Isaiah 34

Isaiah 34:1

The Bolt Removed

In the previous verses we have seen that the bride has fallen asleep and is no longer paying attention to the groom. When the groom comes to her and wakes her up, she makes several excuses to stay in her cozy bedroom. The groom says who she is for him and what he has done for her. But the bride maintains: she doesn’t want to get out of her easy position and follow the groom outside. She has locked her room for him with her apologies. We have seen the application this has for us in our relationship with the Lord Jesus.

In the verses we now have before us, we see that the groom, although he has been declined, continues to approach his bride. The bride sees her beloved extending his hand through the opening of the door (Song of Solomon 5:4). She has locked the door for him. But he finds an opening in the room in which she has locked up herself. Through that opening he shows his hand. That touches her. It is the hand of her beloved, the hand that is busy for her. That hand wants to remove the bolt, so that the bride can come to him.

This reminds us of the hands of the Lord Jesus that He shows to His own when they are afraid together (Luke 24:39; Zechariah 13:6). It are the hands pierced for them. The Lord Jesus also knows how to find an opening in our lives to show us His pierced hand. If we see that hand, His hand, which was nailed to the cross for us, for me, it cannot leave us unmoved. It will make us, just like the bride, restless inside.

Seeing the groom’s hand leads the bride to arise (Song of Solomon 5:5). She wants to open the door for him. She takes the handle of the bolt. There appears to be myrrh on it. His hand has left that myrrh on it and it is now on her own hands and fingers. She comes into personal contact with it. It is myrrh in abundance, her hands “drip with myrrh”. It is also “liquid myrrh”, there is movement in it. She is – in picture – reminded of his suffering, to which the myrrh refers.

This is also what we need when our love for the Lord Jesus is weakened. We need the remembrance of His suffering, not superficially, but the deep experience of it. Once again, I have to understand very well what He has suffered for me personally. The myrrh must drip, as it were, from my hands and fingers. This will lead me to commit myself once again entirely to Him and to give Him all my love.

We see in Peter that he denies the Lord as soon as he gets into trouble. This is because he fell asleep in Gethsemane. Then the Lord shows him His love by looking at Him – while He suffers. Thus He pours, as it were, the myrrh over His hands. Through this personal encounter with the Lord in His suffering, Peter repents.

Then the bride gets up to open (Song of Solomon 5:6). When she opens the door to let him in, it turns out that it is no longer there. He is gone! Where is he? He has withdrawn. Why? He wants her to experience what her refusal to open up means to him. That is how it can be in our lives. When we finally come to open the door for Him and allow Him back into our lives, He suddenly cannot be found. Then we must learn that He also does this out of love for us, to teach us even more to realize Who He is. For He did not disappear forever, but He left to persuade us to seek Him.

The bride has suddenly come to life. She is suddenly full of action to look for Him. How did that come about? She says it: “My heart went out [to him] as he spoke.” His voice, his words, have worked that out in her. That’s how it goes with us. The words of the Lord Jesus “are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). He speaks living and life-giving words. Peter acknowledges this and therefore wants to go to none other than the Lord, for He has “words of eternal life” (John 6:67-69).

The bride goes out searching for him, but doesn’t find him. She calls, but he doesn’t answer. By leaving he tests her longing if she really wants to search for him. We also sometimes wonder why the Lord does not answer when we seek Him in prayer. One of the lessons He wants us to learn is that we ourselves cannot set the conditions for contact with Him. Sometimes God hides Himself from us, that is the feeling we have at least (cf. Lamentations 3:8; 44), because we have hidden ourselves so often for Him. Sometimes God does not answer our calls, because so often we have not answered His speaking to us.

It is His love that acts this way, for He wants to work dedication and arouse love. Therefore the Lord also lets us go through exercises to see if we miss Him and seek Him. He then tries us to see if it really matters to us that we want to have fellowship with Him. It is also possible that we only call to Him because we are in a bad situation. We want to be delivered from that and if God only just wants to do that. After that we can continue with our own life, in which He should not interfere too emphatically.

If we really want to live a life in fellowship with Him, we will not be disappointed if He does not answer immediately or answers in a different way than we imagine. Then we continue to trust that He has the best for us and we persevere in our search for Him. We see that here with the bride. She continues her search. This brings her into circumstances through which she testifies to who the groom is to her, as the following verses show. The Lord Jesus also wants to work this in us through situations in which we, to our feelings, have lost Him.

Isaiah 34:2

Searching For the Groom

The bride continues searching in the city (Song of Solomon 5:7). There the watchmen make the rounds. So it is still night. She doesn’t search for them, but they find her and act harshly against her. We have met the watchmen before (Song of Solomon 3:1-3). There they are not as harshly in their actions as here. Now they wound the bride. When distance has come between the Lord and us, we sometimes have to make painful experiences. Then the Lord lets this happen to bring us back to Him.

Being struck and wounded, which literally happens to the bride here, can also happen on a figurative level, for example by making severe reproaches. Accusatory words can cut hard. They wound the soul, they hurt within. That happens when we are in a place where we do not belong. If the bride had immediately risen and had opened the groom, this would not have happened, then she would have been spared this suffering and shame.

The guardsmen also take her shawl or veil from her. The veil is a picture of complete dedication to the groom. The veil means: I am only for Him. But that is not true. It is her profession, but not her practice. Therefore, the veil must be removed. If there is hypocrisy in our life, the Lord must denounce it and take it away.

For example, we say that we only come together in the Name of the Lord Jesus. But it is hypocrisy if we still give our own interpretation to the meetings. Or we have our established habits from which it is not allowed to deviate. Then the Spirit of God cannot work and the veil must be removed. In this case, the veil is not a sign of dedication and surrender, but a kind of bolt. These kinds of bolts, which give the appearance of dedication, but in reality block the Lord’s and the Spirit’s access to our life, must be taken away.

If the Lord sometimes uses hard-handed methods for this, let us not blame the other who is used by the Lord for it. The ‘guardsmen’ who find us can be all kinds of people. Even though they are people who, like the guardsmen, have no idea what they are doing to us, it is still important to see the Lord’s hand in them. He is busy bringing us back to a living relationship with Him.

We see the effect with the bride. She is not confused, but accepts the treatment she gets. She knows it is her own fault. That is where the return begins. She has come at a low point and is starting to make her way up.

We also see it with Samson. His long hair – the outward sign of his dedication and separation to God – was cut off and removed (Judges 16:17-19). His eyes are gouged out and he grinds flour in the Philistine prison (Judges 16:21). Deeper he could not sink. But then we read that the hair of his head began to grow again (Judges 16:22). If we have become sincere and honest, that is a new beginning. Our first dedication was good at first, but gradually it became a cover, a bolt. When this is seen, the time has come for a new dedication. That is what the Lord wants to work with you and me.

From a prophetic point of view, this will happen to the remnant in the end time from the side of the antichrist and his followers. They will chastise the remnant, the bride, because she does not join them in following the antichrist. They are a means in God’s hand for this, without realizing it themselves.

