Song 5:1 | KingComments | STEP | Here we see that the groom has accepted the invitation of the bride that she makes at the end of the previous chapter ( ). He has come into his garden. In the same way the Lord Jesus gladly accepts our invitation to be clearly present in our life. He is always present in our life, but we don’t always take into account His presence. He desires that our life should be for Him as a garden full of fruit for Him. This is only so if we make our whole life available to Him. It is not only about being His property, but also about being aware of it. Otherwise, to our dismay, we will discover that He is not there, while we believe He is, as presented to us in the following verses. But here He says: “I have come into my garden.” Our garden is His garden. Our life is His. It belongs to Him. Therefore also all that is in that garden is His. We see that in the ever repeated “my” in this verse. He enjoys every fruit in His garden i.e. every fruit in our life that is for Him. This pleasure is great because it is enjoyed in the relationship of kinship and love. This is evident from the way in which the groom addresses his beloved. He calls her again “my sister”, underlining his relationship with her, and “my bride”, underlining his love for her. He has previously called her so ( ). There it is about who she is for his heart. Here it is about what he receives from her, from her garden, which he enjoys. In this way the Lord Jesus also speaks to us with whom He has connected Himself, both by becoming like us, yet without sin, and by declaring His love to us. In that relationship He is present in our life to enjoy every fruit that is worked by Himself in our life through His Spirit. It may be that weeds have to be weeded in our garden first, which limits or even prevents the growth of fruits for the Lord. For example, we must change our reading, listening and viewing behavior if this has a wrong influence on our thinking or takes up so much time that we do not get to bear fruit. Then we can invite the Lord Jesus into our garden, but He finds nothing or, even worse, He finds weeds or sinful habits there. When the weeds are removed, there is room for fruit for Him. Then He comes to take that fruit. He comes only when there are fruits and spices that satisfy Him. The first fruit He has gathered is myrrh, “my myrrh”. Myrrh speaks of His suffering. When He comes to us, can we tell Him anything about His deep suffering for us? Together with the myrrh He also gathered His “balsam”, or, as it also can be rendered, “spices”. We literally see these spices at His burial ( ; ). His burial is, so to speak, surrounded by the fragrant aroma of His accomplished work. The Lord Jesus also finds food and drink in His garden. He eats there “my honeycomb and my honey”. Honey speaks of the natural relationships between the believers among each other. When our natural relationships are good, it is worked through Him and gives Him joy. He rejoices when a man loves his wife and when children are obedient to their parents. We can apply this further to all forms of authority that regulate the mutual relationships. Authority is outdated, as practice shows. We see it in the families, in society and in the church. If the God-given relationships of authority are exercised properly, it is a joy to the Lord Jesus. It is about authority exercised in love. A husband can show that by being there for his wife and not by claiming authority over her. It is about serving as the Lord Jesus served. Finally, the Lord Jesus speaks – in picture – about drinking “my wine and my milk”. Wine is a picture of joy ( ; ). He rejoices in the fellowship He has with us ( ). Milk is a picture of the Word of God ( ). Fellowship that gives joy only comes about by engaging with God’s Word. This makes us white and clean as milk. The Lord Jesus finds His full joy in what He can gather from our lives and eat and drink. These are all blessings He Himself has given us. Those blessings return to Him when we appreciate them. This is evident from our gratitude to Him for this. And He is not alone in enjoying that fruit. He also invites others. There is not only the bride, but there are also the invitees to the wedding. In the future He will prepare a meal with fatty food not only for the remnant of His people, but also for the nations ( ). The ‘friends’ are those who have a relationship with Him, but do not yet know the intimacy that the bride or the dedicated believer has. Prophetically, they are the other cities of Israel. They too will share in the joy of the kingdom of peace. We may also apply this verse to the church when it meets on Sunday around Himself. Then He comes into His garden to enjoy what she has for Him. He doesn’t come to tell something, but to receive something. We may bring Him what He Himself has worked through His Spirit and His Word within us in what He has shown us of His Person in the preceding days. It is primarily about remembering Him , not ourselves. The first thing He gathers is His myrrh. We may tell Him our grateful feelings about His suffering and death and let Him gather them. We often come to meetings to receive food from Him, but here we give Him food. “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see [it and] be satisfied” ( ). Here a point in the book is reached that there is a complete fulfillment of desires, both with the bride and with the groom. The book could end here. But that’s not how it is, because that’s not how life is.

