The Song of Solomon 6

All of us want to be accepted, admired, and loved. But it is not enough for us that we be accepted by just anyone. A young adult may know that he is loved by his parents and by other respected adults, but is that what he really wants most? A young woman may even understand that she is loved not only by her mother, but by her mother's God, and yet she longs for a different admirer. We want to be accepted by the one person from whom we most desire acceptance, and no other love will do.

This is normal for most people because they have been created by God for a special relationship with a life partner. That partner will somehow complete them as the two become one, and to lose that partner would be to lose someone who was a part of them. The love of parents and the attention of friends are not enough for most people.

In the beginning of this sixth chapter, there is a group of female friends who want to join the woman in her dream-like search for her man. At the end of the chapter there are a group of soldiers who want to look upon the beauty of the young woman along with the king. Both groups of friends are rebuffed. While the relationship that has been the focus of this poem has been publicly acknowledged, it will be privately enjoyed. Though there may be multiple queens and concubines, there will be only one man and one woman in the fullness of love.

No other man is allowed to go where this one man will go. It will be his special garden, their bed of spices together as he "grazes among the lilies." No armies will see his bride as he sees her, though they might desire to do so. As she has said, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." She is the "only one." She is like a goddess from heaven, like a beautiful Jerusalem from above, and her prince is her protector from unwanted intruders.

What a day of delight it is when a young woman is given in marriage to a young man. The crowd is there to witness the event, but only to a point. Eventually it must be only them. The special intimacy is theirs alone. She is the only one there with him, and he with her. And the two are one.

Why has God made us this way? Why has God placed this longing within the hearts of so many men and women for this special relationship that is physical, but also spiritual; a relationship that is redefining and almost life-giving? We know this: One day a radiant bride will appear out of heaven as the one-and-only of the Lord Jesus Christ. She will be like a city from above, a new Jerusalem. All who are not a part of her will be cast away forever, and we who feel so insecure and unsure and oppressed from within and without here below will state with all appropriate confidence these triumphant words, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."

Do you doubt that you could be loved so much by the Son of God? Do you imagine that if He enjoyed you it would only be as a play-thing for a moment, then to be cast off and rejected as one of a list of conquests? Remember that your Husband-King gave his life for you on the cross. He who died for you and for all who are His one bride, the Church, will not abandon the prize for whom He rose again. He is faithful and true. He lives. You will be with Him forever.