After this humiliating lesson, the bride does not take a defeatist attitude. She continues to search. She did not ask the guardsmen for help. She has no relation with them at all. They found her and engaged with her uninvited. This is different with “the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Solomon 5:8). She turns to them and asks if they want to tell the groom that she is lovesick when they find him. In doing so, she indicates how much she desires his presence. She said that once before (Song of Solomon 2:5), but there she is in the arms of the groom. Here she says it while she misses him and he had to leave her as a result of her own fault.

She is not ashamed of her weakness and asks for help in her search from those who do not have that intimate relationship with the groom (cf. Song of Solomon 6:1). Acknowledgment of weakness does not take away anything from our beauty, but forces respect. If we have any self-knowledge, we are aware that we are only very weak in living out our privileges. We owe nothing to ourselves, but everything to the Lord.

The daughters of Jerusalem see a special beauty in the bride (Song of Solomon 5:9). They address her with “o most beautiful among the women”. We would say: she doesn’t look like that. After all, she was taken firmly in hand by the guardsmen and wounded. The fact that the daughters of Jerusalem address her in this way is because she is full of the groom. That is noted.

If we are full of the Lord Jesus, all the things in our life that would otherwise stand out will disappear into the background. We can think of things we have done for which we are ashamed. But when we have truly confessed them and we are full of the Lord Jesus, the testimony of Him shines through everything. Instead of contempt, the question then arises as to what is special about Him of Whom our heart is so full, thus dwarfing every other love.

Her answer comes in the following verses. Therein the bride gives a description of the groom. She says wonderful things about him. This goes beyond just saying what she has received from Him. She speaks of Himself, as He is. Her description of Him is the spiritual fruit of the trial she underwent as a result of leaving Him.

Isaiah 34:3

Searching For the Groom

The bride continues searching in the city (Song of Solomon 5:7). There the watchmen make the rounds. So it is still night. She doesn’t search for them, but they find her and act harshly against her. We have met the watchmen before (Song of Solomon 3:1-3). There they are not as harshly in their actions as here. Now they wound the bride. When distance has come between the Lord and us, we sometimes have to make painful experiences. Then the Lord lets this happen to bring us back to Him.

Being struck and wounded, which literally happens to the bride here, can also happen on a figurative level, for example by making severe reproaches. Accusatory words can cut hard. They wound the soul, they hurt within. That happens when we are in a place where we do not belong. If the bride had immediately risen and had opened the groom, this would not have happened, then she would have been spared this suffering and shame.

The guardsmen also take her shawl or veil from her. The veil is a picture of complete dedication to the groom. The veil means: I am only for Him. But that is not true. It is her profession, but not her practice. Therefore, the veil must be removed. If there is hypocrisy in our life, the Lord must denounce it and take it away.

For example, we say that we only come together in the Name of the Lord Jesus. But it is hypocrisy if we still give our own interpretation to the meetings. Or we have our established habits from which it is not allowed to deviate. Then the Spirit of God cannot work and the veil must be removed. In this case, the veil is not a sign of dedication and surrender, but a kind of bolt. These kinds of bolts, which give the appearance of dedication, but in reality block the Lord’s and the Spirit’s access to our life, must be taken away.

If the Lord sometimes uses hard-handed methods for this, let us not blame the other who is used by the Lord for it. The ‘guardsmen’ who find us can be all kinds of people. Even though they are people who, like the guardsmen, have no idea what they are doing to us, it is still important to see the Lord’s hand in them. He is busy bringing us back to a living relationship with Him.

We see the effect with the bride. She is not confused, but accepts the treatment she gets. She knows it is her own fault. That is where the return begins. She has come at a low point and is starting to make her way up.

We also see it with Samson. His long hair – the outward sign of his dedication and separation to God – was cut off and removed (Judges 16:17-19). His eyes are gouged out and he grinds flour in the Philistine prison (Judges 16:21). Deeper he could not sink. But then we read that the hair of his head began to grow again (Judges 16:22). If we have become sincere and honest, that is a new beginning. Our first dedication was good at first, but gradually it became a cover, a bolt. When this is seen, the time has come for a new dedication. That is what the Lord wants to work with you and me.

From a prophetic point of view, this will happen to the remnant in the end time from the side of the antichrist and his followers. They will chastise the remnant, the bride, because she does not join them in following the antichrist. They are a means in God’s hand for this, without realizing it themselves.

After this humiliating lesson, the bride does not take a defeatist attitude. She continues to search. She did not ask the guardsmen for help. She has no relation with them at all. They found her and engaged with her uninvited. This is different with “the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Solomon 5:8). She turns to them and asks if they want to tell the groom that she is lovesick when they find him. In doing so, she indicates how much she desires his presence. She said that once before (Song of Solomon 2:5), but there she is in the arms of the groom. Here she says it while she misses him and he had to leave her as a result of her own fault.

She is not ashamed of her weakness and asks for help in her search from those who do not have that intimate relationship with the groom (cf. Song of Solomon 6:1). Acknowledgment of weakness does not take away anything from our beauty, but forces respect. If we have any self-knowledge, we are aware that we are only very weak in living out our privileges. We owe nothing to ourselves, but everything to the Lord.

The daughters of Jerusalem see a special beauty in the bride (Song of Solomon 5:9). They address her with “o most beautiful among the women”. We would say: she doesn’t look like that. After all, she was taken firmly in hand by the guardsmen and wounded. The fact that the daughters of Jerusalem address her in this way is because she is full of the groom. That is noted.

If we are full of the Lord Jesus, all the things in our life that would otherwise stand out will disappear into the background. We can think of things we have done for which we are ashamed. But when we have truly confessed them and we are full of the Lord Jesus, the testimony of Him shines through everything. Instead of contempt, the question then arises as to what is special about Him of Whom our heart is so full, thus dwarfing every other love.

Her answer comes in the following verses. Therein the bride gives a description of the groom. She says wonderful things about him. This goes beyond just saying what she has received from Him. She speaks of Himself, as He is. Her description of Him is the spiritual fruit of the trial she underwent as a result of leaving Him.

Isaiah 34:4

Searching For the Groom

The bride continues searching in the city (Song of Solomon 5:7). There the watchmen make the rounds. So it is still night. She doesn’t search for them, but they find her and act harshly against her. We have met the watchmen before (Song of Solomon 3:1-3). There they are not as harshly in their actions as here. Now they wound the bride. When distance has come between the Lord and us, we sometimes have to make painful experiences. Then the Lord lets this happen to bring us back to Him.

Being struck and wounded, which literally happens to the bride here, can also happen on a figurative level, for example by making severe reproaches. Accusatory words can cut hard. They wound the soul, they hurt within. That happens when we are in a place where we do not belong. If the bride had immediately risen and had opened the groom, this would not have happened, then she would have been spared this suffering and shame.

