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See, today is an anniversary for Scott and me. Yes, we're one of those goofy couples that highlights every monthly anniversary, but we do it because it shows that even through the tough stuff, we can make it work however long. Today marks 1 year and 11 months for us - next month is two years! (Sidenote - WOOOOOW.) But anyways!
I wasn't too happy about reading the SoS, because Scott is working up at Whitehall this summer and I haven't heard much from him since he got there Sunday. It's been ohk so far, because of him being busy at school this past year, I've gotten accustomed to not speaking to him as much as we once did. That's all right. But not speaking to him a lot, paired with a bit of jealousy that he's at camp and I'm not, added with today being our anniversary = one crabby Kimber not wanting to deal with Solomon's love poems.
But, I read them. Of course. I'm a sucker for romance, whether I admit to it or not. And let me tell you, a few verses into SoS and I was hooked. Take a look for yourself:
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you! Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers."- Song of Solomon 1:2-4.I don't know about you, but I find that pretty romantic! In SoS, a man and a woman (exactly how many, the standings of each - royal/commoner - ect., are debated) speak to each other along with their friends, telling the other how great the other one is. The entire book is dedicated to this "storyline," with the friends replying once in a while to tell of their happiness for their friends, the woman saying how dreamy and dedicated the dude is, and the guy saying how gorgeous and pure his bride is. To some, it may seem boring - but to others, ahh, how romantic!
Think of that! Having the one you're marrying tell you things they love about you, how beautiful or handsome you are, how happy they are that you saved yourself for them in marriage, how happy they are that they're marrying you - it goes on and on. That would be pretty nice, right?
When I was reading through, one verse in particular stuck out to me. In Song of Solomon 2:2, the man says of his bride:
"Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women."I love, love, love this verse. Why? Think about it - the man is saying that his bride stands out from all of the other women around. It may not specify why this is, but to the man, she's the only one he sees.
What girl hasn't longed to be the one that stands out in the crowd? To be the only one that every guy has eyes for (in the right way, of course!) Face it - at least once, you've wanted to be the girl that the popular guy in the class wanted to take to the dance, or out on a date. Or vice versa; guys, you know that at least once you wanted to show all your friends up and be able to take that cheerleader out. While sometimes these feelings may be for the wrong reasons, I'm pretty sure every one of us has experienced them at one point or another.
Those are just regular people, though. Imagine if you're standing in a crowd of people and the person you're going to marry in the future points to you and says, that's the only person I see. That's the one for me. They're better than the rest in my eyes, and I'm going to marry them. That would be pretty cool, right? Of course it would!
This guy in the verse is saying how his bride is like a lily among thorns - in essence, a rare beauty, inside and out. There is the obvious comparison, which says how the bride was much more beautiful than all of the other young women that the man saw, and that's what made her stand out to him. But there's also something more, something about the beauty on the inside. The girl could possibly be a lily among the thorns because she has a good personality as compared to the others, or a better and gentler temperament. However, it says in the verses several times about how the girl was pure; she was still a virgin when she married the man, which could be different than many of the other girls - truly making her a "lily" among the "thorns."
Whatever the man means, 1 thing is clear: these two were crazy about each other. Another verse that I love from this book is Song of Solomon 8:6, which reads:
"Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame."To me, that is SUPER romantic. Once, in a county chorus festival, we sang a song that had these words in it. I about died every time we sang it just because it was so sweet! (I'm totally listening to it now, here you go,)
Whether or not you have a bride waiting for you, or a groom, Song of Solomon can be something that makes you think. Are you trying to be a lily among the thorns for your future spouse? It isn't just about looking good - separating yourself from the sex scene and staying pure, keeping your head and having a good attitude, and having a cheerful, Christlike personality make you stand out even more than your looks.
Your NR challenge for this post is exactly that: separate yourself from the mainstream and try to be the lily in today's world. Not only will your future spouse love you for it, but your friends, family, God, and you will as well.
Are you in?
- Kimber.
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