Solomon on Sex #4
The Wedding Procession
We continue with Dillow's book "Solomon on Sex." CHAPTER FIVE THE WEDDING PROCESSION CONTEXT As if jolted by a sudden noise, Shulamith's daydreaming is abruptly focused on the gala wedding procession Solomon has sent to her home on the day of their marriage. Chronologically, this section comes before Song 1:1. After Shulamith sweetly remembers the joys of their first night together, she reminisces first of the days of their courtship and now of the glorious wedding procession. In Song 4, she once again turns her reflections to the wedding night. Solomon has sent a bridal procession to bring his bride from the foothills of the Lebanon mountains in the north, to the palace in Jerusalem in the south. As the "scene" opens the wedding party is nearing Jerusalem; the speakers are evidently the chorus. They describe the wonders of the procession and thus make a transition from the dream of separation (3:1-5) to the events of the wedding night described in the next chapter. COMMENTARY 3:6 CHORUS: What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, It is possible that the Chorus here is supposed to represent the inhabitants of Jerusalem who marvel at the gorgeous procession of their king marching toward the city. Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense With all the scented powders of the merchant? As a wedding procession moved along, a censer of frankincense was swung at the front and back of the procession. Columns of smoke from the burning incense marked the beginning and end of the procession line. 3:7 CHORUS: Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; Presumably Solomon followed traditional Hebrew custom and picked up his bride at her home in Lebanon and then had her brought back to his palace in Jerusalem. Thus Shulamith is seated on the "traveling couch" and is being carried to the palace. This traveling couch was a box litter with poles projecting from the front and back and was carried on the shoulders of four to six men. It formed a bed upon which she reclined, and she was brought to Solomon in a cloud of incense. 3:8 CHORUS: Sixty mighty men around it Of the mighty men of Israel. All of them are wielders of the sword, Expert in war, Each man has his sword at his side, Guarding against the terrors of the night. Her way certainly led through the wilderness, and Solomon took special care to see she was protected against attack. 3:9 King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair from the timbers of Lebanon. As the bride approaches, the king is carried out to meet her on a "sedan chair" especially designed for the occasion. It is a couch long enough for the rider to recline, covered with a canopy and resting on pillars at four corners. It is hung around with curtains to exclude the sun and has a door, sometimes of lattice work, on each side.1 As the bride approached Solomon's "sedan chair" she would enter it with him, and both would be carried to the palace. 3.10 He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold And its seat of purple fabric, With its interior lovingly fitted out By the daughters of Jerusalem. The headboard to which the canopy was attached was gold, and the couch itself was royal purple, the color of kings. The "daughters of Jerusalem" refer here to the court ladies who had lined the inside of the canopy with flowers intermingled with short sentences telling of the power of love.2 3:11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And gaze on King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, And on the day of his gladness of heart. The women of Jerusalem collectively are addressed by the Chorus and called to behold their king. The crown here is not a symbol of royalty but of happiness. In ancient times garlands were worn on festive occasions, especially marriages.3 His mother wreathed a fresh garland around the head of her youthful son. "The men have already welcomed the procession from afar, but the king in his wedding attire has special attractions for the women - they are here called upon to observe the moment when the happy pair welcome one another," Delitzsch comments.4 COMMENT This beautiful little song suggests several points of practical application to marriage today. Marriage involves public attestation This is simply taken for granted here in that it follows traditional Hebrew custom. In the varied morality of our society, the question frequently comes up: "What constitutes marriage biblically?" I'll never forget an evening that my wife and I spent with a charming young college couple who had been living together for over a year. They had just received Christ. They were not "marred." What were they to do? Did God want them to stop counting each other as man and wife even though they had been living together as such for over a year? It was obvious by the way they related to each other that they were truly committed for life and were deeply in love. Should they separate now and call their relationship fornication? Or consider a couple who have been "living together" for four years. During two of those years they were legally married to someone else. They are now divorced but very much in love. They then become Christians, open the Bible, and it says that they are not to get a divorce. Are they still married to their former mates? Should they go back? These are difficult questions. They are made difficult because we have strayed so far from God's norms. In the case of the second couple, if they are legally married to the person they are living with now, they are prohibited from returning to their former mates (Deut.24:1-4). What constitutes marriage as far as the Bible is concerned? Unfortunately, the Bible doesn't state it as specifically as we like. It more or less assumes certain things. (1) A commitment to leave the parents. "For this cause a man shall