The guardsmen also take her shawl or veil from her. The veil is a picture of complete dedication to the groom. The veil means: I am only for Him. But that is not true. It is her profession, but not her practice. Therefore, the veil must be removed. If there is hypocrisy in our life, the Lord must denounce it and take it away.

For example, we say that we only come together in the Name of the Lord Jesus. But it is hypocrisy if we still give our own interpretation to the meetings. Or we have our established habits from which it is not allowed to deviate. Then the Spirit of God cannot work and the veil must be removed. In this case, the veil is not a sign of dedication and surrender, but a kind of bolt. These kinds of bolts, which give the appearance of dedication, but in reality block the Lord’s and the Spirit’s access to our life, must be taken away.

If the Lord sometimes uses hard-handed methods for this, let us not blame the other who is used by the Lord for it. The ‘guardsmen’ who find us can be all kinds of people. Even though they are people who, like the guardsmen, have no idea what they are doing to us, it is still important to see the Lord’s hand in them. He is busy bringing us back to a living relationship with Him.

We see the effect with the bride. She is not confused, but accepts the treatment she gets. She knows it is her own fault. That is where the return begins. She has come at a low point and is starting to make her way up.

We also see it with Samson. His long hair – the outward sign of his dedication and separation to God – was cut off and removed (Judges 16:17-19). His eyes are gouged out and he grinds flour in the Philistine prison (Judges 16:21). Deeper he could not sink. But then we read that the hair of his head began to grow again (Judges 16:22). If we have become sincere and honest, that is a new beginning. Our first dedication was good at first, but gradually it became a cover, a bolt. When this is seen, the time has come for a new dedication. That is what the Lord wants to work with you and me.

From a prophetic point of view, this will happen to the remnant in the end time from the side of the antichrist and his followers. They will chastise the remnant, the bride, because she does not join them in following the antichrist. They are a means in God’s hand for this, without realizing it themselves.

After this humiliating lesson, the bride does not take a defeatist attitude. She continues to search. She did not ask the guardsmen for help. She has no relation with them at all. They found her and engaged with her uninvited. This is different with “the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Solomon 5:8). She turns to them and asks if they want to tell the groom that she is lovesick when they find him. In doing so, she indicates how much she desires his presence. She said that once before (Song of Solomon 2:5), but there she is in the arms of the groom. Here she says it while she misses him and he had to leave her as a result of her own fault.

She is not ashamed of her weakness and asks for help in her search from those who do not have that intimate relationship with the groom (cf. Song of Solomon 6:1). Acknowledgment of weakness does not take away anything from our beauty, but forces respect. If we have any self-knowledge, we are aware that we are only very weak in living out our privileges. We owe nothing to ourselves, but everything to the Lord.

The daughters of Jerusalem see a special beauty in the bride (Song of Solomon 5:9). They address her with “o most beautiful among the women”. We would say: she doesn’t look like that. After all, she was taken firmly in hand by the guardsmen and wounded. The fact that the daughters of Jerusalem address her in this way is because she is full of the groom. That is noted.

If we are full of the Lord Jesus, all the things in our life that would otherwise stand out will disappear into the background. We can think of things we have done for which we are ashamed. But when we have truly confessed them and we are full of the Lord Jesus, the testimony of Him shines through everything. Instead of contempt, the question then arises as to what is special about Him of Whom our heart is so full, thus dwarfing every other love.

Her answer comes in the following verses. Therein the bride gives a description of the groom. She says wonderful things about him. This goes beyond just saying what she has received from Him. She speaks of Himself, as He is. Her description of Him is the spiritual fruit of the trial she underwent as a result of leaving Him.

Isaiah 34:5

White and Red – Head and Hair

The daughters of Jerusalem asked the bride twice in Song of Solomon 5:9: “What kind of beloved is your beloved?” They ask this question because they see how full the bride is of her groom. In Song of Solomon 5:10, she begins an impressive description of him of whom her heart is so full. She doesn’t have to search for words.

It is remarkable that every time the bride speaks about the groom, she does so to others. She testifies of who he is for her to her surroundings. When the groom speaks about the bride, he does so to her. He always assures her of the value she has for him and lets her know how much he rejoices in her. We may do the same with regard to Him of Whom our heart is full, realizing that His heart is full of us.

She starts by telling who her groom is. He is “my beloved” and He is “white [better than dazzling] and ruddy”. We can apply this directly to the Lord Jesus, our ‘Beloved’. First and foremost, He is white. This speaks of His absolute purity. He is the pure One and the holy One. The Lord Jesus was born of a sinful woman, Mary, but was not conceived by a sinful man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Therefore He is also “the holy Child” (Luke 1:35).

He is absolutely without sin. He never committed a sin, neither in deeds nor in words (1 Peter 2:22). And not only that. He did not know sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is so that in Him there is no sin (1 John 3:5). No one could convict Him of sin (John 8:46a). The devil had nothing in Him, that is to say, no single lead (John 14:30). This cannot be said of the bride, nor of any human being. The bride has also acknowledged this. She has said of herself that she is dark (Song of Solomon 1:5-6). Only someone who wholeheartedly repeats this after her can have a relationship with Him.

Next is that he is red. Red is the color of the blood. The Lord Jesus has shed His blood to possess His bride. Only through His blood can the darkness of sin be washed away. This makes someone pure in the eyes of the holy God. The Lord Jesus is perfectly pure in His life and has never had anything to do with sin. The only time He has had to do with it is on the cross. There He was made sin by God for everyone who believes in Him. This is also the complete settlement of sin. The sins of the faithful sinner have been judged and forgiven forever and disposed of.

After this general, introductory description, the bride exclaims in delight that he stands out above everyone. If we are so full of our Lord, we can’t cry out any other than this. He is “fairer than the sons of men” (Psalms 45:2a). No one can be compared to Him. He is the Firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). He is the Author Who brings many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). He is the true David who has slain his ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7).

He is not only lifted up as a standard above Israel, but also above all nations (Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:10; 12). His standard is the cross. There the victory has been achieved and the full result will soon be visible. We can already see that result in faith and praise Him for it.

From Song of Solomon 5:11 onward the bride mentions ten characteristics of the groom. She describes him from head to toe. The description begins with his head (Song of Solomon 5:11). That’s like fine gold. It is clear that this is visual language. We can apply this again directly to the Lord Jesus. The head is a picture of wisdom and insight, and gold of Divine glory. His wisdom and understanding are Divine. So He is busy with His bride, but also with His creation. His headship also speaks of dominion. He is Head above all (1 Corinthians 11:3; Colossians 1:15-17).

His thinking is always focused on God and full of doing His will. Further on in this chapter gold is also mentioned in connection with His hands and His feet (Song of Solomon 5:14-15). It points out that the carrying out of God’s thoughts in His works and His way is always Divinely perfect.

