Solomon on Sex #11
A Vacation in the Country
The last chapter of Dillow's book before the detailed Appendix 1 and 2 A VACATION IN THE COUNTRY (Reflection #14, Song 8:5-14) CONTEXT One mark of a good writer is his wisdom in selection of his material. In portraying this love story, our poet could have used many incidents in the lives of Solomon and Shulamith. The fact that out of many possible experiences he selects the ones he does naturally leads us to ask, "Why?" He selects material in order to accomplish his purpose. He has something to tell us and chooses to do it without directly telling us what he wants to say - by stringing a series of reflections (small love songs) together in such a way that a message is revealed. With great artistry, the poet selects several fitting incidents with which to conclude his love song. Since the theme of love has been the burden of the book, he tells us in the concluding verses how this love can be attained and of what it really consists. The following chart summarizes the poet's craftsmanship. A VACATION IN THE COUNTRY LOVE AWAKENED WHEN under the apple tree 8:5 LOVE DEFINED it is... INTENSE 8:6 8:7a it is INVALUABLE 8:7b LOVE DEVELOPED by... a caring family 8:8 8:9 by... responsible choices 8:10 8:12 LOVE ENJOYED "Hurry my beloved" 8:13 8:14 COMMENTARY Love awakened In the preceding reflection, Shulamith had spoken of a vacation in the Lebanon mountains. As this reflection opens, we find the royal couple walking down a country road. Shulamith has just warned, for the third time, against the premature awakening of love's passions (8:4). As the poet allows us to eavesdrop on their conversation, the theme of the timing of her sexual awakening is discussed. 8:5 CHORUS: Who is this coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her beloved? Apparently, Solomon and Shulamith have just mine from the forest where they shared their love. They are now at peace and their love has been reconfirmed. The chorus provides a transition into the next scene. SOLOMON: Beneath the apple tee I awakened you There your mother was in labor with you There she was in labor and gave you birth. The text associates the apple tree here with Shulamith's home and birthplace. Her home may have been shaded by the apple tree to which Solomon referred. Thus, the apple tree does double duty here as a symbol for the awakening of physical life at birth and the awakening of sexual life on the wedding night (to which she had referred in her warning to the daughters in the preceding verse-8:4). By calling the reader's attention to the awakening of sexual passion once again, the poet introduces us to the theme of the last reflection - the development of the love of which the book speaks. Before that can be explained, however, he leads us into her comments about the nature of the love they share which leads her to so commit herself to him. Love defined 8:6 SHULAMITH: Put me like a seal over your heart Like a seal on your arm. The seal of a king was commonly a sign of his ownership. It signified something of great value. She desires to be set as a seal on her husband's heart the place of his affection. To be set like a seal on his arm is to be in the place of his strength or protection. Why does she desire to be placed as a seal on his heart and arm? The basis for her request is found in the following verses. As long as she resides there (near his heart) she knows the love of the king will keep her and give her security. This is because his love is "as strong as death;" and beyond purchase; it is invaluable. (1) Love is intense. She wants to be near his heart always, because she first of all knows the intense nature of his love for her. For love is as strong as death Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the Lord. His love is like death because of its finality and irreversibility. Frequently in the Old Testament, God is presented as jealous in His love for His people, Israel. To say God is "jealous" simply means he has intense love and concern. He desires Israel's exclusive devotion to Him and not to other gods. In a similar way, true love, says the bride, is like this. It is exclusive and it is intense. Such is Solomon's love for her and that is why she desires to be near his heart and under his protection. She even likens Solomon's love for her to "flashes of fire," the very "flame of the Lord." The fire of God's love for His people is often described as an unquenchable fire in the Bible. It bums so intently a river could not put it out. 8:7 SHULAMITH: Many waters cannot quench love Nor will rivers overflow it; Certainly "waters" (trials, hurts, problems) will attempt to squelch this love and drown it, but such perfect love cannot, be deadened by these factors. Run a river over it and it still burns. This kind of love, of course, is only rarely (if ever) obtained by fallen men. It is God's ideal. (2) Love is invaluable. SHULAMITH: If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, He would be utterly despised. Why would this man be despised? Because he erroneously thinks love can be earned (purchased with riches) or in some way deserved. The poet is not being so obvious as to say that true love can't be bought with money. That was dearly known. He is emphasizing the fact that worthwhile love is never earned, but can only be freely given. If you set a price of a million dollars on it, it still couldn't be purchased. It comes the same way God's love for us comes - when it is freely given. Like the riches of Christ, such love is invaluable. A love that is "freely given" creates a sense of security in the one loved. If the person being loved senses he must earn or deserve love, he or she lives on a performance standard. Solomon did not put his wife on a performance basis. She knew she was loved regardless of how she behaved. How is this ideal love to be obtained? It is to this question that our mind naturally wanders after such a glowing and beautiful description of committed love. While many ingredients are involved, our poet singles out two for special mention. Such love is obtained when one is raised by a caring family and when one makes responsible choices. Love developed In order to find satisfactory answers to the question of the source of this quality of love, one must go way back to the beginnings of character development, back to the home. Thus in a kind of "flashback" the poet takes us back to Shulamith's childhood as she was approaching puberty. Of all of the events he could have related to us, he singles out one, a conversation young Shulamith's brothers had among themselves. Apparently, then, we are to see in this conversation something central to the development of intense and unconditional love. The basis for believing this is a "flashback" is in 8:10 where Shulamith dearly speaks of her adolescence: "I was a wall ..." referring to her inaccessibility sexually during that time. 8:8 BROTHERS: We have a little sister, And she has no breasts, What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for? Shulamith's brothers are concerned for their sister's future marriage and happiness. They want to prepare her for the "day she is spoken for" - the day of her marriage. At this point, she is without breasts (still entering puberty). Soon she will develop into a mature woman and the boys will begin to call; her brothers want to prepare her for that. Their strategy is simple and wise. 8:9 BROTHERS: If she is a wall, We shall build on her a battlement of silver; But If she is a door, We shall barricade her with planks of cedar. Their strategy depends on her character. If she is a wall - impervious to the boys advances - they will simply encourage and praise her for her virtuous stand. To place a battlement of silver on a wall is to decorate it to make it more beautiful. Just as this battlement of silver increases the beauty of the wall, they will attempt to increase her good character by praise. There is, however, another possibility. It could be that Shulamith will turn out to be a door - easily entered, easily seduced. Should that prove to be the case, they will take a different approach. They will barricade her with planks of cedar. In other words, they will be very strict with her and protect her from the boys' advances. In essence the brothers were committed to a little of both approaches. Surely they would praise her, and surely they would restrict and protect her when necessary. Encouragement and discipline were the characteristics of this caring home. Such things take love and time and careful attention. Yet the poet singles out this kind of an environment as one factor in Shulamith's ability to develop an intense and unconditional love for her husband. But there is more. No matter what kind of home environment one is provided with, he must begin to make responsible choices regarding his sexuality that represent his own values and not simply those of his parents. Shulamith informs us she made such responsible choices in the following verses. 8:10 SHULAMITH: I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace. It was unnecessary for her brothers to build a plank of cedar around her, she chose to be a wall. And when she matured, her breasts were "like towers." The towers on the walls of the city were the first things an enemy saw. But because of the ability of the tower to provide a defense for the wall and the city, the sight of those towers discouraged an attack. In a similar way, Shulamith's fully developed breasts, ready for love, were inaccessible. She was impressive to look at, like the towers of the city, and was one of the first maidens to be seen (due in part to her lovely figure). But any enemy of her virtue was quickly repelled. The next phrase is emphatic in the Hebrew: "THEN I became in his eyes as one who finds peace." When? After deciding to be a wall. As a result of assuming