Isaiah 31
KingCommentsIsaiah 31:2
The Bride: a Lily
The bride says that she is “the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys” (Song of Solomon 2:1). The rose and the lily are small field flowers. In this way, the bride expressed her smallness, which she emphasized by saying that she is a lily “of the valleys”. The valley points to a place of humiliation. Sharon and the valley become places of safety and rest for God’s people, who come from the great tribulation: “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, and the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me” (Isaiah 65:10).
In Song of Solomon 2:2 the groom reacts to what the bride says in Song of Solomon 2:1 of herself. He takes over the picture the bride uses and speaks of her as “a lily”. That’s how he sees her. And he sees her, this delicate wild flower, “among the thorns”, so that her beauty is all the more apparent. She is like a diamond lying on a black cloth, making the brilliance of the diamond shine all the stronger.
Thorns, often called along with thistles, are a picture of sin (Genesis 3:18). It is human nature, as it was made by the fall into sin. “The maidens” can be seen here as the daughters of apostate Israel (Hosea 4:14; Ezekiel 2:6). Thorns will no longer be there in the kingdom of peace (Ezekiel 28:24). “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up” (Isaiah 55:13). This is thanks to the Lord Jesus, Who has born the curse of sin.
The world is full of thorns and thistles and sighs under the consequences of the curse that rests on creation through sin (Romans 8:20-22). It is very painful to dwell here. Sometimes we feel it among each other that there are thorns and thistles. We too can hurt others.
Yet here we read that it is said: “As a lily among the thorns, so are you.” A lily is a flower that flowers only for a short time. The Lord Jesus says: “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is [alive] today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, [will He] not much more [clothe] you?” (Matthew 6:28-30). We see here that the Lord compares the lilies in the field to the grass because of the short-lived glory they have. The lilies shine one day and are burned the next day in the furnace.
Despite its brevity, God clothed the lilies with a beauty that surpasses the glory of Solomon. The followers of the Lord Jesus receive a glory greater than that of Solomon, despite the fact that He must address them as ‘you of little faith’. The bride has the same great glory in the eyes of the groom, despite what she thinks of herself. The faithful remnant of Israel will be clothed by the Messiah with a glory coming from Himself (Ezekiel 16:14).
The Lord Jesus sees His own in a world full of thorns and thistles. For Him they are like lilies. That may give us confidence in the short time we are on earth. He will give us everything we need. The care that He has for the faithful remnant in the end time, He now also has for us. We may be witnesses in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15) and especially in the midst of an apostate professing Christianity.
Isaiah 31:3
The Bride: a Lily
The bride says that she is “the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys” (Song of Solomon 2:1). The rose and the lily are small field flowers. In this way, the bride expressed her smallness, which she emphasized by saying that she is a lily “of the valleys”. The valley points to a place of humiliation. Sharon and the valley become places of safety and rest for God’s people, who come from the great tribulation: “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, and the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me” (Isaiah 65:10).
In Song of Solomon 2:2 the groom reacts to what the bride says in Song of Solomon 2:1 of herself. He takes over the picture the bride uses and speaks of her as “a lily”. That’s how he sees her. And he sees her, this delicate wild flower, “among the thorns”, so that her beauty is all the more apparent. She is like a diamond lying on a black cloth, making the brilliance of the diamond shine all the stronger.
Thorns, often called along with thistles, are a picture of sin (Genesis 3:18). It is human nature, as it was made by the fall into sin. “The maidens” can be seen here as the daughters of apostate Israel (Hosea 4:14; Ezekiel 2:6). Thorns will no longer be there in the kingdom of peace (Ezekiel 28:24). “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up” (Isaiah 55:13). This is thanks to the Lord Jesus, Who has born the curse of sin.
The world is full of thorns and thistles and sighs under the consequences of the curse that rests on creation through sin (Romans 8:20-22). It is very painful to dwell here. Sometimes we feel it among each other that there are thorns and thistles. We too can hurt others.
Yet here we read that it is said: “As a lily among the thorns, so are you.” A lily is a flower that flowers only for a short time. The Lord Jesus says: “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is [alive] today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, [will He] not much more [clothe] you?” (Matthew 6:28-30). We see here that the Lord compares the lilies in the field to the grass because of the short-lived glory they have. The lilies shine one day and are burned the next day in the furnace.