His curly hairlocks speak of His dedication and submission as Man to His God (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:15). It is a feature of His being a Nazarite (Numbers 6:5). To a man, having long hair is a dishonor (1 Corinthians 11:14). His ‘dishonor’ is that He submits Himself completely to God and gives up His position as Head of creation.

The locks are black, not grey. It points out that the power of life is in Him and He is in the power of His life. The Hebrew word for ‘black’ is related to the word for ‘youth’. The raven is an unclean bird (Leviticus 11:13; 15). Thus the Lord Jesus is treated by the religious leaders of His people. But God gives the raven its food when its young cry to Him for help (Job 38:41). In this way the Lord Jesus has always expected and received everything from His God. This has given Him the strength to go His way to the glory of God.

Isaiah 34:6

White and Red – Head and Hair

The daughters of Jerusalem asked the bride twice in Song of Solomon 5:9: “What kind of beloved is your beloved?” They ask this question because they see how full the bride is of her groom. In Song of Solomon 5:10, she begins an impressive description of him of whom her heart is so full. She doesn’t have to search for words.

It is remarkable that every time the bride speaks about the groom, she does so to others. She testifies of who he is for her to her surroundings. When the groom speaks about the bride, he does so to her. He always assures her of the value she has for him and lets her know how much he rejoices in her. We may do the same with regard to Him of Whom our heart is full, realizing that His heart is full of us.

She starts by telling who her groom is. He is “my beloved” and He is “white [better than dazzling] and ruddy”. We can apply this directly to the Lord Jesus, our ‘Beloved’. First and foremost, He is white. This speaks of His absolute purity. He is the pure One and the holy One. The Lord Jesus was born of a sinful woman, Mary, but was not conceived by a sinful man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Therefore He is also “the holy Child” (Luke 1:35).

He is absolutely without sin. He never committed a sin, neither in deeds nor in words (1 Peter 2:22). And not only that. He did not know sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is so that in Him there is no sin (1 John 3:5). No one could convict Him of sin (John 8:46a). The devil had nothing in Him, that is to say, no single lead (John 14:30). This cannot be said of the bride, nor of any human being. The bride has also acknowledged this. She has said of herself that she is dark (Song of Solomon 1:5-6). Only someone who wholeheartedly repeats this after her can have a relationship with Him.

Next is that he is red. Red is the color of the blood. The Lord Jesus has shed His blood to possess His bride. Only through His blood can the darkness of sin be washed away. This makes someone pure in the eyes of the holy God. The Lord Jesus is perfectly pure in His life and has never had anything to do with sin. The only time He has had to do with it is on the cross. There He was made sin by God for everyone who believes in Him. This is also the complete settlement of sin. The sins of the faithful sinner have been judged and forgiven forever and disposed of.

After this general, introductory description, the bride exclaims in delight that he stands out above everyone. If we are so full of our Lord, we can’t cry out any other than this. He is “fairer than the sons of men” (Psalms 45:2a). No one can be compared to Him. He is the Firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). He is the Author Who brings many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). He is the true David who has slain his ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7).

He is not only lifted up as a standard above Israel, but also above all nations (Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:10; 12). His standard is the cross. There the victory has been achieved and the full result will soon be visible. We can already see that result in faith and praise Him for it.

From Song of Solomon 5:11 onward the bride mentions ten characteristics of the groom. She describes him from head to toe. The description begins with his head (Song of Solomon 5:11). That’s like fine gold. It is clear that this is visual language. We can apply this again directly to the Lord Jesus. The head is a picture of wisdom and insight, and gold of Divine glory. His wisdom and understanding are Divine. So He is busy with His bride, but also with His creation. His headship also speaks of dominion. He is Head above all (1 Corinthians 11:3; Colossians 1:15-17).

His thinking is always focused on God and full of doing His will. Further on in this chapter gold is also mentioned in connection with His hands and His feet (Song of Solomon 5:14-15). It points out that the carrying out of God’s thoughts in His works and His way is always Divinely perfect.

His curly hairlocks speak of His dedication and submission as Man to His God (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:15). It is a feature of His being a Nazarite (Numbers 6:5). To a man, having long hair is a dishonor (1 Corinthians 11:14). His ‘dishonor’ is that He submits Himself completely to God and gives up His position as Head of creation.

The locks are black, not grey. It points out that the power of life is in Him and He is in the power of His life. The Hebrew word for ‘black’ is related to the word for ‘youth’. The raven is an unclean bird (Leviticus 11:13; 15). Thus the Lord Jesus is treated by the religious leaders of His people. But God gives the raven its food when its young cry to Him for help (Job 38:41). In this way the Lord Jesus has always expected and received everything from His God. This has given Him the strength to go His way to the glory of God.

Isaiah 34:7

Eyes, Cheeks and Lips

The bride continues her description of the groom with “his eyes” (Song of Solomon 5:12). To see someone’s eyes one has to be close to the person. The eyes are sometimes called ‘the mirror of the soul’. If you look someone deep in the eyes, you can read a lot of what is going on in him, whether someone is happy or sad.

The bride compares his eyes to “doves” (cf. Song of Solomon 1:15; Song of Solomon 4:1). That means that his eyes are characterized by what characterizes doves. Doves have a “clear” or “single” (Darby translation) eye (Matthew 6:22). A single eye is an eye that focuses on only one object. With the Lord Jesus we see this in perfection. His gaze was always directly ahead (Proverbs 4:25). Several times we read of Him that He lifted up His eyes to heaven (John 17:1; John 11:41).

His eyes were always on the Father. He always had, so to speak, ‘eye contact’ with His Father. He never saw anything wrong and never looked in a wrong way. Eve did, so sin came into the world. The Lord Jesus has always been guided by His Father – by everything He said. This is indicated by “beside streams of water”. He lived by the Word of God (Matthew 4:4). That Word was a refreshment for Him (Psalms 110:7).

With that refreshment He also revives or restores others who are affected by sin. This is how He looked at Peter, after Peter has denied Him three times. This reminds Peter of the word the Lord has spoken to him. That breaks his heart, and the way to restoration has begun (Luke 22:61-62).

Still the bride is not finished with the description of the groom’s eyes. She sees his eyes “bathed in milk, [and] reposed in [their] setting”. She compares the eye white of the eye socket to milk. Milk is associated with the thought of abundance, purity, cleanness and healthy food. Israel is a land flowing with milk and honey. Milk is also a picture of the healthy food of God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2).

The description “reposed in [their] setting” radiates tranquility. This gives a picture of the full fellowship of the Lord with His Father. His eyes do not wander, nor go back and forth nervously. His eyes are always on His Father. From the fellowship with the Father His eyes also go to His disciples (Luke 6:20) and to the crowds (John 6:5; Matthew 14:14).

It is good to know the eyes of the Lord Jesus and to read in them what is in them for us. They are the eyes of doves, which also reminds us of the Holy Spirit, Who descended upon Him in the form of a dove. The Spirit gives His eyes a shine reminiscent of streams of water and a look reminiscent of the purity of milk. His eyes are for His own a source of sympathy.

