GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
SONG OF SOLOMON 6:8-9
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8 Sixty queens there might be,
and eighty concubines,
and virgins without number.
9 But my dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the only one of her mother,
pure to the one who bore her.
The girls saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines too– they praised her.
God’s law provided regulations for marriages where there were multiple wives, but having multiple wives was forbidden by the will of God when he instituted marriage in the Garden. A single spouse, married for life, is God’s plan for mankind. Jesus says that a marriage consists of two people, since once they are married “they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6). And there are many other passages that teach us this (Romans 7:2-3; Ephesians 5:31). Yet there is sin in the world, and especially in ancient times there were many men and women who fell into the sin of polygamy. Unlike many sins, polygamy cannot simply be ended, and the additional spouses (after the first) could not just be sent away. Therefore God insisted that they had to be provided for. Here the poet describes a harem of sixty queens and eighty concubines and an endless supply of virgins for a king– but this was a custom of royalty. There is no passage where God smiles upon this practice. Solomon himself was condemned because of his harem; “his wives led him astray” (1 Kings 11:3).
Our poet uses this familiar, if sinful, tradition, to place a pretty compliment into the husband’s mouth: “There are or might be sixty queens, but you are better than all that. You are one of a kind. You are the only one for me.” For a husband to say this to his wife would be wonderful. “Some men are kings and have a harem of wives, but that’s not for me. You’re the only girl for me.” A husband should take the time and seize the opportunity to reassure his wife like this when he has the chance, and most especially when she is feeling vulnerable. Perhaps she has a physical trait that worries her: uneven ears, or a beauty mark, or a stork bite from childhood, or a scar from surgery. None of these detract from her beauty; they are part of what makes up his wife.
Spiritually, this passage makes far more sense when the speaker mentions the harem. False gods don’t care who their worshipers are. What would Baal care, even if he were real, whether his worshipers were honestly devout or not? Ahab didn’t truly believe in anything except Ahab, but God’s judgment sets him apart for a special condemnation: “There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel” (1 Kings 21:25). Let the false gods tolerate their worshipers, whether true or false. Let them collect a harem of useless wives. But God’s bride, the one true church, the Holy Christian Church, is faithful and true. Hypocrites can pretend to belong, but they do not. In the end, the angels will sort out all of the hypocrites in the final judgment: “At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn” (Matthew 13:30).
The church does not always recognize the purity, the faith, of each of her sons and daughters. These are the members of God’s holy kingdom, each one set apart by their own confession of faith. But some Christians suffer quietly, with few ever seeing the crosses that they bear. Some of them are noticed by their pastors, who visit their homes, their humble rooms, who have an idea of the pressures from their families to give up on their religion, or who suffer so dreadfully on account of children or grandchildren who have strayed away from the fold. For my part, their suffering “deserves the travail of a worthier pen,” but their Savior sees, their Savior knows, and he declares to them: “I know you! I know your worthiness. I know ‘when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering’ (Hebrews 10:32). I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8). He is the author and the perfecter of our faith. He calms your spirit, he has set aside your sins and you have trusted in him. He also says: “I know that it is well with your soul” (3 John 1:2).
The praise of the others in these verses is a good thing, but the praise of the husband– of Christ– is the best of all.
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 6:8-9 Sixty queens…