leave his motherand father, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." (Gen.2:24). Thus, leave, cleave, and one flesh mark three prerequisites of marriage. To leave involves a break of dependency upon the parents and other in-laws. Too many marriages today are harmed because one mate continually sides with his or her parents against the other mate. Or a wife continually goes back to her parents and undermines her husband's authority and trust. This commitment means that, if necessary, the person must be willing to stand with his mate against his parents. (2) A commitment to cleave. The Hebrew word translated "cleave" has the notion of "to stick like glue." It implies a permanent and unbreakable relationship. Thus, a basic prerequisite of marriage is a commitment to one mate for life. Casual promiscuity prior to marriage does not make one married to that person. (This "theological" teaching that someone is to stick like glue to a mate until death does them part, no matter what takes place, is NOT supported by the Bible or the New Testament. For a full in-depth study on Divorce and Re-marriage, see my study on this Website - Keith Hunt) (3) Sexual intercourse. Becoming one flesh involves a sexual union. This is what consummates the marriage. Sexual intercourse apart from the above mentioned commitments does not constitute marriage. (4) A public attestation. Throughout the Bible there is an emphasis on obedience to the constituted rulers and authorities. If the rulers require a legal license, the believer is bound to meet that requirement (Many examples of marriage of God's people in the Bible, were just witnessed by the immediate families only - we need to be willing to read the WHOLE Bible and not just certain verses - Keith Hunt). Malachi 2:14 speaks of God's hatred of divorce. The prophet describes it as dealing treacherously with the wife of one's covenant, or mutual public promise. (This verse in Malachi is VERY misunderstood, and has given rise to many false teaching about marriage and divorce and re-marriage. In one section of Scripture God COMMANDED people to divorce - again ALL the Bible must be read to understand God's teachings correctly - see my study on Divorce and Re-marriage - Keith Hunt) References on obedience to ordained authorities are many (1 Pet. 2:13-25; Rom. 13:1-7). (Yes, but sometimes the situation of marrying does not involve the so-called "authorities." What if you were living in an atheist country or a Moslim country or a country where Christianity was outlawed, and two Christians wanted to marry each other? You think such countries do not exist today? Think again - being a Christian in some countries even today, could cost you your life. Many false ideas come about by only reading a few verses, and not using natural logic. I have commented a number of times on this Website about the danger of "tunnel vision" when studying the Bible - Keith Hunt). In Song 3:6-11 we find Solomon and Shulamith attesting their marriage publicly (the only way it's ever done in the Bible). (Maybe so, but publicly was sometimes between just the immediate family or families - Keith Hunt). However, the second factor - to cleave - seems to be the most important and perhaps the only indispensable prerequisite. These four points describe a general biblical picture of marriage for which there may be legitimate exceptions. For example, a public attestation may not always be possible. A couple could be legally married and yet violate the first condition of LEAVE. But ideally, these four factors seem to constitute the prerequisites of marriage from the biblical viewpoint. (Yes, within the rest of the Bible and its examples, with no tunnel vision reading - Keith Hunt). Public attestation is important We are all familiar with the type of bridegroom who stalwartly maintains he will endure the public ceremony because everyone knows the wedding day is for the bride. It's simply an unnecessary inconvenience he must go along with. Solomon's elaborate preparations for the procession display an interest in the wedding itself. This interest can come across as saying, "Honey, you're a beautiful bride, and I want everyone to know how lucky I am." A modem groom, on the other hand, who demonstrates no interest in the wedding or its preparation indicates the attitude, "I want to many you, but ... this is such an awkward situation, and I don't like weddings and ... I wonder if it's worth it." The bride can pick up the unfortunate attitude that he is unwilling to sacrifice for her, even that he is not proud of her. A wedding is a time of being set apart, a time for the bride to be shown off and admired by all. If the groom makes it seem an ordeal, it's as though the effort of showing off his bride is too great for him to bear. Grooms-to-be, take an active interest in the wedding plans. Even ask if there is anything you can do to lighten the load your bride will be carrying. If she desires it and it is possible, go with her to pick out the flowers, cake, etc., as well as china and silver. Make fun outings out of these ventures. (Yes, under modern average situations and countries we live in, this is a great time for BOTH to share with others in a joyous day. But remember some situations of marriage in some countries, for various reasons, may have to be simple and plain, with possibly only a few as witness to the marriage - Keith Hunt) FOOTNOTES 1. Rabbi Dr. S. M. Lehrman, "The Song of Songs, The Five Megilloth," ed. Dr.A.Cohen (The Soncino Press, 1946), p.12, 2. Ibid., p.12. 3. [bid., p.12. 4. Franz Delitzsch, "Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes" (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d,), p.70. ...................... To be continued with a much longer chapter "The Wedding Night." Entered in my website July 2007 |
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