Song 2:3 | KingComments | STEP | The bride gives a testimony again of what the groom means to her. He compared her in the previous verse to “a lily among the thorns”. She now compares him to “an apple tree among the trees of the forest”. A tree is a picture of power (cf. ; ). The apple tree speaks of the Lord Jesus. The other trees represent the young men of the world, impressive people, who also try to get the bride’s attention and who want to seduce her to love them. For those other trees she has no further attention, despite their impressive stature. Her longing goes out only to him, whom she calls “my beloved”. There is no one who can be compared to him. He is and has everything she desires. She yearns strongly for him because of his shadow and his fruit, i.e. because of his protection and his food. Under the apple tree there is rest in the first place: she wants to sit there (cf. ). It is a refuge from the heat: there is shade ( ). There is also food of which the taste is good: the fruit is sweet ( ). When the Lord Jesus gave food to the crowd, He first let them sit quietly ( ). To receive something from Him, there must be rest. When we fly back and forth restlessly or are disturbed by all kinds of reports on the means of communication we have in our pockets or bags, we miss much of the food He gives us. We must be close to Him to experience His shadow, His protection, and enjoy His fruit. If we stray from Him, if we are not close to Him, we miss His shadow. Christ is not simply a means to come into heaven, but in Him the joy of heaven comes down to fill our hearts and support us on our journey to heaven. In God’s Word, apples, the fruits of the apple tree, are compared to good words. In Proverbs 25 it says in visual language: “[Like] apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” ( ). The words themselves are of gold; the silver speaks of the way they are passed on. That is how the Lord Jesus speaks to us. Gold speaks of Divine glory. Silver refers to the price paid for salvation. When we sit in His shadow and want to eat of the fruit of the tree, it means that He speaks to us words of Divine glory, which are connected with salvation. How beautiful it would be if we could speak among ourselves in the same way, words that bear witness to God’s glory and words that we know are linked to salvation. Then we will not speak harsh words. Husbands are warned not to be embittered against their wives ( ). That will not happen when they speak good words, words that build up. To speak good words, we must first take them to us and eat them. Jeremiah tells us how this can be done: “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts” ( ). Isn’t that encouraging? When we talk to each other, let us use words that are good, that we want to eat, words that do us good spiritually and make and keep us healthy. The awareness that we have been called by God’s Name, that we have been named after His Name, will work that out within us. So we can rightly say that the Lord Jesus Christ is ‘the apple tree’ for the believer. Let us sit in His shadow and eat of His fruit.

‏ Song of Solomon 2:3

My Beloved Is Like an Apple Tree

The bride gives a testimony again of what the groom means to her. He compared her in the previous verse to “a lily among the thorns”. She now compares him to “an apple tree among the trees of the forest”. A tree is a picture of power (cf. Dan 4:10-14 ; 20-26; Eze 17:24). The apple tree speaks of the Lord Jesus. The other trees represent the young men of the world, impressive people, who also try to get the bride’s attention and who want to seduce her to love them.

For those other trees she has no further attention, despite their impressive stature. Her longing goes out only to him, whom she calls “my beloved”. There is no one who can be compared to him. He is and has everything she desires. She yearns strongly for him because of his shadow and his fruit, i.e. because of his protection and his food.

Under the apple tree there is rest in the first place: she wants to sit there (cf. Lk 10:39). It is a refuge from the heat: there is shade (Isa 25:4). There is also food of which the taste is good: the fruit is sweet (Psa 34:8). When the Lord Jesus gave food to the crowd, He first let them sit quietly (Mk 6:31 ; 39-40). To receive something from Him, there must be rest. When we fly back and forth restlessly or are disturbed by all kinds of reports on the means of communication we have in our pockets or bags, we miss much of the food He gives us.

We must be close to Him to experience His shadow, His protection, and enjoy His fruit. If we stray from Him, if we are not close to Him, we miss His shadow. Christ is not simply a means to come into heaven, but in Him the joy of heaven comes down to fill our hearts and support us on our journey to heaven.

In God’s Word, apples, the fruits of the apple tree, are compared to good words. In Proverbs 25 it says in visual language: “[Like] apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” (Pro 25:11). The words themselves are of gold; the silver speaks of the way they are passed on. That is how the Lord Jesus speaks to us. Gold speaks of Divine glory. Silver refers to the price paid for salvation. When we sit in His shadow and want to eat of the fruit of the tree, it means that He speaks to us words of Divine glory, which are connected with salvation.

How beautiful it would be if we could speak among ourselves in the same way, words that bear witness to God’s glory and words that we know are linked to salvation. Then we will not speak harsh words. Husbands are warned not to be embittered against their wives (Col 3:19). That will not happen when they speak good words, words that build up. To speak good words, we must first take them to us and eat them.

Jeremiah tells us how this can be done: “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jer 15:16). Isn’t that encouraging? When we talk to each other, let us use words that are good, that we want to eat, words that do us good spiritually and make and keep us healthy. The awareness that we have been called by God’s Name, that we have been named after His Name, will work that out within us.

So we can rightly say that the Lord Jesus Christ is ‘the apple tree’ for the believer. Let us sit in His shadow and eat of His fruit.