Love Like Flaming Steel
Since my pastor is currently going through the Song of Solomon on Sundays, I thought I'd do some research of my own. My particular favorite passage is chapter 8, verses 6 and 7. The language is terse, passionate, and very poetic...
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.
Re-translated: Establish me as a sign of strength upon your arm, for love is as fierce as Death itself, the ardour of anger as severe as hell; its fire-bolts are the sparks of supernatural fire -- a sword of flaming steel. Dangers cannot extinguish love, nor can rivers engulf it. If a man delivered up all of his inheritance and wealth for love, it would be counted as insignificant.
Wow! That is powerful word imagery. The word "love" used in this passage ('ahabah) is also used of God's love for His people. Even though this passage is the Bride speaking to Solomon, in such powerful language, just imagine how much more God's love is for us. This is difficult to fathom.
posted by Carey @ 4/27/2006 12:34:00 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Song of Soloman is very "intense" to say the least.
That is a beautiful picture you portray, Carey, about God's love for us.
Christ compares his relationship to His church as a Marriage. Pauls himself finds it a mystery.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32
What an honour!
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Rev. 21:9
That is one wedding I am looking forward to!
AMEN. LOL
I don't know why those are taken as the words of the bride... all commentators I read think so.
They might be right but they offer almost no explanation (I don't care for the original Hebrew, I have my original right next to me in my bag)...
All but one commentator think the words of v.5 are the King's, so why not v.6?
We are the ones sealed in
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
how would the church know that love is as strong as death? Christ would know, He died for the church.
John 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
As for the coals of the grave,
the church doesn't know the flames of hell, Christ does
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against IT.
the gates of hell shall not prevail against "IT": "THIS ROCK", the LITERAL gates of the LITERAL hell, never get anywhere near the church, not now, not ever. Christ was talking about HIMSELF how that he should fulfill prophecy (Psalm 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;)
Christ is always the one jealous for us in the Bible.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
I completely agree with you, George. It makes more sense to me that the Bridegroom would say this. In fact, the word used for "jealousy" is in the sense of a husband's jealousy.
I agree, those are cetainly not the words of the bride but of the Bridegroom.
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