In The Word
Read: Song of Solomon 8:5-14
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness
leaning on her beloved?
She
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who was in labor gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of one’s house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.
Friends
8 We have a little sister,
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build towers of silver on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with panels of cedar.
She
10 I am a wall,
and my breasts are like towers.
Thus I have become in his eyes
like one bringing contentment.
11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon;
he let out his vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for its fruit
a thousand shekels of silver.
12 But my own vineyard is mine to give;
the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.
He
13 You who dwell in the gardens
with friends in attendance,
let me hear your voice!
She
14 Come away, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the spice-laden mountains.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Solomon sums up the power of love between the married couple that he described throughout the chapters in this song. Like a seal used in Solomon’s time to mark ownership of a valued possession, true love for another is a treasure that you should be unwilling to be separated from. Just as physical death is powerful and all consuming, so love empowers you to act on another’s behalf and consumes your life in thoughts and actions. Water is a mighty force that can extinguish fire and often cannot be bound by its banks, yet the passionate fire of love cannot be overcome or extinguished by external forces. Finally, Solomon wrote that true love is priceless and all of the world’s wealth is insufficient to buy it.
This description of love is the same love that God has for you. A love so powerful and consuming that it led God to give His Son’s life so that the barrier of sin would be destroyed and you could be in a uniting relationship with Him.
How would God describe your love for Him? Could it be described as Solomon did? Genuine love for God is proved by more than good thoughts and words, but by passionate worship, unyielding devotion in every circumstance and difficulty, and faithful obedience to His every command. Your love for God should move you to genuinely love others in faithful commitment, do what is best for them, and refuse to allow offense to divide you. Let love’s power direct your life.