Song of Songs 8:1-7 Now It’s Time
Now, it’s time for the wedding and the consummation of their love. The bride wishes they could have shared openly some of their affection earlier.
We are at the conclusion of the courtship and longing. My bible helps tell me that verse 5 signifies their union. I’m relying on them and their knowledge of Israeli customs to understand this section. Also, the bride’s wish for earlier, but different, access to her beloved is important to us today.
I mentioned earlier that I was having trouble distinguishing where the actual marriage took place because their romantic language left doubts, in me at least, as to when they physically came together. Their language suggests physical intimacy that their society and customs would definitely not allow. So, I needed help in determining the time they could finally come together.
In the first part of this section, the bride wishes she had more regular familiarity with her groom. If he was a close relative or a friend who had grown up with her, she would be allowed to hug and kiss him with the kiss of friendship. As it were, they had to be reserved in her touches and looks. She had to wear a vail in his presence. Something family wasn’t required to do.
But is she had had the more familiar relationship; would she have cherished her beloved as much? Would she have longed for his touch or would she have seen it as ordinary and expected? There is nothing wrong with a friendship that turns into love. Sometimes it is the strongest kind of love, but it doesn’t start out the same. There is more anticipation and learning involved with love between strangers. More ‘magic’ required to create a lasting bond.
The longer both bonds last, the deeper they are supposed to become. Most also lose the ‘excitement’ along the way, but it is replaced by commitment built on bonds of time and experience.
When thinking about what I could learn from this my spirit was pointed towards this relationship concept. As the church, we are the bride of Christ. We were initially strangers. None of us ‘nursed from the same mother’ but some of us have been introduced to Jesus as children. I am one of those. This gives me more time with Him but does not give me ‘license’ to take our relationship for granted. He is my Beloved. He is also my Friend. And He is my God. My attitude when I come to Him needs to reflect this.
I can talk to Him about ANYTHING. I have confidence that He hears me. But I don’t get to treat Him as a casual friend. I treat Him with respect and love. I give Him the honor due Him. I can ask for a close parking spot and be grateful when He supplies it. I cannot be angry if He doesn’t snap to my requests. He is still God and I’m not.
Maybe this is why our ‘courtship’ is so long. I get to learn of Him and long for Him. I have a lifetime to learn about Him and to grow in my trust of Him, but there are going to be things that I won’t know about Him until I finally meet him face to face. The excitement keeps building as our relationship grows. When we finally come together it will be AMAZING! And our relationship will continue to mature as He reigns here on earth. Our shared experiences now strengthen my faith but the experiences during His reign will bind us together forever!
Which brings me to one final question. HOW could ANYONE who lives during His reign turn against Him?!? And there will be some. When Satan is released from his confinement after 1,000 years, he will gather followers again and oppose Jesus. There will be a final battle after that. We are not told how many years there will be between Satan’s release and the FINAL battle. Maybe there will be those who are born between the two events who will follow Satan. Another question I just thought of is, where will Jesus be during this span? Will He continue to reign or will He pull back for a time? Will men have the two ‘side by side’ to choose from or will it be a little like Israel with the retelling of the miracles connected with Egypt?
So, my final question was NOT final. I hope that is ok with you. I have something for you to ponder too. These are things that I have thought about and THINK they will happen. I have no scripture to back them up, but they make sense because of the final battle scenario.
The people who have died before Jesus’ return will be raised. We will be part of those who return with Him for the battle against the Beast; Armageddon. Those who are killed during the Tribulation will also be added to His army. Those that go into the millennial reign of Jesus in physical bodies that have not tasted death will still be mortal. Their physical bodies will still face decay. They will still bear children who will still be born in sin. These will be the ones who are still open to making a choice. Those of us who have given our lives to Him on this side of the grave will NOT forsake Him on the other side. There will be NO divorce between Jesus and the church!!!
Lord Jesus, there is so much I still don’t know about You and all You have planned for our lives together. EVERY day though, You prove Yourself to me. You show me that I can trust You and can bring anything to You. You become so much more to me every day. But, DON’T let me become so ‘familiar’ or ‘comfortable’ that I take our relationship for granted. We are NOT and ‘old married coupe’ who can’t imagine anything else. I am FULLY in LOVE with You! I get excited thinking about what comes next for us.