After the eyes, the gaze is focused on His cheeks (Song of Solomon 5:13). Then we remember that He gave His cheeks to those who plucked out His beard (Isaiah 50:6). For those who know Him, those cheeks are “like a bed of balsam, banks of sweet-scented herbs”. His reaction to the reprobate treatment inflicted upon Him is full of rest, like a bed. He has suffered silently. And what a pleasant fragrance ascended out of that rest up to God, like the fragrance of balsam. He Who was once despised as the defenseless One is therefore admired by God and His own.

The “banks” (of a river) speak of not being distracted, going one direction. The Lord Jesus did not let Himself be distracted from the way He had to go. He went all the way until all His work was accomplished. Herbs, like spices, give a pleasant fragrance. His watchfulness, his constant attention to the Father, has been for the Father a fragrant aroma, a great joy for His heart.

Here the bride tells that she has seen that in the groom. Have we seen this in the Lord Jesus? We have to look at Him, that is, that we read the Word and think about Him. As we think about His life on earth, we will get to know more and more of His Person and start to admire Him more and more. We will bear witness to this to others.

The bride compares the lips of the groom with “lilies dripping with liquid myrrh”. We read of the Lord Jesus that upon His lips “grace is poured” (Psalms 45:2). The lily is a picture of tenderness in a region of thorns (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). The Lord Jesus spoke words of life and encouragement among a people compared to “thistles and thorns” (Ezekiel 2:6).

In an unruly, pain causing world, He speaks words of grace. These words are not in the newspaper, but in God’s Word and in the hearts of those who have accepted His words. They have experienced, like the bride, that His words are not cheap words. They are steeped in the suffering that He wanted to undergo in order to be able to speak those words. This is what the “liquid myrrh” speaks of. There is testified of Him: “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46). “And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips” (Luke 4:22a).

He can sympathize with our weaknesses because He suffered the same on earth as we did, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). We never knock on the door in vain if we want to tell Him our problems. When we come to Him with our need, He is open to us and we may experience that He understands us. Then he says: “Take courage” (Matthew 9:2; 22; Matthew 14:27; Mark 10:49; John 16:33; Acts 23:11). This is such a word of grace with which He comforts us with the comfort He knows from His own experience.

Isaiah 34:8

Eyes, Cheeks and Lips

The bride continues her description of the groom with “his eyes” (Song of Solomon 5:12). To see someone’s eyes one has to be close to the person. The eyes are sometimes called ‘the mirror of the soul’. If you look someone deep in the eyes, you can read a lot of what is going on in him, whether someone is happy or sad.

The bride compares his eyes to “doves” (cf. Song of Solomon 1:15; Song of Solomon 4:1). That means that his eyes are characterized by what characterizes doves. Doves have a “clear” or “single” (Darby translation) eye (Matthew 6:22). A single eye is an eye that focuses on only one object. With the Lord Jesus we see this in perfection. His gaze was always directly ahead (Proverbs 4:25). Several times we read of Him that He lifted up His eyes to heaven (John 17:1; John 11:41).

His eyes were always on the Father. He always had, so to speak, ‘eye contact’ with His Father. He never saw anything wrong and never looked in a wrong way. Eve did, so sin came into the world. The Lord Jesus has always been guided by His Father – by everything He said. This is indicated by “beside streams of water”. He lived by the Word of God (Matthew 4:4). That Word was a refreshment for Him (Psalms 110:7).

With that refreshment He also revives or restores others who are affected by sin. This is how He looked at Peter, after Peter has denied Him three times. This reminds Peter of the word the Lord has spoken to him. That breaks his heart, and the way to restoration has begun (Luke 22:61-62).

Still the bride is not finished with the description of the groom’s eyes. She sees his eyes “bathed in milk, [and] reposed in [their] setting”. She compares the eye white of the eye socket to milk. Milk is associated with the thought of abundance, purity, cleanness and healthy food. Israel is a land flowing with milk and honey. Milk is also a picture of the healthy food of God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2).

The description “reposed in [their] setting” radiates tranquility. This gives a picture of the full fellowship of the Lord with His Father. His eyes do not wander, nor go back and forth nervously. His eyes are always on His Father. From the fellowship with the Father His eyes also go to His disciples (Luke 6:20) and to the crowds (John 6:5; Matthew 14:14).

It is good to know the eyes of the Lord Jesus and to read in them what is in them for us. They are the eyes of doves, which also reminds us of the Holy Spirit, Who descended upon Him in the form of a dove. The Spirit gives His eyes a shine reminiscent of streams of water and a look reminiscent of the purity of milk. His eyes are for His own a source of sympathy.

After the eyes, the gaze is focused on His cheeks (Song of Solomon 5:13). Then we remember that He gave His cheeks to those who plucked out His beard (Isaiah 50:6). For those who know Him, those cheeks are “like a bed of balsam, banks of sweet-scented herbs”. His reaction to the reprobate treatment inflicted upon Him is full of rest, like a bed. He has suffered silently. And what a pleasant fragrance ascended out of that rest up to God, like the fragrance of balsam. He Who was once despised as the defenseless One is therefore admired by God and His own.

The “banks” (of a river) speak of not being distracted, going one direction. The Lord Jesus did not let Himself be distracted from the way He had to go. He went all the way until all His work was accomplished. Herbs, like spices, give a pleasant fragrance. His watchfulness, his constant attention to the Father, has been for the Father a fragrant aroma, a great joy for His heart.

Here the bride tells that she has seen that in the groom. Have we seen this in the Lord Jesus? We have to look at Him, that is, that we read the Word and think about Him. As we think about His life on earth, we will get to know more and more of His Person and start to admire Him more and more. We will bear witness to this to others.

The bride compares the lips of the groom with “lilies dripping with liquid myrrh”. We read of the Lord Jesus that upon His lips “grace is poured” (Psalms 45:2). The lily is a picture of tenderness in a region of thorns (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). The Lord Jesus spoke words of life and encouragement among a people compared to “thistles and thorns” (Ezekiel 2:6).

In an unruly, pain causing world, He speaks words of grace. These words are not in the newspaper, but in God’s Word and in the hearts of those who have accepted His words. They have experienced, like the bride, that His words are not cheap words. They are steeped in the suffering that He wanted to undergo in order to be able to speak those words. This is what the “liquid myrrh” speaks of. There is testified of Him: “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46). “And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips” (Luke 4:22a).

He can sympathize with our weaknesses because He suffered the same on earth as we did, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). We never knock on the door in vain if we want to tell Him our problems. When we come to Him with our need, He is open to us and we may experience that He understands us. Then he says: “Take courage” (Matthew 9:2; 22; Matthew 14:27; Mark 10:49; John 16:33; Acts 23:11). This is such a word of grace with which He comforts us with the comfort He knows from His own experience.