responsibility for her virtue, she found favor in "his eyes" (Solomon's). The phrase seems to be a play on words. The Bible uses a similar expression for a man finding grace in the eyes of the Lord (Noah). She is saying she found grace, favor in Solomon's eyes. The idea is that Solomon fell in love with her. But why was the normal biblical usage of finding "grace" changed in this instance to finding "peace." Her name, when pronounced out loud, sounds like "Shulamith." Solomon's name in the original Hebrew sounds like "Shulomoh." The Hebrew word for peace is "shalom." Thus, she says, "Shulamith had found shalom with Shulomoh." She found love and romance when she found Solomon. Her responsible behavior for her own sexuality revealed a character that was able to attract the king's love. The theme of responsible choices, freely made (not forced by her brothers) is now elaborated more fully in a parable of a vineyard. 8:11 SHULAMITH: Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers; Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit. 8:12 My very own vineyard is at my disposal; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take rare of its fruit. Shulamith now takes us back to the time she and Solomon first met. Solomon owns many vineyards all over Palestine, and one is located in the north of Palestine at Baal-haman near Shunem, her home town. It was customary for the owner of a vineyard to lease it out. In return for their work, those to whom it was leased received 20 percent of the total profit. In this case the vineyard that belongs to Solomon is leased to Shulamith's brothers; hence it becomes a fitting analogy of Shulamith's person who was also, for a time, under the care and protection of her brothers. Shulamith often refers to herself as a vineyard 12:15) and earlier complains about the workload imposed on her by her brothers that had kept her from tending her own vineyard-her feminine charms-1:5. As Solomon's vineyard had been entrusted to Shulamith's brothers, so was Shulamith. After caring for the vineyard the brothers produced a 1,000 shekel profit for their king. But the "profit" they produced for Solomon in their care for Shulamith was even greater, and she feels they deserve a reward. Thus when she says, "My very own vineyard is at my disposal," she is asserting that their work is done and she now discharges her person, freely, to whom she desires. Her vineyard is now under her authority and control, and she freely gives of herself to her lover, the king. In the analogy, her way of saying she gives all the profits of her brothers' care to Solomon is by saying, "The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon." That is, the entire profit of the vineyard she gives him. However, since caretakers of a vineyard received 20 percent of the profit, she asks Solomon to give her brothers 20 percent of 1,000 shekels, or 200 shekels, for their efforts in preserving her "fruit" for the king alone. It is probably not a request for literal money, but simply that they be remembered and appreciated. Thus, not only did her brothers protect her and prepare her to make personal choices when she came of age, she made them responsibly. The poet, then, by selecting these two scenes, tells us something of the development of an intense and unconditional love, It is, first of all, usually rooted in a home in which love is coupled with discipline. Secondly, it is a result of responsible behavior and is freely given. Throughout the Song, both lovers illustrate beautifully the principle of giving freely and of assuming responsibility for their own actions. But now the conclusion of our love story has come. As it began with a longing for sexual embrace (1:4) It is fitting that it ends with the enjoyment of love. Love enjoyed As the lovers prepare to leave Shulamith's country home, Solomon turns to his beloved and whispers: 8:13 SOLOMON: O you who sit is the gardens, My companions are listening for your voice Let me hear it. The Hebrew text does not have the word "My" in front of "companions;" it just reads "companions." It certainly doesn't refer to Solomon's companions, as that would make little sense. The "companions" refer to those who knew Shulamith as a friend and keeper of the vineyard. The playmates of her youth long to hear her speak a farewell. But while her old friends desire to hear her say something, Solomon says there is something he wants to hear from her also. She understands what he is getting at and playfully turns to him and says, privately, so no one can hear, 8:14 SHULAMITH: Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountain of spices. The figures of a young stag and a gazelle picture playfulness and sexual potency. The mountains of spices refer to the "mound of myrrh and hill of frankincense" (4:6) - her perfumed breasts and garden. Thus she invites Solomon to make love. COMMENT The senior panic As a college student I recall the