Slices
Prepare
‘Fairest Lord Jesus! ... / Thee will I cherish,/ thee will I honour,/ thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown!’.*
*German hymn, 17th century, ‘Fairest Lord Jesus’
Bible passage
He
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as majestic as troops with banners.
5 Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is missing.
7 Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
8 Sixty queens there may be,
and eighty concubines,
and virgins beyond number;
9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favourite of the one who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised her.
Friends
10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
He
11 I went down to the grove of nut trees
to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.
12 Before I realised it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.
Friends
13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
He
Why would you gaze on the Shulammite
as on the dance of Mahanaim?
7 How beautiful your sandalled feet,
O prince’s daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking towards Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.’
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.
Explore
Maybe the woman has found her man – and they are reconciled; maybe this is a separate song of love. Whichever, now it is the man who celebrates his love in the hearing of friends. As you read, be surprised by the lavish and generous beauty of God’s creation shared with his human creatures.
Love is spoken in many ways. In this poem (6:4–9), the man reiterates his love for the woman, rehearsing the familiar aspects of her beauty (see also 4:1–7) – her hair, her perfect teeth, her smooth cheeks (6:5–7). And now he also emphasises the uniqueness of her allure – she is the fairest of countless numbers of other women (6:8,9). His walk through the blossoming fields brings him inadvertently to a royal party of merry-making. Does he find his beloved there (6:12,13)?
Perhaps she was dancing (6:13 – 7:1). Gazing on her, he meditates on her beauty (7:1–9) – this time from her feet up! Amidst the fragrance and sights of this social occasion in the springtime, he is overwhelmed by his love for her (6:5). For him she is royalty, a princess (‘crowns’, ‘royal tapestry’, 7:1,5). She is the best (v 9)!
Respond
If you can, go for a walk outside. Be aware of creation, praising God for all the rich diversity of his world. Take delight especially in God’s gift of his supreme love in Jesus.
Deeper Bible study
‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made’1 becomes ‘I was made distinct in an awe-inspiring way’ in The Bible for Everyone. Linger over that miracle.
Have you noticed how new parents cannot take their eyes off their baby? Gazing at its little scrunched-up face, they search for a smile. They count fingers and toes again and again. They assume that all visitors will be gobsmacked by what love has produced: bones, skin, nails and a hair or two. A little person, a one-off personality has arrived on earth. In a planet of billions, of overflowing mega cities, swarming streets, teeming refugee camps, Love celebrates the exceptional uniqueness of one. ‘… my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favourite of the one who bore her’ (6:9).
As the poetic images mount up, this attentive focus on one person is a long lingering stare of amazement. No longer a baby, this girl is rediscovered to be matchless. An anatomist might declare that her body is like that of all other women. Yet in her lover’s opinion, all the queens and supermodels in the world have to admit that they come nowhere near her. While we may chuckle at his overt bias, his gasps carry profound truths. Each of us is special. Our bodies are not simply shells. Body, mind and spirit combine to make us who we are and who we become. In our fleshness and our frailty, we are distinctive, irreplaceable. And Love rejoices in the gift that we are to this world.
Physical perfection is unreal. The epidemic search for body image satisfaction is a desperate distraction from good news. Our Creator, who forms each in love, looks on us with pride. As we bask in his delight, he calls us to reach out to others, especially to those who have not experienced his tender touch.
Pray that your church may be Christ to those who feel unlovely and unlovable.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezra 1,2; Luke 2
Pray for Scripture Union
Thank God for all the volunteers who give up their time to serve on holidays and missions. Pray that they would be encouraged as they think about new ways of sharing God’s love with children and young people.