‏ Song of Solomon 4:1

The Bride Is Beautiful

This chapter begins with a description of the bride by the groom in all the beauty she has for him. For his description he zooms in, as it were, on seven body characteristics: her eyes, hair, teeth, lips, temples, neck and breasts. She is a bride worthy of him, a bride that fits him perfectly, because her beauty is the reflection of his own beauty. In Song 4:7, he even says of her: “There is no blemish in you.”

It is a description of the future remnant of Israel, especially of the city of Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus will clothe Jerusalem with His glory (Eze 16:10-14). Also the heavenly Jerusalem will be beautiful because it has the glory of God: “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God” (Rev 21:10-11).

The reason why this chapter is so beautiful is that through Solomon we hear the Lord Jesus speak about the value His church as His bride has for Him. He does not see us here in our practice, but He sees us in what we are for Him. There is a nice parallel to be drawn with what the Lord says to His disciples in Luke 22. First we read about the behavior of the disciples when reclined with Him to eat the Passover. He says that He has earnestly desired this (Lk 22:14-20). When they have celebrated the Passover, “there arose also a dispute among them [as to] which one of them was regarded to be greatest” (Lk 22:24).

But what do we read a few verses further on? There the Lord Jesus says to them: “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Lk 22:28-30). Who can understand that? The disciples have quarreled. The Lord knows them and knows how they are. Yet He says to them that they have remained faithful to Him. If we know ourselves a little, we can only say: ‘Lord Jesus, we have been unfaithful to You so many times, we don’t understand how You can say that.’

In the blessings of Balaam, who tried to curse the so often unfaithful people of God, we find the same thought. Through the Spirit of God Balaam lets us know how God thinks about His people. Then we hear no curse, but something completely different: “He has not observed misfortune in Jacob; nor has He seen trouble in Israel” (Num 23:21a). He says this while at the same time the Israelites were arguing in their tents. They disobeyed and revolted against God. Yet Balaam says that God sees no evil in Israel. It is incredible, but still true, because God’s Word says so.

That is how God sees us. On the one hand, we know our responsibilities. We know that we often fail and are often unfaithful. On the other hand, as church we have a wonderful position for His heart and He tells us that here. We can also apply this to the individual believer who is brought to perfection in Christ through identification with Him. Christ describes what He made of him. It is the result of His grace and love.

We are called “beloved children” (Eph 5:1). God loves us. It is important for each of us to know deep inside that He loves us. This is also important in relation to our children. Parents love their children. They are often disobedient and do things we do not love. But that does not mean that we do not love the children. Love is always there, but not always shown in the same way. If they deserve punishment, we will give it, precisely because we love them.

It is also important that we occasionally say to our children: ‘You are beautiful. You did that well. You are valuable. You have something very beautiful.’ Do we ever say that to them? Do we sometimes say it to our wife? That is not flattery, but expressing appreciation to encourage each other.

Recently I spoke to a young man when we met at a supermarket. I hadn’t seen him for a long time. I asked him: ‘And, how is it with the Lord?’ ‘Oh, the Lord is doing well’, he said. ‘Yes, that’s for sure’, I replied, ’but how is your life with the Lord?’ ‘That’s over, all over. I was in a church and I was handy with all kinds of heating. And that’s why the people there could use me. They said to me, You can do that well; you can help me.’ But he felt used. That was not love, that was self-love.

This is also important to us. What do we appreciate in each other? Is this really only for what he or she does for the Lord? Or is it about our own profit, the advantage we have from such a person? Brothers and sisters who are more practically minded have their value. We can let them know. They will feel whether it is real gratitude or whether selfish motives play a role. And the child we love, is it because we like it, because we hardly experience problems from it? Or do we love the child, simply and only because it is our child, with its good and also unpleasant characteristics?

It has everything to do with how we see ourselves in the light of the Lord, how He sees us. He says to everyone who belongs to His church: ‘You are beautiful and precious.’ He says of the faithful remnant: “Since you are precious in My sight, [since] you are honored and I love you” (Isa 43:4a). We may apply that to ourselves. He has proven how precious we are to Him by giving His life for us.

If we are aware of this, it will also be evident from the way we look at our brothers and sisters. He has also given His life for them. He also says to them that they are precious in His eyes. We must accept that and value it. It is not possible to really enjoy the love of God if we constantly argue with a brother or sister.

The first thing the groom describes of the bride are her eyes. He compares her eyes to “doves”. The doves explain the character of the bride’s eyes. The Lord Jesus speaks of being “innocent as doves” (Mt 10:16) and having a “clear” or “single” (Darby translation) eye (Mt 6:22). A single eye is an eye that focuses on only one object. The groom sees that the eye of his bride in sincerity is only on him.

The Holy Spirit is also compared to a dove. The Spirit will always direct the eyes of the believer to the one object of faith, namely Christ. He will give the believer insight into Who the Lord Jesus is for him. In addition, the dove has a strong bond with a partner. They always remain true to each other. The Lord Jesus also sees this characteristic in His own.

The groom sees her eyes, despite the fact that they are hidden behind her veil. It is precisely this veil that makes it clear that she is only for him. We see this with Rebekah who takes her veil and covers herself as soon as she meets Isaac (Gen 24:65). With this she indicates: ‘From now on I am available only for you and no other man anymore.’

The fact that the groom then talks about the long hair of his bride, fits in beautifully with that. We read in 1 Corinthians 11 that the hair is given to the woman for “a covering” or “a veil” (1Cor 11:15 Darby translation). The long hair symbolizes the dedication and subjection of the wife to her husband. That is where also her strength lies. We see in Samson that he is strong as long as he has long hair.

The groom compares the bride’s hair to “a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead”. It may be that a flock of black goats running down the mountain slopes is reminiscent of wavy hairlocks. A flock also speaks of unity and unanimity. Believers who are committed to the Lord Jesus and serve Him in submission also march in unity and unanimity.

The goat is also the special animal for the sin offering (Lev 4:23; 28; Lev 5:6; Lev 16:5; Lev 23:19). This reminds us that long hair indicates a dedication in which sin has no chance to break in. The believer who has long hair in spiritual application, bears in mind that the Lord Jesus suffered and died for his sins. He will want to keep himself pure to live only for his Lord and be pleasing to Him.

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