Isaiah 34:9

Hands, Abdomen, Legs, Appearance, Mouth

The bride continues with the hands of the groom (Song of Solomon 5:14). Hereby we think of the Lord Jesus. His hands point to His works. The universe is the work of his hands (Psalms 19:1; Isaiah 45:12; Isaiah 66:1-2). The “rods [or: rings] of gold” remind us that everything He does carries His Divine attribute. Just as a ring is without end, so are His works without end. This all-powerful Creator is our Bridegroom, Who has connected us to Himself through His love.

His hands are nailed to the cross (Psalms 22:16c). They are precious to anyone who is touched by them (Matthew 8:3; 15; Matthew 14:31). He has engraved the believers in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). What is engraved is impossible to remove. No one can snatch a child of God out of His hand (John 10:28).

It is added that they are “set with beryl”. Beryl is a precious stone. Precious stones have a meaning. A possible meaning can be derived from the place they have on the breastplate of the high priest. The beryl or topaz is the first stone of the fourth row of precious stones (Exodus 28:20; Exodus 39:13). We can draw a parallel with the fourth Gospel, the Gospel according to John. In that Gospel the glory of the Lord Jesus is presented as the Son of God.

We can also connect the beryl with the governmental ways of God. That stone is also mentioned in connection with the wheels of the throne chariot of God which Ezekiel sees (Ezekiel 1:16; Ezekiel 10:9). The throne chariot symbolizes God’s government in the world. He makes it clear that God leads everything to the goal He has set and that no one can change anything about it.

All “the works of his hands”, all His actions in and with the world, “are truth and justice” (Psalms 111:7). What applies to the world also applies to the life of His own. God’s plan with the world and with our life is that therein the Lord Jesus will be visible and glorified. It is a great privilege to see that.

“His abdomen” indicates His inner being. He is inwardly committed to us. His inner being is compared to “carved ivory”. Ivory is mentioned in connection with the kingship of Solomon, the king of peace (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21). Solomon has made “a great throne of ivory” (1 Kings 10:18; 2 Chronicles 9:17). We can therefore connect ivory with the kingship of the Lord Jesus that He exercises in peace. His government excels in justice.

His government is not hard or insensitive, but full of sympathy for His subjects. He excels in this too. This is emphasized by the “sapphires” with which the ivory is covered. Sapphire is a precious stone which, like the beryl mentioned above, appears on the breastplate of the high priest. This stone is the second stone in the second row of the breastplate (Exodus 28:18; Exodus 39:11). We can link this to the second Gospel, the Gospel according to Mark. This Gospel is that of the Servant, Who serves men full of compassion and does everything in obedience to His Sender.

We also see the sapphire, again like the beryl, in connection with the governmental ways of God. He is connected with the throne of God. In any case, it reminds Ezekiel of this (Ezekiel 1:26; Ezekiel 10:1). The reign of God is exercised by the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. God has given Him the power to do so. It is a great encouragement to know that He Who rules is our beloved Savior, Who has given His life for us.

Then “his legs” are described (Song of Solomon 5:15). They look like “pillars of alabaster”. Pillars support a building and indicate stability, like the two pillars of the temple, Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21). Alabaster is hard. It makes clear how rigid and immovable everything is with the Lord Jesus. The universe rests on Him and is therefore certain. There is nothing in the world and nothing in the church that is capable of shaking Him.

The pillars are “set on pedestals of pure gold”. This indicates that God’s glory is the foundation of His immovable dominion. The pedestals are reminiscent of His feet, of His way through the world. He went His way in God’s power, without hesitation, without returning, without slowing down.

Everywhere He has left the traces of His glory. His walk on earth was perfectly Divine. God “does not take pleasure in the legs of a man” (Psalms 147:10). But how different were His legs. He is perfectly stable, untouchable to all problems and all needs that may arise over His own. By looking at Him in this way we are encouraged to persevere in our way on earth.

The bride has described her groom from head to toe. She then takes a step back, as it were, and looks at his whole “appearance”. It looks “like Lebanon” and “the cedars” thereon (Psalms 92:12; Isaiah 60:13). The view is overwhelming because of the immovability and beauty.

Just as cedars transcend all trees, so for us the Lord Jesus transcends all people. He is the glorified Man in heaven. This is a place the Father could give to Him and Him alone and not to anyone else. We see this when we see Him in His full glory, as far as it is perceptible to us. He is the only One Who has truly and fully deserved to be “crowned with glory and honor” (Hebrews 2:9).

And suddenly another thing is described of Him: “His mouth is [full of] sweetness” (Song of Solomon 5:16). With the mouth, better: palate, the food is tasted. Everything that the Lord Jesus has tasted in His life on earth is mere sweetness. He has fed Himself with everything the Father said to Him. It was His food to do the will of His Father (John 4:34). He has tasted perfectly “that the Lord is merciful” (1 Peter 2:3).

Everything about the Lord Jesus, He Himself, is “wholly desirable”. For those who love Him, there is nothing to discover in Him that is not desirable. It is not possible to describe His glory in full extend (cf. John 21:25). Everything about Him is overwhelming.

The “daughters of Jerusalem” have asked the bride what is so special about her groom (Song of Solomon 5:9). She has given an impressive description of him. This confession is the result of the loving contact of the groom with his bride. The Lord Jesus is also working in our lives to persuade us to see much of Him and bear witness to that. In everything we learn about Him in glory and beauty, we may also say: This is my Beloved and this is my Friend. We experience Him close to us when we are engaged with Him in that way.

Isaiah 34:10

Hands, Abdomen, Legs, Appearance, Mouth

The bride continues with the hands of the groom (Song of Solomon 5:14). Hereby we think of the Lord Jesus. His hands point to His works. The universe is the work of his hands (Psalms 19:1; Isaiah 45:12; Isaiah 66:1-2). The “rods [or: rings] of gold” remind us that everything He does carries His Divine attribute. Just as a ring is without end, so are His works without end. This all-powerful Creator is our Bridegroom, Who has connected us to Himself through His love.

His hands are nailed to the cross (Psalms 22:16c). They are precious to anyone who is touched by them (Matthew 8:3; 15; Matthew 14:31). He has engraved the believers in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). What is engraved is impossible to remove. No one can snatch a child of God out of His hand (John 10:28).

It is added that they are “set with beryl”. Beryl is a precious stone. Precious stones have a meaning. A possible meaning can be derived from the place they have on the breastplate of the high priest. The beryl or topaz is the first stone of the fourth row of precious stones (Exodus 28:20; Exodus 39:13). We can draw a parallel with the fourth Gospel, the Gospel according to John. In that Gospel the glory of the Lord Jesus is presented as the Son of God.

We can also connect the beryl with the governmental ways of God. That stone is also mentioned in connection with the wheels of the throne chariot of God which Ezekiel sees (Ezekiel 1:16; Ezekiel 10:9). The throne chariot symbolizes God’s government in the world. He makes it clear that God leads everything to the goal He has set and that no one can change anything about it.