‏ Song of Solomon 5:1

The Groom in His Garden

Here we see that the groom has accepted the invitation of the bride that she makes at the end of the previous chapter (Song 4:16b). He has come into his garden. In the same way the Lord Jesus gladly accepts our invitation to be clearly present in our life. He is always present in our life, but we don’t always take into account His presence.

He desires that our life should be for Him as a garden full of fruit for Him. This is only so if we make our whole life available to Him. It is not only about being His property, but also about being aware of it. Otherwise, to our dismay, we will discover that He is not there, while we believe He is, as presented to us in the following verses.

But here He says: “I have come into my garden.” Our garden is His garden. Our life is His. It belongs to Him. Therefore also all that is in that garden is His. We see that in the ever repeated “my” in this verse. He enjoys every fruit in His garden i.e. every fruit in our life that is for Him. This pleasure is great because it is enjoyed in the relationship of kinship and love.

This is evident from the way in which the groom addresses his beloved. He calls her again “my sister”, underlining his relationship with her, and “my bride”, underlining his love for her. He has previously called her so (Song 4:9-10). There it is about who she is for his heart. Here it is about what he receives from her, from her garden, which he enjoys.

In this way the Lord Jesus also speaks to us with whom He has connected Himself, both by becoming like us, yet without sin, and by declaring His love to us. In that relationship He is present in our life to enjoy every fruit that is worked by Himself in our life through His Spirit.

It may be that weeds have to be weeded in our garden first, which limits or even prevents the growth of fruits for the Lord. For example, we must change our reading, listening and viewing behavior if this has a wrong influence on our thinking or takes up so much time that we do not get to bear fruit. Then we can invite the Lord Jesus into our garden, but He finds nothing or, even worse, He finds weeds or sinful habits there. When the weeds are removed, there is room for fruit for Him. Then He comes to take that fruit. He comes only when there are fruits and spices that satisfy Him.

The first fruit He has gathered is myrrh, “my myrrh”. Myrrh speaks of His suffering. When He comes to us, can we tell Him anything about His deep suffering for us? Together with the myrrh He also gathered His “balsam”, or, as it also can be rendered, “spices”. We literally see these spices at His burial (Lk 23:56 ; Lk 24:1; Jn 19:40). His burial is, so to speak, surrounded by the fragrant aroma of His accomplished work.

The Lord Jesus also finds food and drink in His garden. He eats there “my honeycomb and my honey”. Honey speaks of the natural relationships between the believers among each other. When our natural relationships are good, it is worked through Him and gives Him joy. He rejoices when a man loves his wife and when children are obedient to their parents.

We can apply this further to all forms of authority that regulate the mutual relationships. Authority is outdated, as practice shows. We see it in the families, in society and in the church. If the God-given relationships of authority are exercised properly, it is a joy to the Lord Jesus. It is about authority exercised in love. A husband can show that by being there for his wife and not by claiming authority over her. It is about serving as the Lord Jesus served.

Finally, the Lord Jesus speaks – in picture – about drinking “my wine and my milk”. Wine is a picture of joy (Jdg 9:13; Psa 104:15a). He rejoices in the fellowship He has with us (1Jn 1:3b-4). Milk is a picture of the Word of God (1Pet 2:2). Fellowship that gives joy only comes about by engaging with God’s Word. This makes us white and clean as milk.

The Lord Jesus finds His full joy in what He can gather from our lives and eat and drink. These are all blessings He Himself has given us. Those blessings return to Him when we appreciate them. This is evident from our gratitude to Him for this.

And He is not alone in enjoying that fruit. He also invites others. There is not only the bride, but there are also the invitees to the wedding. In the future He will prepare a meal with fatty food not only for the remnant of His people, but also for the nations (Isa 25:6). The ‘friends’ are those who have a relationship with Him, but do not yet know the intimacy that the bride or the dedicated believer has. Prophetically, they are the other cities of Israel. They too will share in the joy of the kingdom of peace.

We may also apply this verse to the church when it meets on Sunday around Himself. Then He comes into His garden to enjoy what she has for Him. He doesn’t come to tell something, but to receive something. We may bring Him what He Himself has worked through His Spirit and His Word within us in what He has shown us of His Person in the preceding days.

It is primarily about remembering Him, not ourselves. The first thing He gathers is His myrrh. We may tell Him our grateful feelings about His suffering and death and let Him gather them. We often come to meetings to receive food from Him, but here we give Him food. “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see [it and] be satisfied” (Isa 53:11a).

Here a point in the book is reached that there is a complete fulfillment of desires, both with the bride and with the groom. The book could end here. But that’s not how it is, because that’s not how life is.