[Linux4christians] Monday - Song of Songs 2

[dcolburn at bibleseven.com]

    Monday


      Song of Songs 2



The Lily among the Thorns and the Apple Tree in the Forest

2:1 /*The Beloved to Her Lover:*/

I am a meadow flower from Sharon, a lily from the valleys.

2:2 /*The Lover to His Beloved:*/

Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens.

2:3 /*The Beloved about Her Lover:*/

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among 
the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to 
my taste.



The Banquet Hall for the Love-Sick

2:4 /*The Beloved about Her Lover:*/

He brought me into the banquet hall, and he looked at me lovingly.

2:5 Sustain me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am faint 
with love.



The Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration

2:6 His left hand caresses my head, and his right hand stimulates me.

2:7 /*The Beloved to the Maidens:*/

I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young 
does of the open fields:

Do not awaken or arouse love until it pleases!



The Arrival of the Lover

2:8 /*The Beloved about Her Lover:*/

Listen! My lover is approaching!

Look! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills!

2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands 
behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice.



The Season of Love and the Song of the Turtle-Dove

2:10 /*The Lover to His Beloved:*/

My lover spoke to me, saying: "Arise, my darling;

My beautiful one, come away with me!

2:11 Look! The winter has passed, the winter rains are over and gone.

2:12 The pomegranates have appeared in the land, the time for pruning 
and singing has come; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

2:13 The fig tree has budded, the vines have blossomed and give off 
their fragrance.

Arise, come away my darling; my beautiful one, come away with me!"



The Dove in the Clefts of En-Gedi

2:14 /*The Lover to His Beloved:*/

O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the 
mountain crags, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your 
voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.



The Foxes in the Vineyard

2:15 /*The Beloved to Her Lover:*/

Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes, that ruin the vineyards -- for 
our vineyard is in bloom.



Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession

2:16 /*The Beloved about Her Lover:*/

My lover is mine and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.



The Gazelle and the Rugged Mountains

2:17 /*The Beloved to Her Lover:*/

Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved -- be like 
a gazelle or a young stag on the mountain gorges.



      Prayer


Lord, Your relationship with us is much like that described between 
Solomon and the woman, You love us passionately yet we are often 
fearful, timid, and wandering. May I accept Your love and seek-after 
only You.



      Commentary


The woman described herself humbly as a common flower of the region of 
Sharon, perhaps a crocus, and a chamomile lily of the valley.


Solomon responded, accepting her self-description, that she was 
therefore "a lily among the thorns".


The woman replied that he was like an apple tree among the common trees 
of the field, continuing the analogy to describe his attention as like 
the sweet fruit, even as "a banquet hall." She continued that when he 
held her and she felt loved, then warned other "maidens" to not engage 
in mere physical passion without a genuine love relationship. Then she 
exclaimed with delight that he had arrived and was looking at them 
through the fence.


Solomon declared that it is Spring and therefore time for her to come 
away with him. He compares her to a timid dove, hiding in the protective 
clefts of the stony hills, and implores her to come out.


The woman replied that he should be careful of trouble, that she knows 
him to have multiple female interests, and she searched for him.



      Interaction

Consider

The woman accepts that the man has other physical interests but believes 
that her relationship is unique as a true love-relationship.


        Discuss

Why would Solomon express special love for this woman yet continue to 
"graze among the lillies", a probably euphemism for sexual interaction 
with other maidens?



        Reflect

The woman warns him that there is trouble ahead for their relationship 
if he continues his wandering ways, or if he is not careful to avoid a 
temptation designed to subvert theirs.


        Share

When have you experienced or observed someone who was in a relationship 
that they supposedly valued yet flirted, or worse, with other people?



      Faith in Action


        Prayer:

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your walk where you are 
being relationally-careless.



        Action:

Today I will carefully, intentionally, and prayerfully seek the Holy 
Spirit's guidance as to any relationship-carelessness in my life and 
will repent of it (turn away and not return to it). It could be 
thoughtless flirting, inappropriate online conversations that belong 
solely to a spouse (whether married or single some things are 
Biblically-restricted to a marriage relationship), or something more 
extreme.


        Be Specific ______________________________________________________



    Tuesday's text will be:


      Song of Songs 3 - 4



-- 

Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you,
Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day!
David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com
Bible Resources: http://bible.org
Teacher's Verse: John 7:16
Defend free speech or lose your freedom.
I don't google I SEARCH! Startpage.com
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