Song of Solomon 2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
In our text the scene has changed somewhat. We are still dealing with the groom, a type of Jesus Christ, and the bride, a type of the true local church/saint. God was painting a picture of something that was a mystery prior to the apostle Paul revealing it:
Ephesians 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
The concept of the local church was not well understood in the Old Testament. The prophecies regarding the church are there, but as we have noted before, Israel rejected the Messiah in His first coming. The book of Acts shows us that Israel rejected the local churches and their message. God gave the Old Testament people a picture of what was available for those who would submit to Him. As a people they understood human relationships.
Marriages have been taking place since God created man. The world rejected the purity of marriage, and multiple marriages became quite common. Even within Israel, multiple marriages was a major problem. The relationship between husband and wife are quite varied. Personality plays a part. However, the factor that really matters is where is God in the relationship. If the man is not saved and surrendered to the Lord, he will not be a good husband and father. If the wife is not saved and surrendered to the Lord, she cannot be a good wife and mother. Unequal yoking cannot make a good marriage. Many people pride themselves in being able to work things out. They know how to play word games and get a compromise on issues. When we follow the path of compromise we are always going downhill. A person does not improve himself through compromise. He may get more money or move up the corporate ladder, but he does not improve himself through compromise.
Absolute truth is pure. A person who pursues godliness will be improved because it is not him that is doing the work, but God. The person is simply implementing what God says works. Throughout the Bible we see that this causes tension. Cain killed his brother Abel because Abel was righteous and Cain was not. The flood of Genesis 6-8 was needed to judge the rebellion of man. God never changed to accommodate man’s resistance. He continued to show why His way is always right and a blessing.
In our text, the groom has been away from the bride for a time and is coming back home. He has been away due to business, or some other legitimate reason. It was not due to a fight, but due to commitments. He is not looking to stay away. He is coming back excited to be returning home. She is not preoccupied but is listening for his voice.
There have been times when my wife and I have been separated for a few days. Most times it has been when she has gone to help our children and grandchildren. The phone has always been there for us to communicate, but it has always been good when we are back together again.
In the spiritual realm the fact is that the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven at this time. There is a day coming, when He will return to take His bride home. In theological terms we call that the “rapture”. True saints are looking forward to the Lord’s return. Many saints have died already, and their souls are in heaven now, but they are awaiting the resurrection of their bodies at the Lord’s return as well.
We can know the Lord through His Word. True saints want to hear His Word. They want to be in a good church. They want to read the Word of God. However, there is nothing like being in the presence of the Lord. That is coming for all true saints.
In verse 9 we see that the groom plays a little game with his bride as he arrives home. He hides behind a wall and peeks through a window. He teases her with his return. A good marriage needs to allow for some light-heartedness. The bigger picture again is how true saints are living in anticipation of the Lord’s return. We are not given any signs indicating just how close His return is. We can see things taking place in our world now that remind us that He is coming back.
We have our government currently trying to bring in Bill C-9 which is designed to bring persecution to true saints. It has been under debate for a few days now. It seems our system is so corrupt that there is a lot of noise one way or another but things seem to just move ahead. The real hope that we have is that we have the true God Who limits the actions of the devil and his crowd. Interestingly one of the government people pushing this bill claims to be a Christian and yet he has stated that certain books of the Bible promote hatred. He is a liar and a deceiver. He assumes to be wiser than God in that he will critique God and tell Him what is permissible and what is not.
The first century Christians faced persecution to a greater extent than we have lately. They were not silenced by the persecution. They had a genuine love for the Lord and they were willing to suffer for His name. We need to be prepared for this as well.
In verse 10 we have the groom now inviting his bride to rise up out of bed and prepare for a journey with him. The bride is not preoccupied with earthly ventures. She is ready to leave and go with him.
In our years of ministry, I have tried to make sure that my wife is available if I need her to go on visitation with me. It is good to have her there if I need to call on a couple or if I need to call on a female. We are reminded that the wife is the help meet for the man.
In verses 11-13 we are given a picture of the time of year. This is not making an absolute statement that is restricting when the Lord can come for His saints. It is simply telling us what is happening in this scene. It is in the spring of the year. The rains are over and the flowers are blooming. The birds are singing. It is a busy time of the year.
The Lord’s return needs to be expected at any time. Life can get busy and we can become preoccupied. We need to be sure our schedule is not so full that we are caught off guard at Christ’s return. We need to be constantly reminding those around us of His soon return. For the saints this is exciting. For the lost, this is a non-issue now, but it will become an issue one day. For many it will be too late.
It is easy for us as people to get caught up in life and not be tuned in to what really matters. Some years ago I spoke with a young man who was looking for a bride. He had a long list of qualifications for his future bride. I told him he would need to revise that list. He needed to be sure he was prepared for the woman God wanted for him. He stated at one point that he knew the Lord could return at any time but he hoped He would delay His coming so that he could experience marriage first.
Of course he was thinking in a very short-sighted manner in that. We can all be preoccupied with things and have things we think are of greater importance than the Lord’s return. However, true saints need to have our thinking adjusted at times so that we keep in mind that nothing is of greater importance than the Lord’s return. While we anticipate this, we of course want to see loved ones saved. We want to see others know God’s peace now in anticipation of heaven one day. The Christian life is not just about heaven. It is about God’s forgiveness now and His blessings each day of our lives. He is good and His way is always the best.
We know that when the Lord comes in the clouds, there will be no hesitation of the true saints. That trump will sound and the saints will be gone. Whether sick on a hospital bed or crippled in a nursing home or a healthy person, all the saints will be gone quickly.
The world will be so busy welcoming the antichrist, that they will not pay too much attention to that small group that will suddenly be missing. It will be a wild time on this earth, but the saints will be resting in the Lord. I trust you are ready for that moment.
Pastor Bartel