Despite its brevity, God clothed the lilies with a beauty that surpasses the glory of Solomon. The followers of the Lord Jesus receive a glory greater than that of Solomon, despite the fact that He must address them as ‘you of little faith’. The bride has the same great glory in the eyes of the groom, despite what she thinks of herself. The faithful remnant of Israel will be clothed by the Messiah with a glory coming from Himself (Ezekiel 16:14).
The Lord Jesus sees His own in a world full of thorns and thistles. For Him they are like lilies. That may give us confidence in the short time we are on earth. He will give us everything we need. The care that He has for the faithful remnant in the end time, He now also has for us. We may be witnesses in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15) and especially in the midst of an apostate professing Christianity.
Isaiah 31:4
My Beloved Is Like an Apple Tree
The bride gives a testimony again of what the groom means to her. He compared her in the previous verse to “a lily among the thorns”. She now compares him to “an apple tree among the trees of the forest”. A tree is a picture of power (cf. Daniel 4:10-14; 20-26; Ezekiel 17:24). The apple tree speaks of the Lord Jesus. The other trees represent the young men of the world, impressive people, who also try to get the bride’s attention and who want to seduce her to love them.
For those other trees she has no further attention, despite their impressive stature. Her longing goes out only to him, whom she calls “my beloved”. There is no one who can be compared to him. He is and has everything she desires. She yearns strongly for him because of his shadow and his fruit, i.e. because of his protection and his food.
Under the apple tree there is rest in the first place: she wants to sit there (cf. Luke 10:39). It is a refuge from the heat: there is shade (Isaiah 25:4). There is also food of which the taste is good: the fruit is sweet (Psalms 34:8). When the Lord Jesus gave food to the crowd, He first let them sit quietly (Mark 6:31; 39-40). To receive something from Him, there must be rest. When we fly back and forth restlessly or are disturbed by all kinds of reports on the means of communication we have in our pockets or bags, we miss much of the food He gives us.
We must be close to Him to experience His shadow, His protection, and enjoy His fruit. If we stray from Him, if we are not close to Him, we miss His shadow. Christ is not simply a means to come into heaven, but in Him the joy of heaven comes down to fill our hearts and support us on our journey to heaven.
In God’s Word, apples, the fruits of the apple tree, are compared to good words. In Proverbs 25 it says in visual language: “[Like] apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” (Proverbs 25:11). The words themselves are of gold; the silver speaks of the way they are passed on. That is how the Lord Jesus speaks to us. Gold speaks of Divine glory. Silver refers to the price paid for salvation. When we sit in His shadow and want to eat of the fruit of the tree, it means that He speaks to us words of Divine glory, which are connected with salvation.
How beautiful it would be if we could speak among ourselves in the same way, words that bear witness to God’s glory and words that we know are linked to salvation. Then we will not speak harsh words. Husbands are warned not to be embittered against their wives (Colossians 3:19). That will not happen when they speak good words, words that build up. To speak good words, we must first take them to us and eat them.
Jeremiah tells us how this can be done: “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). Isn’t that encouraging? When we talk to each other, let us use words that are good, that we want to eat, words that do us good spiritually and make and keep us healthy. The awareness that we have been called by God’s Name, that we have been named after His Name, will work that out within us.
So we can rightly say that the Lord Jesus Christ is ‘the apple tree’ for the believer. Let us sit in His shadow and eat of His fruit.
Isaiah 31:5
His Banner over Me Is Love
The bride, after sitting in the shadow of the groom and enjoying what he is eating (Song of Solomon 2:3), is brought by the groom into a fullness of joy. This is symbolically expressed by the “banquet hall”, or better “the house of wine” (Darby translation) in which he brings her. She rejoices in his love, which is like a banner over her. A banner represents victory. Where the banner is placed, the victory is achieved. Love overcomes the greatest fear and enmity.
The believer may know that the Lord Jesus brought him into the full joy of the fellowship with Him. As we have seen before (Song of Solomon 1:2b), wine is a picture of joy. Here we see ourselves as believers brought into a house of joy. We did not enter that house in our own power and we did not invite ourselves to it. Christ has invited us. He brought us there; in His grace He gave us that place with Him. Through His work on the cross He opened the door of that house for us and carried us inside.