All “the works of his hands”, all His actions in and with the world, “are truth and justice” (Psalms 111:7). What applies to the world also applies to the life of His own. God’s plan with the world and with our life is that therein the Lord Jesus will be visible and glorified. It is a great privilege to see that.

“His abdomen” indicates His inner being. He is inwardly committed to us. His inner being is compared to “carved ivory”. Ivory is mentioned in connection with the kingship of Solomon, the king of peace (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21). Solomon has made “a great throne of ivory” (1 Kings 10:18; 2 Chronicles 9:17). We can therefore connect ivory with the kingship of the Lord Jesus that He exercises in peace. His government excels in justice.

His government is not hard or insensitive, but full of sympathy for His subjects. He excels in this too. This is emphasized by the “sapphires” with which the ivory is covered. Sapphire is a precious stone which, like the beryl mentioned above, appears on the breastplate of the high priest. This stone is the second stone in the second row of the breastplate (Exodus 28:18; Exodus 39:11). We can link this to the second Gospel, the Gospel according to Mark. This Gospel is that of the Servant, Who serves men full of compassion and does everything in obedience to His Sender.

We also see the sapphire, again like the beryl, in connection with the governmental ways of God. He is connected with the throne of God. In any case, it reminds Ezekiel of this (Ezekiel 1:26; Ezekiel 10:1). The reign of God is exercised by the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. God has given Him the power to do so. It is a great encouragement to know that He Who rules is our beloved Savior, Who has given His life for us.

Then “his legs” are described (Song of Solomon 5:15). They look like “pillars of alabaster”. Pillars support a building and indicate stability, like the two pillars of the temple, Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21). Alabaster is hard. It makes clear how rigid and immovable everything is with the Lord Jesus. The universe rests on Him and is therefore certain. There is nothing in the world and nothing in the church that is capable of shaking Him.

The pillars are “set on pedestals of pure gold”. This indicates that God’s glory is the foundation of His immovable dominion. The pedestals are reminiscent of His feet, of His way through the world. He went His way in God’s power, without hesitation, without returning, without slowing down.

Everywhere He has left the traces of His glory. His walk on earth was perfectly Divine. God “does not take pleasure in the legs of a man” (Psalms 147:10). But how different were His legs. He is perfectly stable, untouchable to all problems and all needs that may arise over His own. By looking at Him in this way we are encouraged to persevere in our way on earth.

The bride has described her groom from head to toe. She then takes a step back, as it were, and looks at his whole “appearance”. It looks “like Lebanon” and “the cedars” thereon (Psalms 92:12; Isaiah 60:13). The view is overwhelming because of the immovability and beauty.

Just as cedars transcend all trees, so for us the Lord Jesus transcends all people. He is the glorified Man in heaven. This is a place the Father could give to Him and Him alone and not to anyone else. We see this when we see Him in His full glory, as far as it is perceptible to us. He is the only One Who has truly and fully deserved to be “crowned with glory and honor” (Hebrews 2:9).

And suddenly another thing is described of Him: “His mouth is [full of] sweetness” (Song of Solomon 5:16). With the mouth, better: palate, the food is tasted. Everything that the Lord Jesus has tasted in His life on earth is mere sweetness. He has fed Himself with everything the Father said to Him. It was His food to do the will of His Father (John 4:34). He has tasted perfectly “that the Lord is merciful” (1 Peter 2:3).

Everything about the Lord Jesus, He Himself, is “wholly desirable”. For those who love Him, there is nothing to discover in Him that is not desirable. It is not possible to describe His glory in full extend (cf. John 21:25). Everything about Him is overwhelming.

The “daughters of Jerusalem” have asked the bride what is so special about her groom (Song of Solomon 5:9). She has given an impressive description of him. This confession is the result of the loving contact of the groom with his bride. The Lord Jesus is also working in our lives to persuade us to see much of Him and bear witness to that. In everything we learn about Him in glory and beauty, we may also say: This is my Beloved and this is my Friend. We experience Him close to us when we are engaged with Him in that way.

Isaiah 34:11

Hands, Abdomen, Legs, Appearance, Mouth

The bride continues with the hands of the groom (Song of Solomon 5:14). Hereby we think of the Lord Jesus. His hands point to His works. The universe is the work of his hands (Psalms 19:1; Isaiah 45:12; Isaiah 66:1-2). The “rods [or: rings] of gold” remind us that everything He does carries His Divine attribute. Just as a ring is without end, so are His works without end. This all-powerful Creator is our Bridegroom, Who has connected us to Himself through His love.

His hands are nailed to the cross (Psalms 22:16c). They are precious to anyone who is touched by them (Matthew 8:3; 15; Matthew 14:31). He has engraved the believers in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). What is engraved is impossible to remove. No one can snatch a child of God out of His hand (John 10:28).

It is added that they are “set with beryl”. Beryl is a precious stone. Precious stones have a meaning. A possible meaning can be derived from the place they have on the breastplate of the high priest. The beryl or topaz is the first stone of the fourth row of precious stones (Exodus 28:20; Exodus 39:13). We can draw a parallel with the fourth Gospel, the Gospel according to John. In that Gospel the glory of the Lord Jesus is presented as the Son of God.

We can also connect the beryl with the governmental ways of God. That stone is also mentioned in connection with the wheels of the throne chariot of God which Ezekiel sees (Ezekiel 1:16; Ezekiel 10:9). The throne chariot symbolizes God’s government in the world. He makes it clear that God leads everything to the goal He has set and that no one can change anything about it.

All “the works of his hands”, all His actions in and with the world, “are truth and justice” (Psalms 111:7). What applies to the world also applies to the life of His own. God’s plan with the world and with our life is that therein the Lord Jesus will be visible and glorified. It is a great privilege to see that.

“His abdomen” indicates His inner being. He is inwardly committed to us. His inner being is compared to “carved ivory”. Ivory is mentioned in connection with the kingship of Solomon, the king of peace (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21). Solomon has made “a great throne of ivory” (1 Kings 10:18; 2 Chronicles 9:17). We can therefore connect ivory with the kingship of the Lord Jesus that He exercises in peace. His government excels in justice.

His government is not hard or insensitive, but full of sympathy for His subjects. He excels in this too. This is emphasized by the “sapphires” with which the ivory is covered. Sapphire is a precious stone which, like the beryl mentioned above, appears on the breastplate of the high priest. This stone is the second stone in the second row of the breastplate (Exodus 28:18; Exodus 39:11). We can link this to the second Gospel, the Gospel according to Mark. This Gospel is that of the Servant, Who serves men full of compassion and does everything in obedience to His Sender.

We also see the sapphire, again like the beryl, in connection with the governmental ways of God. He is connected with the throne of God. In any case, it reminds Ezekiel of this (Ezekiel 1:26; Ezekiel 10:1). The reign of God is exercised by the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. God has given Him the power to do so. It is a great encouragement to know that He Who rules is our beloved Savior, Who has given His life for us.

