Page 18 - Florida Sentinel 1-8-16 Edition

Sunday School
The Most Beautiful Bride Song of Song 6:4-12
ocean or see the dog compe- titions on television? Goats and sheep are used for Solomon’s comparisons. The bride’s hair is com- pared to the beauty of see- ing a flock of goats coming down the slopes of Gilead (think green pastures with rock fences on the rolling hills of the highlands of Scotland). The bride’s teeth are compared to sheep freshly washed —- her teeth shine brightly, are perfectly symmetrical, and are all there.
Finally Solomon’s bride is compared to luscious fruit —- her temples are perfectly shaped and slightly pink like a pome- granate. One could say that Solomon is grasping every figure of speech and push- ing language to the breaking pointto describe his bride.
Praised for Beauty: Song of Songs 6:8-10
Solomon is not the only one who notices her beauty. The other queens, concu-
bines, virgins, and young women all affirm the bride’s beauty. It is hard to imagine that there was not some ri- valry between Solomon’s 700 wives and 300 concu- bines, and virgins beyond number. The point is that others recognize the bride’s beauty as well.
The women praise her beauty and compare it to a fresh new day and to the as- trological beauty of sun, moon and stars. Solomon joins the chorus by calling her a dove. The dove is a bird of beauty and makes a gentle cooing sound. Solomon affirms her uniqueness by calling her perfect acknowledging that she is the only daughter of her mother and the favorite of the one who bore her. All of this is high praise.
Honor by Beauty Song of Songs 6:11, 12
These two verses are not hard to interpret. The diffi- culty comes in tying them to context. They say some-
thing very simple. Solomon goes to the tree groves and vineyards to check out the fruit. Somehow that desire to check out the fruit ac- quired some honor for him.
Since context is king, could it be that Solomon gains some clout and honor by virtue of the beauty of his bride? Is it derived honor? A president’s honor is heightened by the first lady. Solomon was wise for many things (1 Kings 4:32-34) — not the least of which was horticulture. His brilliance was matched by his bride’s beauty, which added to his honor. He was set among the royal chariots of his people.
God’s people are often likened to the bride. God speaks tenderly to his peo- ple. He praises their beauty. Husbands would do well to follow the heavenly Father’s example with regard to their wives. And we all would do well to find the beauty in one another.
Song of Songs (also know as Song of Solomon) is the genre of love poetry. We ex- pect to see many figures of speech and Song of Songs does not disappoint us.
In this section of our text there are many similes, Song of Songs 6:4-7:—— the word as is used six times and the word like is used three times. In the next section of our text, the other women also compare Solomon’s bride with the use of as three times and the word like one time in just one verse.
Solomon’s bride is com- pared to beautiful cities.
Tirzah was a city in north- ern Israel that was located in a beautiful area and whose name meant beauti- ful. Jersalem was the city of highest joy (Psalm 137:6).
Solomon’s bride is com- pared to soldiers dressed in their military regalia and marching in precision. Pic- ture something like a mili- tary parade: As majestic as troops with banners.
Solomon’s bride is com- pared to animals. This hardly seems complimen- tary to us at first. But who is not thrilled to see a horse run across the prairie or see a dolphin leap out if the
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