The Lord Jesus demonstrates this in the parable of the lost sheep found by the shepherd. He puts it on his shoulders rejoicing and brings it home. Then he calls together his friends and his neighbors and invites them to rejoice with him. It is a picture of the joy that is in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:5-7).
The same and even more impressive we see in the parable that the Lord Jesus tells about the prodigal son, also in Luke 15. When this son comes home, his father brings him into his own house, the father’s house, where there is an abundance of joy. A large meal is prepared there in an atmosphere of joy, which begins but never ends: “And they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:24). That starts here on earth, where we can already enjoy this feast as a foretaste of heaven, where we will continue this feast for all eternity.
The banner speaks of the Lord Jesus as the Victor and of His power (Exodus 17:15; Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:10; 12). He proved His love by dying for us and thereby freeing us from the fear of the devil: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a).
The banner not only represents victory, but also of ownership. The area where a banner is located belongs to the person who placed the banner there. If we look up and see the banner, we see Him, the Victor, and we know His love. Then we are no longer afraid of any power that might snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28-29). The banner of His love is like a shawl in which He has completely wrapped us, making us feel His warmth and also protection and security. We may rest with joy in that love.
This combination of joy and love we also see in God. Through the work of His Son God can rejoice with joy over His people and be quiet or rest in His love (Zephaniah 3:17). We are enabled to share in the feelings of God, because Christ has carried the judgment of God in our place. By doing so, He opened the door to the house of complete joy and love, to the house and the heart of the Father for us.
Isaiah 31:6
I Am Lovesick
The bride is overwhelmed by the banner of love of the groom over her (Song of Solomon 2:4). She is even “lovesick” (Song of Solomon 2:5). With this she says that she has the feeling that her heart succumbs under his love. Lovesick for us means merging into the perfect happiness of the consciousness of our Lord’s love, where the heart still cannot grasp all that He has done for us. It is becoming overwhelmed at the thought of all that the Lord has given and done, and will give and will do.
The bride wants to respond to his love, but is not able to. His love is so great, so impressive, that she succumbs to it. Therefore she asks him to strengthen her with “raisin cakes”. She wants to experience the full joy of his love. Raisin cakes are just like wine made from grapes. They speak of joy connected with power, a power that for the believer is found in God: “The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b).
For Jerusalem, the bride of the Messiah, the time will come when she will no longer strengthen herself with the raisin cakes of the idols (Hosea 3:1), but with His raisin cakes. This will happen when the Lord Jesus returns as the true David to Jerusalem to reign there. We see that in picture as David brings the ark to Jerusalem. He then distributes “to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one” (2 Samuel 6:19).
We can learn from the bride that she does not do her best to experience that love and to express her joy about it. She wants to rejoice about his love, but is aware that she also depends on the groom for that. In some Christian groups it is only about joy. You have to be happy and express it loudly and also come up with all kinds of forms for it. Here we learn that the real experience of the love of the Lord Jesus overwhelms us and breaks us down. The reaction to this is not a beaten-up joy, but the question to the Lord to help us with His power and to answer His love.
And she requires not only reinforcement, but also refreshment. Not only strength is needed, but also consolation (cf. Psalms 94:19). In her need for refreshment she asks for “apples”. We can see in this the question of a believer who has come impressed by the love of the Lord Jesus and who wants to be invigorated by His words. These are words for someone personally in his own specific circumstances. He is able to make the proverb come true that “[like] apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” (Proverbs 25:11). Whoever knows the Lord Jesus and is overwhelmed by His love has a great longing for Him and wants to know Him better, especially in the circumstances in which he finds himself.
We need His support. We recognize this support in the bride’s longing for the left and right arm of the groom in Song of Solomon 2:6. This is a highlight in the book. After a period of trials and desires the moment of rest and security comes. There may be doubt and unrest if we do not experience the Lord. But He will convince us of His great love, which will make us long for Him.
The bride wishes to be in his arms. She mentions his two arms separately. His left arm is the arm that comes as it were from his heart, from his love – the heart is on the left. His right arm is the arm of his power (Isaiah 41:10; Psalms 63:8). In his arms she is safe in all respects (cf. Deuteronomy 33:27). The fact that his left hand is under her head also means that he lifts her head to look at him. The fact that his right arm embraces her means that he keeps it protective around her.
