The Song Of Solomon 6.4-10

“My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as awe-inspiring as bannered armies.
Turn your eyes away from me—
they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Mount Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing;
each has its twin;
not one of them is missing.
Like a slice of pomegranate
is your forehead behind your veil.
There may be sixty queens,
and eighty concubines,
and young women without number.
But she is unique,
my dove, my perfect one!
She is the special daughter of her mother;
she is the favourite of the one who bore her.
The maidens saw her and complimented her;
the queens and concubines praised her:
“Who is this who appearslike the dawn?
Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
awe-inspiring as the stars in procession?”

(The Song Of Solomon 6.4-10, NET)

The search seems to be over (6.1) and the lovers are reunited. In 6.4-10 we are reading of the husband’s praise of his wife: an important part of a healthy relationship. Wives (and husbands too) should know that their partner prefers them over everyone else (vv.8-10). The husband describes his wife as comparable to the beautiful cities of Tizrah and Jerusalem, and again praises the beauty of her appearance (vv.4-7).

The key truth in this passage is that a restored relationship is being actively enjoyed. The search is over, the two parties are together again, and all feels right in the world.

For you and for me, whilst this passage may not direct us toward an earthly spouse and our primary horizontal relationship this side of eternity, it does direct us to pursue a relationship that is both vertical and eternal.

As the husband and wife were temporarily separated here yet yearned to be together, so too is the state of the current relationship (if left unaltered) between man and God. Sin has separated us, brought distance into the relationship, and there is a yearning for that to be removed and covered. Through the sinless, spotless, and supreme sacrifice of Jesus on the cross satisfying the righteous requirements of a holy God and clearing sin’s record of debt against us, we are able by grace and through faith to be restored to right relationship with the God in whose image we are made.

Take these truths into your day today:

The Father rejoices and celebrates when relationships are restored. Read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:

 ^“It was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’”

(Luke 15.32, NET)

The celebration is not limited to one side, though:

“Look, here is our God!
We waited for him, and he delivered us.
Here is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”

(Isaiah 25.9, NET)