Simply the Bible Blog

“My beloved spoke, and said to me: ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!’” (Song of Solomon 2.10-13, NKJV)

Something about love never ceases to engage the heart. It is the universal theme of songs, stories and movies. It makes the heart soar on heights; it covers faults; and we will do more for love than for most anything else. We enjoy setting aside this one day out of the year for our beloved. For those who have grown old together it recounts feelings of youth and the warmth of falling in love. It reminds us of times when happiness was simply taking quiet walks in the country hand-in-hand. The radio captured the emotion of the moment and expressed what you couldn’t put into words. We heard the birds singing then; we took in the fragrance of our beloved…just because; we made careful plans just to be alone together.

Does it surprise us to know that the Bible is really a love letter to us? We could observe the beauty of creation; we could see the innumerable stars in their places; we could smell the rosebud; we could hear the birds singing; we could eat lushish tropical fruit. All these things testify of the Father’s love, but we would not know Him personally were it not for His Word. Knowing how much He gave for each one of us demonstrates His super-abounding love. For what greater gift could there be than His only Son? And Jesus wants us to know that the same amazing love the Father has for His Son He also has for us (John 17.23).

Does it surprise us to know that the Song of Solomon is not only about romantic love between a man and woman but also about the love Jesus has for His Bride? When the Beloved speaks to the Shulamite, it is Jesus speaking to us. When she speaks to her Beloved it is our voice to Christ.

A relationship without love soon withers and dies like cut flowers. Whether with our earthly beloved or our heavenly Beloved, we must stoke the fires of love, lest they go out. How can we express the depth of our passion today?