We recognize this in the Lord Jesus. Whoever lives in an intimate relationship with Him will experience His love and power. It is not about strength in itself, but about strength that works in an intimate relationship. His love supports and protects. If we can experience His love and power in this way, perfect peace has come. This will be experienced by the believing remnant of Israel in the future, when after the great tribulation they will see on Him Whom they have pierced and at the same time will find complete peace in Him.
With this scene of rest, the third part of the first main part of the book ends. The two previous parts have also ended in the same way. The first part, Song of Songs 1:1-4, ends with the bride brought into the king’s chambers (Song of Solomon 1:4); the second part, Song of Songs 1:5-17, ends with the scene that the king and his bride are together (Song of Solomon 1:17).
Isaiah 31:7
I Am Lovesick
The bride is overwhelmed by the banner of love of the groom over her (Song of Solomon 2:4). She is even “lovesick” (Song of Solomon 2:5). With this she says that she has the feeling that her heart succumbs under his love. Lovesick for us means merging into the perfect happiness of the consciousness of our Lord’s love, where the heart still cannot grasp all that He has done for us. It is becoming overwhelmed at the thought of all that the Lord has given and done, and will give and will do.
The bride wants to respond to his love, but is not able to. His love is so great, so impressive, that she succumbs to it. Therefore she asks him to strengthen her with “raisin cakes”. She wants to experience the full joy of his love. Raisin cakes are just like wine made from grapes. They speak of joy connected with power, a power that for the believer is found in God: “The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b).
For Jerusalem, the bride of the Messiah, the time will come when she will no longer strengthen herself with the raisin cakes of the idols (Hosea 3:1), but with His raisin cakes. This will happen when the Lord Jesus returns as the true David to Jerusalem to reign there. We see that in picture as David brings the ark to Jerusalem. He then distributes “to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one” (2 Samuel 6:19).
We can learn from the bride that she does not do her best to experience that love and to express her joy about it. She wants to rejoice about his love, but is aware that she also depends on the groom for that. In some Christian groups it is only about joy. You have to be happy and express it loudly and also come up with all kinds of forms for it. Here we learn that the real experience of the love of the Lord Jesus overwhelms us and breaks us down. The reaction to this is not a beaten-up joy, but the question to the Lord to help us with His power and to answer His love.
And she requires not only reinforcement, but also refreshment. Not only strength is needed, but also consolation (cf. Psalms 94:19). In her need for refreshment she asks for “apples”. We can see in this the question of a believer who has come impressed by the love of the Lord Jesus and who wants to be invigorated by His words. These are words for someone personally in his own specific circumstances. He is able to make the proverb come true that “[like] apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” (Proverbs 25:11). Whoever knows the Lord Jesus and is overwhelmed by His love has a great longing for Him and wants to know Him better, especially in the circumstances in which he finds himself.
We need His support. We recognize this support in the bride’s longing for the left and right arm of the groom in Song of Solomon 2:6. This is a highlight in the book. After a period of trials and desires the moment of rest and security comes. There may be doubt and unrest if we do not experience the Lord. But He will convince us of His great love, which will make us long for Him.
The bride wishes to be in his arms. She mentions his two arms separately. His left arm is the arm that comes as it were from his heart, from his love – the heart is on the left. His right arm is the arm of his power (Isaiah 41:10; Psalms 63:8). In his arms she is safe in all respects (cf. Deuteronomy 33:27). The fact that his left hand is under her head also means that he lifts her head to look at him. The fact that his right arm embraces her means that he keeps it protective around her.
We recognize this in the Lord Jesus. Whoever lives in an intimate relationship with Him will experience His love and power. It is not about strength in itself, but about strength that works in an intimate relationship. His love supports and protects. If we can experience His love and power in this way, perfect peace has come. This will be experienced by the believing remnant of Israel in the future, when after the great tribulation they will see on Him Whom they have pierced and at the same time will find complete peace in Him.
With this scene of rest, the third part of the first main part of the book ends. The two previous parts have also ended in the same way. The first part, Song of Songs 1:1-4, ends with the bride brought into the king’s chambers (Song of Solomon 1:4); the second part, Song of Songs 1:5-17, ends with the scene that the king and his bride are together (Song of Solomon 1:17).
