Song 5:10 | KingComments | STEP | The daughters of Jerusalem asked the bride twice in : “What kind of beloved is your beloved?” They ask this question because they see how full the bride is of her groom. In , she begins an impressive description of him of whom her heart is so full. She doesn’t have to search for words. It is remarkable that every time the bride speaks about the groom, she does so to others. She testifies of who he is for her to her surroundings. When the groom speaks about the bride, he does so to her. He always assures her of the value she has for him and lets her know how much he rejoices in her. We may do the same with regard to Him of Whom our heart is full, realizing that His heart is full of us. She starts by telling who her groom is. He is “my beloved” and He is “white [better than dazzling] and ruddy”. We can apply this directly to the Lord Jesus, our ‘Beloved’. First and foremost, He is white. This speaks of His absolute purity. He is the pure One and the holy One. The Lord Jesus was born of a sinful woman, Mary, but was not conceived by a sinful man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Therefore He is also “the holy Child” ( ). He is absolutely without sin. He never committed a sin, neither in deeds nor in words ( ). And not only that. He did not know sin ( ). It is so that in Him there is no sin ( ). No one could convict Him of sin ( ). The devil had nothing in Him, that is to say, no single lead ( ). This cannot be said of the bride, nor of any human being. The bride has also acknowledged this. She has said of herself that she is dark ( ). Only someone who wholeheartedly repeats this after her can have a relationship with Him. Next is that he is red. Red is the color of the blood. The Lord Jesus has shed His blood to possess His bride. Only through His blood can the darkness of sin be washed away. This makes someone pure in the eyes of the holy God. The Lord Jesus is perfectly pure in His life and has never had anything to do with sin. The only time He has had to do with it is on the cross. There He was made sin by God for everyone who believes in Him. This is also the complete settlement of sin. The sins of the faithful sinner have been judged and forgiven forever and disposed of. After this general, introductory description, the bride exclaims in delight that he stands out above everyone. If we are so full of our Lord, we can’t cry out any other than this. He is “fairer than the sons of men” ( ). No one can be compared to Him. He is the Firstborn among many brethren ( ). He is the Author Who brings many sons to glory ( ). He is the true David who has slain his ten thousands ( ). He is not only lifted up as a standard above Israel, but also above all nations ( ). His standard is the cross. There the victory has been achieved and the full result will soon be visible. We can already see that result in faith and praise Him for it. From onward the bride mentions ten characteristics of the groom. She describes him from head to toe. The description begins with his head ( ). That’s like fine gold. It is clear that this is visual language. We can apply this again directly to the Lord Jesus. The head is a picture of wisdom and insight, and gold of Divine glory. His wisdom and understanding are Divine. So He is busy with His bride, but also with His creation. His headship also speaks of dominion. He is Head above all ( ; ). His thinking is always focused on God and full of doing His will. Further on in this chapter gold is also mentioned in connection with His hands and His feet ( ). It points out that the carrying out of God’s thoughts in His works and His way is always Divinely perfect. His curly hairlocks speak of His dedication and submission as Man to His God (cf. ). It is a feature of His being a Nazarite ( ). To a man, having long hair is a dishonor ( ). His ‘dishonor’ is that He submits Himself completely to God and gives up His position as Head of creation. The locks are black, not grey. It points out that the power of life is in Him and He is in the power of His life. The Hebrew word for ‘black’ is related to the word for ‘youth’. The raven is an unclean bird ( ). Thus the Lord Jesus is treated by the religious leaders of His people. But God gives the raven its food when its young cry to Him for help ( ). In this way the Lord Jesus has always expected and received everything from His God. This has given Him the strength to go His way to the glory of God.

‏ Song of Solomon 5:10

White and Red – Head and Hair

The daughters of Jerusalem asked the bride twice in Song 5:9: “What kind of beloved is your beloved?” They ask this question because they see how full the bride is of her groom. In Song 5:10, she begins an impressive description of him of whom her heart is so full. She doesn’t have to search for words.

It is remarkable that every time the bride speaks about the groom, she does so to others. She testifies of who he is for her to her surroundings. When the groom speaks about the bride, he does so to her. He always assures her of the value she has for him and lets her know how much he rejoices in her. We may do the same with regard to Him of Whom our heart is full, realizing that His heart is full of us.

She starts by telling who her groom is. He is “my beloved” and He is “white [better than dazzling] and ruddy”. We can apply this directly to the Lord Jesus, our ‘Beloved’. First and foremost, He is white. This speaks of His absolute purity. He is the pure One and the holy One. The Lord Jesus was born of a sinful woman, Mary, but was not conceived by a sinful man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Therefore He is also “the holy Child” (Lk 1:35).

He is absolutely without sin. He never committed a sin, neither in deeds nor in words (1Pet 2:22). And not only that. He did not know sin (2Cor 5:21). It is so that in Him there is no sin (1Jn 3:5). No one could convict Him of sin (Jn 8:46a). The devil had nothing in Him, that is to say, no single lead (Jn 14:30). This cannot be said of the bride, nor of any human being. The bride has also acknowledged this. She has said of herself that she is dark (Song 1:5-6). Only someone who wholeheartedly repeats this after her can have a relationship with Him.

Next is that he is red. Red is the color of the blood. The Lord Jesus has shed His blood to possess His bride. Only through His blood can the darkness of sin be washed away. This makes someone pure in the eyes of the holy God. The Lord Jesus is perfectly pure in His life and has never had anything to do with sin. The only time He has had to do with it is on the cross. There He was made sin by God for everyone who believes in Him. This is also the complete settlement of sin. The sins of the faithful sinner have been judged and forgiven forever and disposed of.

After this general, introductory description, the bride exclaims in delight that he stands out above everyone. If we are so full of our Lord, we can’t cry out any other than this. He is “fairer than the sons of men” (Psa 45:2a). No one can be compared to Him. He is the Firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8:29). He is the Author Who brings many sons to glory (Heb 2:10). He is the true David who has slain his ten thousands (1Sam 18:7).

He is not only lifted up as a standard above Israel, but also above all nations (Isa 5:26 ; Isa 11:10 ; 12). His standard is the cross. There the victory has been achieved and the full result will soon be visible. We can already see that result in faith and praise Him for it.

From Song 5:11 onward the bride mentions ten characteristics of the groom. She describes him from head to toe. The description begins with his head (Song 5:11). That’s like fine gold. It is clear that this is visual language. We can apply this again directly to the Lord Jesus. The head is a picture of wisdom and insight, and gold of Divine glory. His wisdom and understanding are Divine. So He is busy with His bride, but also with His creation. His headship also speaks of dominion. He is Head above all (1Cor 11:3; Col 1:15-17).

His thinking is always focused on God and full of doing His will. Further on in this chapter gold is also mentioned in connection with His hands and His feet (Song 5:14-15). It points out that the carrying out of God’s thoughts in His works and His way is always Divinely perfect.

His curly hairlocks speak of His dedication and submission as Man to His God (cf. 1Cor 11:15). It is a feature of His being a Nazarite (Num 6:5). To a man, having long hair is a dishonor (1Cor 11:14). His ‘dishonor’ is that He submits Himself completely to God and gives up His position as Head of creation.

The locks are black, not grey. It points out that the power of life is in Him and He is in the power of His life. The Hebrew word for ‘black’ is related to the word for ‘youth’. The raven is an unclean bird (Lev 11:13 ; 15). Thus the Lord Jesus is treated by the religious leaders of His people. But God gives the raven its food when its young cry to Him for help (Job 38:41). In this way the Lord Jesus has always expected and received everything from His God. This has given Him the strength to go His way to the glory of God.