Song of Solomon 2
BSASBThe bride and bridegroom trade words of delight. She remembers his coming to her, and his invitation to leave winter behind and step into the spring of love. The chapter ends with a longing for him to return, with a warning to guard love until its proper time.
Song of Solomon 2:1
The woman describes herself with modest words. She is a common flower of the coastal plain of Sharon, not a rare hothouse bloom. She speaks simply and without pride, ready to be loved. Humble beauty is still beauty in the eyes of the one who loves her.
Song of Solomon 2:2
He answers by lifting her above every other woman. Next to her, other young women look like thorns beside a lily. This is the language of devoted love. To the one who loves, the beloved stands out from all others.
Song of Solomon 2:3
She turns the compliment back. Among the young men he is like a fruit tree in a wild forest, giving shade and sweet fruit. His presence gives her rest and delight. She does not merely admire him. She sits down under his shade and is nourished.
Song of Solomon 2:4
He leads her into a place of feasting and joy. Over her flies his banner, the sign of his claim on her. His claim is not a threat. It is love, and it covers her like a protecting flag over a gathering.
Song of Solomon 2:5
Love has overwhelmed her. She asks for raisins and apples as a person weak from emotion might ask for food. She is not ill in body. She is swept up, and the sweetness of love leaves her longing for more strength to bear it.
Song of Solomon 2:6
The picture is of tender closeness. His left hand supports her head, and his right arm holds her. Here is safety, rest and affection. In marriage, love is meant to be a place of security, not only of excitement.
Song of Solomon 2:7
She turns to the young women of Jerusalem with a solemn charge. Love is not to be stirred up before its proper time. Its power is great and should be entered with care. The same charge returns later in the book.
Song of Solomon 2:8
She hears him before she sees him. He comes eagerly over the hills as if nothing could hold him back. Love overcomes obstacles. The picture of a lover racing to reach the one he loves is one the believer may also feel in the longing for Christ.
Song of Solomon 2:9
He is like a gazelle, swift and graceful. Now he stands outside her house, looking in through the windows. He is near but not yet within. He watches for her, wanting to be seen and answered.
Song of Solomon 2:10
He speaks and calls her to rise and come away with him. He names her his darling and his beautiful one. His invitation begins with affection. He wants her company, not only her service.
Song of Solomon 2:11
Winter is gone, and with it the cold rains that kept everyone indoors. In the land of Israel the rains fall in the winter months. Their ending is the signal that life can come outside again. A hard season has passed.
Song of Solomon 2:12
Spring has arrived. Flowers appear, birds sing, and turtledoves return. All creation seems to join in a song. The couple’s love is set within a world that is waking up and rejoicing.
Song of Solomon 2:13
The fig tree sets its early fruit and the vines in blossom give off fragrance. Every sense is invited. He repeats his call to rise and come away. A good invitation is worth saying twice, and love does not tire of asking.
Song of Solomon 2:14
She is like a dove hidden high in the rock, shy and out of reach. He wants to see her face and hear her voice. He does not ask her to be anything but herself. For the believer, God likewise longs for us to come out of hiding and speak.
See also: Exodus 33:22.
Song of Solomon 2:15
This verse is a playful call to deal with small foxes that spoil the vineyards while the vines are in bloom. Small things can ruin tender growth. Whether the words are his or hers, the lesson is that love needs guarding from little neglects before they become large ruin.
Song of Solomon 2:16
She states their belonging to each other in a few words. Each is given and received. He feeds his flock among the lilies, at ease in a place of beauty. Love at its best is mutual, joyful and secure.
Song of Solomon 2:17
She asks him to stay until the cool of the evening, when the day breathes and shadows flee, and then to go like a gazelle on the mountains. The location of Bether is uncertain. The verse closes on longing, and love that wants the beloved near.