Offerings and Altars

Song of Solomon 1:13-17

A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

The Song may not be Solomon's mother, but she is as good as one to him. Could it be that he wrote Proverbs 31 after her; here we thought his mother was responsible. Well, to have a good mother one must first be a good wife. It has got to start somewhere. You cannot just wake up one day and say, 'well I think I will be a good mom now that the children are here.' Sometimes it is okay to practice on your husband. After all, he just might need a little Godly mothering along with some tender wifely care. Sometimes life is full of hurt and traumas from things that happened; it is ok to say, 'baby I am here.' At the same time, Solomon is also a bundle of myrrh to her as well. She is also healing, dealing, and quite possibly reeling from some things such as the vineyards she tended or the wine that was drunk. So, the imagery seen here is almost as incense burned to ward off evil. It is good to keep the home fires burning and well-tended also. This business of having to schedule something to happen is nonsense and of the devil. According to 1 Kings 11:16, the Song had every right to fear for Solomon had done evil in the eyes of the Lord.

My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.

There is another business of wives being created to respond to their husbands. Let me tell you, if I curse my husband out, he will soon be looking for something to smite me with and vice versa. I believe we have just seen this principle at work here when King Solomon told his little Song if she felt that way to wander behind the other shepherds for a while. I just love the phrase, 'it takes two to tango,' because indeed it does. We see Solomon and his Song here engaged in a bit of back and forth. It is a play or a bit of dance if you will between two lovers. Just as easily, sides can change. This is why you need the cord of three to be able to handle the shift according to Ecclesiastes 4:12. Just as he is to her, so she is to him. He sees where she has come from; so also, he burns her to keep away the coming of evil. It might be a wilderness with just the two of them watching a vineyard on a dark and starry night. Still, they would burn each other and love the Lord. Does anyone know what I am speaking of here? Even in judgement, the Song knew to leave the results to God. When there is spiritual disorder in the house, you ought to seek him and continue to love. I am not saying be a doormat for abuse. If your life is threatened, get out of there. But in other matters believing can sanctify unbelieving as in 1 Corinthians 7:14-16. Even if not, then hold him as God works.

Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.

A Song is responding to her maker. Before this she was just a black dot on a page where man had marked a period. But the story was far from over nor was God yet done. The Song had to be made from out of the winepress and from among the vineyards. Into the king's palace her story wound until finally Solomon's heart was glad. No longer was everything trouble, turmoil, and all of life a pain. In Ecclesiastes 1:2 Solomon declared everything to be vanity. I wonder if along the way Solomon had lost his Song or perhaps had not yet found it. Sometimes you can find your Song among men and sometimes the Lord. But only God can make your heart glad as in Psalm 104:15. See now the fair doves' eyes of love. The mourning dove makes a low cooing noise and is one of the pleasantest birds to have in company. The only problem is the continual cooing a solitary bird makes searching for its' mate as Psalm 84:3 promised. Then when you get a pair of them together, they coo to one another continually. This is why in Leviticus 12:8, these doves were always offered together. You might be saying to yourself, 'in a house full of people and other wives, how is this Song the only.' I believe the answer is found in the words, "you are fair." Because Solomon was such a wise king, he was also reputed to be very fair indeed in all his dealings. The Song notes that none of these wives and concubines knew him as did she. Given the historical record, I am certainly inclined to agree, for King Solomon reportedly had very few children. What could be fairer or wiser than providing shelter, provision, and protection for so many in need of it as one does a flock of helpless sheep. The fairness is twice repeated; body and soul to him she was fair.

Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.

So is his spirit to her also fair. This is what cannot be seen but is still felt; he is a pleasant place of rest. The bed is green because it is fresh, new, and exciting. See here how the seasons have not changed their bed. It is neither old, dried, nor yet withered away. Those who trust in the Lord find it is always so even when the seasons change. After all this, I would suppose their bed is green, fresh, and new. I have said it before and feel it is time to say it again. He makes all things beautiful in their time as in Ecclesiastes 3:11. So also, you will soon see the wilderness made a place of pools, streams, and grass in Isaiah 43:18-19. He makes the situation to flower like the desert after it has been blessed. Only God can handle the turnaround for us because he is the Lord of that also. How much more will he bring something new from that which was old, dried up, and ready to blow away in the wind.

The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

See now they have a nice house and have prospered because the Lord has built it. The feast of cedars speaks of the blessing and provision of the Lord. It is an illustration of strength and beauty. The pillars are tall, and the rafters are lofty. But what good is highness without support. For behind nearly every Proverbs 31 woman is a Godly man. Were it not so, then there is the Lord to stand behind you. However, while we are speaking of the borders and the territories God has given us to occupy let us not forget where he has brought us from. See here Solomon and his Song are walking in their dominion as did Adam and Eve once; let us not forget those who helped or hindered us along the way. If you will recall 1 Chronicles 22:2-4 where Lebanon lent its' cedars to King David. During this time, he was assembling building materials for the house of the Lord. So even if one country helped support or another gave under other circumstances, these still make up the house. Imagine the parties taking place under their roof. It would be a scene like that of Proverbs 31:23; this passage tells the story of the woman whose work caused her husband to be blessed in the streets and at the city gates.