GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
SONG OF SOLOMON 5:10-13
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The Wife
10 My husband is radiant and ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.
11 His head is gold, pure gold;
his hair is wavy and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves by streams of water.
They are washed in milk, mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks are like spice on a terrace; towers of perfume.
His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh.
We already spoke about the spiritual meaning of the wife’s elevation of her husband as “better… more than any other husband” (verse 9). But now we come to the physical meaning within the marriage. The bride is attracted to the way her man looks. Her language is poetic in the extreme; some of her turns of phrase just don’t land in English very gracefully.
There are two rare words for “gold” in verse 11. There is kethem, which might be gold from a certain place (also see Proverbs 25:12), and also paz, which might be gold of an exceptional quality (Job 28:17; Psalm 24:3). In the days of David and Solomon, there is a flowering of the Hebrew language with many synonyms and unusual forms that might reflect David’s association with foreign powers, and Solomon’s multiple marriages, both of which would have brought a knowledge of many unusual words. Perhaps it’s the wife’s way of saying: “He is the rarest, most exotic– so very wonderful!”
His hair, she says, is wavy, but her word either means “like clusters of fruit” of “like hill upon hill.” Certainly curly or wavy hair runs in certain families. My brother and I seem to have inherited it from some corner of our ancestry even though our parents and sister did not have it (and my sister Nola’s hair has always been longer; more full and luxuriant than any).
The husband’s eyes are attractive like doves splashing in the birdbath and also bright white, but she uses another rare word (milleth) to describe that they are well-placed in his eye sockets, like jewels in a setting. Does she mean that his eyes are “just right,” not cross-eyed or too close together or too far apart, but quite normal and typical? Or is the bride simply going back to her words about doves, and completing her thought: Your eyes are like doves, but doves move around a lot and they fly away. Your eyes are set like jewels in a nice setting. This is a strange compliment, but sometimes we need to be able to say, “Your eyes are not gorgeous, but they’re okay, and that’s just what I like.” Perhaps it’s like saying, “You’re not 18 anymore. You’re settling into your middle-aged body, and that’s okay. I love you and I’m not looking around for anyone else. You’ll always be the man for me.”
Her compliments about his spicy cheeks are probably a reference to the waves of beard that decorate his cheeks. An Israelite man was forbidden by the law of Moses from clipping off the edges of his beard (Leviticus 19:27) unless he was fulfilling a vow or proving his health after a concern about leprosy (Leviticus 14:9). His wife looked at his beard as his faithful obedience to the Lord, whatever shape it was in. Some men easily grow long, full, dark beards. Others do not, but their wives know that a man’s beard is not a sign of his talents, faithfulness, or manliness, but simply the way that his hair grows. She loves him for who he is; she must not dare to love him in spite of who or what he is not.
Dripping lips don’t really have a connection with our way of thinking about a man’s attractiveness, but this isn’t the only time they are mentioned in the Song. It was something she noticed and was delighted by. Something coming from the lips is really language, and compared with myrrh, she means that his every word is important, delightful, and precious to her.
Here the spiritual comparison resumes along the lines of the words of Christ, who is the fullest, clearest form of communication from God to man. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). And again: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18).
But let us also remember the value and supremacy of the Sacred Scripture as a whole, since there are some who try to distinguish between the words of Jesus and the words of other speakers or authors of the Bible.
Holy Scripture is the Word inspired by God. It is the only true and certain principle of knowledge. “To the Law and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn” (Isaiah 8:20).
Holy Scripture has divine authority, which means that all theological truths must be derived from Scripture alone. Against this all teachers and teachings must be tested. “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17).
Since Scripture contains everything necessary for faith and godly life, and thus for attaining salvation, Scripture has the characteristic of perfection and sufficiency. “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
It is perfect. “But even if we or an angel from heaven would preach any gospel alongside the one we preached to you– we must curse him!” (Galatians 1:8).
It is sufficient. “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I gave you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
Since Scripture says of itself that it can impart to a person the knowledge necessary for salvation, we attribute to Scripture the attribute of clarity. It is clear. “The Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15).
There is more to say on this subject, but this is enough for the moment. The Word of God is our greatest delight (Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119:174), because it is in the Word alone that we learn about Jesus, about God’s gracious forgiveness, about the resurrection of the dead, and about everlasting life. This is what is on our Lord’s lips, and it is better than any kiss.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Song of Solomon 5:10-13 On his lips…