2025-01-17A
THE GROOM PRAISES THE BRIDE FOR HER BEAUTY.
THE BRIDEGROOM: 4:1 How beautiful you are, my love, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; your hair is like a flock of goats that flow down from Mount Gilead.
The Groom speaks to his Bride. His first words, when meeting her, are, “How beautiful you are to me”; words that girls enjoy hearing over and over (don’t you?). And He actually repeats it to her twice, probably emphasizing it each time with an affirmative nodding of the head. She smiles contentedly – her day is made.
See in the Spirit how Jesus faces and praises you with the same words for your spiritual beauty: “How beautiful you are, my dear.”
Notice also, He addresses her as, “My girlfriend” (alternative translation) because they are engaged, not married. He is willing to wait for his Father to announce the wedding date. Young people can learn from this to first build a rich and deep friendship with each other before taking the next step; marrying. Then the marriage years of physical union will be so much sweeter.
Let us look closer at the word “girlfriend.” How exciting that the Son of God addresses me, a mere human, on a level similar to what He did Abraham, calling him his friend:
… And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. (James 2:23).
Just like Abraham, by faith in God, I became a friend of the Bridegroom, as simple as that.
Then her beloved steps closer and their eyes meet through her veil. She does not look away because she has nothing to hide. People often avoid looking each other in the eye. While engaged in small talk about this and that, they look past one another because they have things to hide. They do not want to open up to each other.
This also happens in a church service. A person may listen to the message, but keep his eyes downcast or fidget with something in his lap. He maintains a wall between himself and the preacher; and also between himself and the Lord.
But when these lovers got engaged, they had mutually decided to open up to each other; to no longer carry secrets in their hearts. When He now looked into her eyes, she opened up to him, she surrendered. And what did He see? Sincerity, of which the dove is the symbol (Matt 10:16). There is no other lover in her life; she can say this in all honesty.
Can I frankly allow my Heavenly Lover to look deep into my eyes keeping in mind his words recorded in Exodus 20:3?:
You shall have no other gods before me.
Reassured, her lover steps back and gazes at the shiny, wavy hair cascading over her shoulders. It reminds him of a wealthy farmer’s huge herd of goats flowing like water down the uneven mountainside. She is just as richly endowed with a dense crown of wavy hair.
What message does this hold for us? The impressive hair of this Bride, pictures abundance, the wealth of spiritual blessings we received from God when we got born again. Not every earthly bride can boast such a beautiful head of hair, but every Bride of Christ can. This is also revealed in his Word:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Eph 1:3).
The bride (in our story) must have paid particular attention to her hair. The condition of a person’s hair tells something about himself. The Scriptures have much on this. At times, unkempt, loose hanging hair was associated with a dissolute woman or carried the message that the person was immersed in deep repentance or sorrow (Lev 10:6). Seven long, neat locks of hair, never shaved, were Samson’s testimony that he was dedicated to God and his service. The bride in our story probably often washed her hair with spring or rain water, treated it with all kinds of lotions and brushed and combed it daily. That is why it flowed shiny and wavy over her shoulders. She did this for the sake of her groom. Her hair was a delight to his eyes and his pride when with friends or enemies.
Likewise, Bride of Christ, we must must tend to our spiritual beauty, not to be admitted to heaven, but for His sake; to delight Him. I must look enquiringly, deeply into the mirror of God’s Word while asking my Hair Dresser, my Stylist, the Holy Spirit, to show me where my spiritual hair is caked, dry, broken and dull. By confession I can then wash it clean again and anoint it with the oil of His Spirit. He will also teach me how to daily use the comb and brush of believing prayer. As time goes by, my spiritual hair will again grow long and wavy and be charming like a herd of goats flowing down the mountainside.
The fact that the bride’s hair was not braided, indicates the modesty wrought by the Spirit of God; no carnal adornment; no pretense of being what she was not inwardly. (1 Pet 3:3).
Finally, just a thought about the veil with which the Bride covered her face. A beautiful woman sometimes has the desire to hide her beauty somewhat from the staring eyes of the people around her: she longs for privacy, seclusion. She can use a veil, or even her hair for this. It is not uncomely to do so, but rather testifies to her chastity. In some cultures it is even customary for a woman to veil herself. That is how, in this story, her groom found her.
Scripture even teaches that a Bride of Christ must walk by the wisdom of the Spirit and not cheapen her spiritual beauty by displaying it everywhere. In this regard Jesus said:
Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matt 7:6).
THE GROOM (Continued): 4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep that have just been shorn, coming up from the watering place, all of which bear twins, and not one among them is without a lamb.
In the previous verse we read about goats coming down the mountain. Here we read about sheep coming up from the watering place. Most types of goats have short, smooth hair that always remain clean and shiny. However, the wool of a sheep bred for its wool, quickly gets dirty causing it to appear dark grey in colour. However, when that soiled fleece is shorn, the sheep is beautifully pure white and such a flock of freshly shorn sheep immediately catches the eye. So were the teeth of our bride: milky white. When she smiled, everyone noticed it immediately, and returned her smile. Furthermore, none were missing: each sheep had a lamb, no, two lambs: twins. Each tooth had its counterpart. The teeth on the left side of her mouth were a mirror image of those on the right. May I use a word we all know: “Full-house”?