Isaiah 31:8
No Love Before the Appointed Time
Song of Solomon 2:7 is a refrain we encounter three times in the book, here for the first time (Song of Solomon 2:7; Song of Solomon 3:5; Song of Solomon 8:4). It is about the special character of love, about which the groom speaks to the “daughters of Jerusalem”. The daughters of Jerusalem represent believers who have a connection with the Lord Jesus, but do not live in the same close relationship with Him as the bride, and also have other thoughts about love. They try to manipulate and steer love through prescriptions. But this is not how love can be guided.
When love is enforced, there is no more rest in love. This is shown in the comparison with the “gazelles” and “hinds”. These are shy animals. If there is no danger, if everything is quiet around them, they move full of grace. However, as soon as they smell the slightest danger, they become nervous. Their rest is gone, and they are darting away. So it is with love.
Prophetically we can apply this to Jerusalem. It would be a forcing of love if the Lord Jesus returned now, for Jerusalem is not yet ready for it. She doesn’t know Him and doesn’t want to accept His love. First the city, that is to say the remnant, must go through the great tribulation. She will fervently long for His love and look forward to Him. Then love will be pleased to show herself to her and to embrace and protect her.
That’s how love always works. She has her own laws. Love should not be forced and she must not be aroused prematurely. That does not fit with love. Arousing or awakening love before it is time for love to express herself, means disturbing the rest of love. We can apply this to the relationship with our children. We have seen the arms of the groom, what they mean as expressions of love for the bride. How do our children think about our arms? Do we embrace our children, or are they afraid of it because they are arms with hands hitting them?
Love needs time and must be given time. Let us also be patient with our children and with our brothers and sisters when we see something in them that we may not like so much. Let us not intervene too quickly. Our young people need time to grow in their love for the Lord Jesus. We can block this growth by asking for proofs of their love, which they cannot (yet) give. Remarks such as “if you really love the Lord Jesus” or “if you really love me” can lead someone to an action we desire, while love is lacking in that action. That breaks off love.
The whole scene of Song 2:4-7 speaks of an atmosphere of love, of a love that cannot be forced. Real love needs time to develop. Older believers and parents can make their contribution. They do so in accordance with the awareness of the patience that the Lord has also had with them. Do we realize how much patience the Lord has had with us?
Isaiah 31:9
The Beloved Is Coming
Here a new section begins. After the time of the first love in the previous section, a certain time of slackening has come in the bride’s love. There is a distance between her and the groom. We probably recognize this when we look at our own lives. In the first time of our Christian life, we gave the Lord Jesus the first place. After that a time of cooling has come, the first love is somewhat eroded. Other things have come into our hearts, so that our love no longer goes out only to Him.
The bride wakes up as it were when she hears the voice of her beloved. She doesn’t see him yet, but she recognizes his voice. Thus the Lord wants us to give Him our first love again, that is our one and only love. For this He uses His voice, that is His Word. When we read God’s Word, we hear the voice of the Lord Jesus. And when we hear His voice, we also get an eye for Him again. We see this when the bride then says: “Behold, he is coming.” Not only does she hear him, but now she also sees him.
She also sees how the groom comes. He comes “climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills”. In the mountains and hills we see a picture of the great and small difficulties in our life, as a result of which the Lord Jesus has disappeared from sight. Apart from His Word the Lord also uses difficulties and problems in our life to regain sight on Him. When His voice has again penetrated our heart, and our eyes have turned to His Person, we see that He is above the difficulties. For Him there are no such problems.
By introducing Himself to us in this way He wants to lift us up above our problems. The problems don’t disappear, but He helps us to get out of it and not let us be controlled by it. We will gain that experience when we cast all our care upon Him. If we do, we will find peace in the certainty that He is taking care of us. He invites us to bring to Him all worries and difficulties: “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you” (Psalms 55:22a; 1 Peter 5:7; Matthew 6:25-30).
When we cast (there is power in that expression) our burden upon Him, He has taken them over from us and continues to take care of us. If we don’t do that, we will continue to walk around with our burden and will be so preoccupied by it that we have no eye for God. But He loves it to take care of us. That means that every detail of our life is close to His heart. He not only wants to be involved, he wants to take over all our needs from us. He brings us into trial and need, that we may learn to accept it from His hand and give it into His hand (Psalms 10:14).