Of all the teachers and preachers of the word that are are currently out there exercising their gifts, I wonder how many of them would point to the Song of Songs as their favorite book of the Bible. Few I suspect. I know from personal experience and from listening to four decades of evangelical sermons that Paul’s writings rank much higher than Solomon’s. (although Proverbs has its appeal as a pathway to blessing.) I am sure it is no accident that the default setting in my You Version Bible App is Romans 8 (KJV no wonder) where Paul is masterfully unfolding the theological particulars of justification and our deliverance from spiritual bondage. Most evengelicals love Paul because he breaks mystery down about as far as is humanly possible. We feel that if we could just master his teachings that we could then individually, finally enjoy a more complete relationship with God and that corporately we could finally become the radiant Church that Christ died for.
I can picture the expounder of Truth, in his study, clawing away at his text and study guides when he comes across an obscure cross reference; “Behold he is standing behind the wall, he is looking through the windows, he is peering through the lattice.” His thought is, “What could some reference to a voyeur have to do with anything!” However, the verse is so strange, he persists on this tangent, reading;
My beloved responded and said to me, “Arise my darling, my beautiful one.”
The student now recalls his theological training, “Oh yes, Song of Songs is that rather odd piece of Old Testament wisdom literature. He regains his discipline and returns to Romans and Paul’s exposition on justification, still wondering why he was ever cross referenced to the old testament’s manuel on marital intimacy.
I sometimes wonder, as we evenagelicals are in our studies, more deeply honing our understanding of justification, if God is not peering through our latticework or looking through our window. I actually wonder if He has not made His way to the door and stands there knocking, attempting as usual, to deliver His standing invitation;
Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come along. Let me see your form, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your form is lovely.”
I do not believe the intimacy of Song of Songs is secondary to the doctrine of justification in Romans; I believe it is the point of it. It would appear there is a chasm between Solomon’s language of longing and desire and Paul’s language of logic and devotion. If you have not yet discovered this, the Blue Book devotional is written more in Solomon’s love language than Paul’s. It is itself one of God’s invitations to come away to be alone with Him, where we learn to be comfortable in His presence, opening the door of our hearts to the One who has first desired us and has been looking in upon us. Is God not ultimately saying to us through the doctrine of justification….
“Behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; the time has come for the pruning of the vines and the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. The fig tree has ripened its figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!”
The truth is; for those legitimately born again sons and daughters, there is no longer a chasm between them and God. For those who will believe, Jesus has become a mediator between God and men. The veil between the outer court and the inner sanctuary has been torn in two, giving us unhindered access to God. Christ Himself is the Bridge and the Way across the chasm!
I can picture a day when the fulness of this wondrous good news dawns upon us, His Bride. We will likely be in the midst of our diligent study (which we had thought was bridging some gap), when we realize; the point of our justification had always been that we should learn that truly It is finished…. My beloved is mine, and I am his. Truly at this time, as we discover the difference in possessing each other and possessing knowledge, spring will overtake winter.
“Who Are You?” the Blue Book has asked this week. Hopefully you can respond, “I Am His!”
Father, in Your kindness deliver us from the winter of our religion and escort us out into the springtime of relationship with You. Thank you that we do not have to establish the pathway into this hallowed place but that You Yourself are the Way and that You have freely given Yourself to us. Help us to individually and corporately discover these unending, beautiful and fragrant landscapes that, in You, await us all. Amen.