For a person of that era, when modern toothpaste, brushes, fillings and dentures were not yet available, this was indeed a rare phenomenon. Loose teeth, black marks that testified to decay and even completely empty gums, were probably at the order of the day; no one found such a half-empty mouth repulsive. They were used to it. (Probably the queen on the throne also had a front tooth or two missing.) Therefor, this little bride with her perfect set of teeth must have stood out and been envied, especially among the women. Some would have poked her to get her secret.
What does this mean to us spiritually? Two words come to mind: EXCELLENCE and PERFECTION! Let’s see what Scripture says about this. (The emphasis below is the author’s).
Yes, indeed, I also count everything as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Finally, brothers, rejoice; be perfect ; be encouraged; be of one mind; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Cor 13:11).
Not that I have already obtained this, or am already perfect ; but I press on to take hold of that for which also Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Phil 3:12).
Let us therefore, as many as are perfect , be of this mind; and if you are otherwise minded, God will reveal it to you. (Phil 3:15).
But, did not Jesus say that no one is good (meaning perfect) except God; how can He then, as the Bridegroom, say to His Bride that she is perfect? Let us give a preliminary answer and talk about this in more depth later. In the last text above, Paul says that we must be perfectly minded . This means that our goal should always be to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. We must not give in to the temptation to shrug our shoulders and excuse ourselves with an “Oh, I am only human.” If I start reasoning like this, where will I end up tomorrow and the day after? No, He wants me to focus my faith on Him and pray in humble earnestness, “Lord Jesus, make me think, speak and act like You.” This is perfect mindedness.
But we are not done with the “teeth text” yet. Healthy teeth not only make us look good, but in secret they do a great job: they grind our food so that it can be swallowed and further processed by the digestive system and converted into energy. This builds and grows the entire body.
A baby’s 20 milk teeth are kept hidden in the jaw for about 6 months because the infant must first live only on milk, and he simply sucks it in. Then, after 6 months, the painful process of getting baby teeth follows. This is of course necessary because the body is now craving solid food in order to grow. After some 33 months this mercifully is over and the parents can sleep uninteruptedly through the night. However, the little child’s body and jaw continue growing and at about five, the small teeth must make way for a larger and more numerous set of 32 shiny teeth that have to last for the rest of one’s life.
What could be the spiritual meaning of this? We browse through Scripture and find the following:
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to carnal men, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, and not with solid food: for ye were not yet able; and yet ye are not yet able, being yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk after the flesh? (1 Cor. 3:1-3).
That hurts! The congregation at Corinth who, years earlier had already experienced the rebirth in Christ, were still “bottle babies”; they had not yet grown spiritually to the age of six months and this, not because they did not receive the right nutrition, but because they had not swallowed and utilized it. Paul still had to carry them around in his arms, soothe them and give them milk. We continue:
For although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and you have become like milk, not solid food. 13 For everyone who uses milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. 14 But solid food is for mature people, for those who by use have their senses trained to distinguish good from evil. (Heb 5:12)
This group of people, the Hebrews, who were already supposed to be soldiers for Christ, were still lying in their cradles, speaking baby language and drinking from a bottle. Spiritual growth does not come automatically. It is a matter that must be attended to every day, every hour, otherwise you will continue to suck your thumb and be dependent on others for the rest of your life to keep you spiritually alive. How is this achieved?
The Word is God’s food for the spirit of man. Therefore, you should know as much as possible of what is written and where to find it.
I have hidden your word in my heart , … (Ps 119:11).
What does it mean when I hide or store away an object? Maybe something like, “Put it in a safe place where I can easily find it again when I need it”?
Secondly, I must understand the Word I read. This means that I must be able to discern or detect or uncover the spiritual lesson it contains; the truth God wrapped up in it. For example, Jesus’ twelve disciples who listened to his words every day could not understand his parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-23). He took them to task for this but then explained it to them anyway. There is an important lesson in this: we must return to Him again and again and continue to plead with Him by faith to reveal the deeper content of Scripture to us.
Speaking of the deeper content: the Scriptures contain different levels or depths of teaching. The superficial child of God receives only what lies on the surface and misses the solid, more nutritional food. For instance: The Lord commanded his people, Israel, to have their male children circumcised on the eighth day after birth. Some did not pay attention to it at all and were punished. Others did circumcise their sons and received from God earthly blessings for their obedience: material blessings. Few of them searched deeper and realized that circumcision was only a symbol of the circumcision of the heart and they, like Abraham, dedicated themselves to God by faith and also received eternal life.
The Scriptures contain an immense quantity of hidden teaching. Only the serious seekers receive its interpretation; hence there is so much confusion and so many spiritual denominations. Much of the teaching, like that on circumcision, was given to us in picture format. To understand it, we sometimes have to chew on it for a long time and we must have a full, healthy, adult set of spiritual teeth; “trained spiritual faculties”. This is why the Bridegroom was so excited about his Bride. She could see deeply into the perfect will of God.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, he, being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25).
This text brings us at once to the third principle of the “teeth text”: that which I understand, I must apply in my life; if not, I lose it again within a day or two. Only by applying a principle, do I retain it; if not, I lose it. If the Scripture says: “Be the least,” then I “Be the least”. I humble myself and serve instaid of demanding to be served. Over and done with. In this way I install the teaching in my life; in my spirit, so it will henceforth be part of me.
Fellow Bride, let us develop 32 gleaming white spiritual teeth so that we can smile shamelessly at Him and He can boast of us unashamedly!
(By the way: do I, the author of this commentary on this Song of Songs, say that I understand and interpret every picture correctly? Alas, no. I am also still learning along with you and when I smile spiritually, you will notice that I am still missing several teeth, front teeth at that.)
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