household, has a covenant and a song that they sing and is dedicated to their household. My household song is based after this chapter. So when I start reading it, it brings me to a place that is so dear, where so many memories and hard times were made, this I know is something you will all be able to relate to. So hold onto that and read on.

You know when you are waiting for someone, every single sound and every single footstep is anticipated that it is the person you are waiting for. We are imprisoned in the evil thoughts of abandonment, the thoughts of loneliness, the thoughts of being unloved. But, the gazelle and young stag that we read about here is the ray of hope and freedom, think about it a gazelle and young stag has such freedom and joy, no boundaries. Yet, we sit here feel like we are caged in, so freedom is sitting there looking through the window at us imprisoned. 

I am a flower of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Like a lily among thorns,so is my friend among women. 

“Like a lily among thorns,”- a beautiful, delicate, unique flower among thorns. You are a lily among thorns. When you step outside your house in the morning, the harsh reality that it is not a flourishing lively Catholic world hits each and every one of our faces. We are called to be those lilies.

Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you shepherd,* where you give rest at midday. Why should I be like one wandering after the flocks of your companions?

We, as women, want to be loved; and when we want to be loved we don’t want to just be sitting in a room alone thinking, hmmm I am definitely feeling the love today. We have to see that love, we have to feel that love, we want to be a part of that love. Well, the woman in this verse just wants to be with her lover as well. Shepherd was commonly used as a word for Kings, so the woman just wants to be with her lover, she is referring to the King, Our King.

As we begin, the woman is the one that is speaking; and she is speaking to the King. She begins by having an interior dialogue with herself to finally a dialogue with the Beloved. 

Solomon's Song of Songs:  BELOVED: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love-making is sweeter than wine;

The woman in this dialogue is talking about how she wants to be loved by a man, the King. We can see that the King is our King too- God.  But, Beloved... that’s you.

Alright sisters, buckle up. Get those notebooks ready, your bibles opened and a blanket. We are going to be diving into one of the love stories of the bible, and what perfect timing, near Valentine’s Day. The book Song of Songs, can also be identified as the Song of Solomon or even the Canticle of Canticles. This book of the bible is located in the old testament and is a compilation of love lyrics and poems. The title alone means the greatest of songs.