fears that came upon many of the seniors on campus as they faced graduation and the assumption of responsibilities in the real world. We used to call it "senior panic." However, the phrase was often used humorously of girls who came to college for the purpose of getting husbands and who now, as seniors and without any prospects in sight, were going to be thrust out into society minus that anticipated mate. In some cases the "panic" became rather amusing as girls would woefully lament that now that they had arrived at the ripe old age of twenty-two, they had lost their chances for marriage. In a more serious vein, what of the woman who is widowed or divorced, left with several children and anxious to remarry, but due to age and circumstances feels her opportunities are slim? In many respects Shulamith faced a similar situation. While all the other girls were caring for their own vineyards and out meeting boys, she had been forced into relative seclusion by her brothers, working all day in the vineyards under the scorching sun. How unlikely that such a girl would ever end up married to the king of the nation! Yet the God who plans our lives causes all things to work together for good. The lesson is this: no matter how impossible the circumstances, God has no problem bringing a future mate, selected by Him, into your life. You may be shut up in the back of an office, forty years old, with four kids to care for. Yet the Lord can bring the right person into your secluded "vineyard" at the appropriate time. Can you trust Him for that? "Freely given" love The last section of the book (8:8-12) is really an answer to the question, "How can this love be attained?" She has specified in 8:7 that it cannot be purchased; how then is one to acquire it? Her answer is twofold. First of all, she says it cannot be demanded or deserved; it must be freely given. This, as explained in the commentary, seems to be her meaning when in 8:12 she says, "My very own vineyard is at my disposal." I am not under obligation, but I give freely she says. Too many couples think they deserve their mate's love. Too many men adopt the attitude that since they provide a paycheck and a home and security, their wives owe them love in return Little do they realize a wife doesn't define love in terms of a paycheck, but rather as a total relationship. What is involved in this "freely given" love? It appears Shulamith has come to this conclusion through experiences she has described earlier in the book. How is love attained? Answer: by freely giving to one another in the midst of problems and not insisting on ones own way. Their love was attained by growth through trials. Their struggles and their personal decisions to freely give of themselves during their struggles knit them together in a deeper bond of love. Specifically, what did they "freely give?" As we observed in chapter 9, they did two things. They both assumed responsibility for their own behavior and did not focus on their mates error. We saw Shulamith choosing to change her attitude about Solomon's late-night approach to sex and his preoccupation with his job. Instead of sitting around sulking about how neglected and taken for granted she was, she committed herself freely to increasing her own sexual desire and thinking on her husband's positive qualities (5:9-6:3). Furthermore, she changed her actions by aggressively taking the initiative in their sexual love (7:1-9). The second thing they both freely gave in the midst of their struggles was blessing for insult (1 Peter 3:9). We see this clearly in Solomon's responses to her continual rejection of his late-night approaches. He praises her exactly as he did on the wedding night and loves her unconditionally (6:4-10)! Thus, they freely gave of themselves in two ways; they assumed responsibility for their own behavior, and they rendered blessing for insult, Many would like to experience the kind of love described by Shulamith in Chapter 8. Yet few are willing to pay the price, and end up in the divorce courts blaming each other or "traditional role relationship teachings in the Bible" as the cause. The real cause is something the Bible calls selfishness or sin. Love like this is only fashioned in the anvil of adversity. This type of love is forged in free choosing to love your mate unconditionally when you are hurt, or when you are having problems in your relationship. Solomon and Shulamith didn't enter marriage with this kind of love for each other. Their love deepened and grew as they applied God's principles to their problems. Yours can too! ...................... Appendix to follow If you have taken the time to really study the Song of Solomon with the study Joseph Dillow has given us, you can truly appreciate the fine study it was and still is. This Bible book is indeed God's handbook on love and sexuality for the married couple - Keith Hunt |
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