Then “his legs” are described (Song of Solomon 5:15). They look like “pillars of alabaster”. Pillars support a building and indicate stability, like the two pillars of the temple, Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21). Alabaster is hard. It makes clear how rigid and immovable everything is with the Lord Jesus. The universe rests on Him and is therefore certain. There is nothing in the world and nothing in the church that is capable of shaking Him.

The pillars are “set on pedestals of pure gold”. This indicates that God’s glory is the foundation of His immovable dominion. The pedestals are reminiscent of His feet, of His way through the world. He went His way in God’s power, without hesitation, without returning, without slowing down.

Everywhere He has left the traces of His glory. His walk on earth was perfectly Divine. God “does not take pleasure in the legs of a man” (Psalms 147:10). But how different were His legs. He is perfectly stable, untouchable to all problems and all needs that may arise over His own. By looking at Him in this way we are encouraged to persevere in our way on earth.

The bride has described her groom from head to toe. She then takes a step back, as it were, and looks at his whole “appearance”. It looks “like Lebanon” and “the cedars” thereon (Psalms 92:12; Isaiah 60:13). The view is overwhelming because of the immovability and beauty.

Just as cedars transcend all trees, so for us the Lord Jesus transcends all people. He is the glorified Man in heaven. This is a place the Father could give to Him and Him alone and not to anyone else. We see this when we see Him in His full glory, as far as it is perceptible to us. He is the only One Who has truly and fully deserved to be “crowned with glory and honor” (Hebrews 2:9).

And suddenly another thing is described of Him: “His mouth is [full of] sweetness” (Song of Solomon 5:16). With the mouth, better: palate, the food is tasted. Everything that the Lord Jesus has tasted in His life on earth is mere sweetness. He has fed Himself with everything the Father said to Him. It was His food to do the will of His Father (John 4:34). He has tasted perfectly “that the Lord is merciful” (1 Peter 2:3).

Everything about the Lord Jesus, He Himself, is “wholly desirable”. For those who love Him, there is nothing to discover in Him that is not desirable. It is not possible to describe His glory in full extend (cf. John 21:25). Everything about Him is overwhelming.

The “daughters of Jerusalem” have asked the bride what is so special about her groom (Song of Solomon 5:9). She has given an impressive description of him. This confession is the result of the loving contact of the groom with his bride. The Lord Jesus is also working in our lives to persuade us to see much of Him and bear witness to that. In everything we learn about Him in glory and beauty, we may also say: This is my Beloved and this is my Friend. We experience Him close to us when we are engaged with Him in that way.

Isaiah 34:13

Where Is the Groom?

After the bride described the groom in the way she has done, the daughters of Jerusalem confirm that she is the “most beautiful among women” (Song of Solomon 6:1). The bride made them enthusiastic for him. After her impressive description of him, the daughters of Jerusalem ask if they can help to find him. Now the bride no longer asks the daughters of Jerusalem for help (Song of Solomon 5:8), but it is the other way around. They ask her where her beloved has turned.

In a similar way, the disciples have tried to make Thomas enthusiastic about the Lord by telling him that they have seen Him (John 20:24-25). Thus we can make others enthusiastic for Him by testifying of Him Who He is to us. If our testimony is real, it contains attracting or recruiting power.

When we talk enthusiastically about Him, the desire arises in others to seek Him too. This may be the result of Bible lectures or Bible studies in which He is central. We listen to what others say about Him. That encourages us to investigate more Who He is. He also likes to listen to it when believers speak about Him. He will then reveal Himself to them.

When the daughters of Jerusalem have asked the bride where her beloved has turned, the bride suddenly knows where he is (Song of Solomon 6:2). He “has gone down to his garden”. By this she means her heart, her life. He called her “a closed garden” (Song of Solomon 4:12). After a short period of her slackening love for him, as a result of which she has placed him outside her life, her heart is again only for him.

When we are full of the Lord, we also know where to find Him. Then our heart is like “beds of balsam”, a place of rest and sweetness for Him (cf. Song of Solomon 5:13). He comes to enjoy what we are for Him. Although we sometimes shut Him away from our lives, He never really leaves us. Nor do we have to go far up in heaven or far down in the realm of the dead to seek Him. He is near us, in our mouth and in our heart (Deuteronomy 30:12-14). He can disappear from our interest. Then He withdraws from us, that we may feel the lack of Him. Thus, He brings us to confess our cooled love for Him.

The Lord Jesus not only pastures in “His garden”, which is in my life, but also “in the gardens”, which is in the lives of other believers who also love Him. For them He is also the center of their lives. That’s how our vision expands. We see not only our own life, but also that of others in connection with Him.

With all these believers He wants to “gather lilies”. He seeks fruit in the life of His own. He finds this fruit when the Holy Spirit can work in our life. He is only interested in the fruit of the Spirit, not in our achievements. The lilies he wants to collect do not indicate impressive deeds, but tenderness and vulnerability in the midst of a hard, thorny world (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). These are features of Himself and He would like to collect them from the lives of His own.

The bride becomes aware again of her connection with him and his love for her (Song of Solomon 6:3; cf. Song of Solomon 2:16). What she says now goes beyond what she said in Song of Songs 2:16. There she first says that her beloved is hers. She is still ‘I’ oriented. But now she first says she belongs to him. She is focused on him. She has grown spiritually through experience.

A proof of spiritual growth is that what I have received is increasingly coming second, while what Christ has received is increasingly coming first. We think about the joy He can experience in our life when we live for Him. Then we are no longer busy with ourselves, but with Him. That does not mean that we are ungrateful for what we have received. The point is that we do not dwell on the gifts, but that from the gifts we focus our eye on the Giver. That also gives a deeper satisfaction.

It is a sign of spiritual growth when we think about what we mean to the Lord Jesus instead of what He is to us. We are more focused on Him than on ourselves. The first finds its origin more in the feelings, the second more in the Person Who is the reason for those feelings. The question should not be ‘what can the other person do for me’, but ‘what can I mean for the other person?’ The Lord Jesus never thought of Himself. He has always thought of the pleasure of God and the well-being of His own.

If we know that we are His, it also means that we are completely for His responsibility. He takes full care of us. Whatever happens in our life, He is involved and helps us. When we know that He is ours, it means that He is at our side with all His love and all His possibilities. There is nothing in our life that is beyond His control.

Thus He pastures “in the midst of the lilies”. Here we have again ‘the lilies’. He is in the midst of these delicate flowers and He appreciates them. To Him we are like these flowers. We are tender, we are weak, incapable, and we have no power to do anything. But He “pastures” among them, that is, He finds that place of rest with them in a world that has no place for Him.

Isaiah 34:14

Where Is the Groom?

After the bride described the groom in the way she has done, the daughters of Jerusalem confirm that she is the “most beautiful among women” (Song of Solomon 6:1). The bride made them enthusiastic for him. After her impressive description of him, the daughters of Jerusalem ask if they can help to find him. Now the bride no longer asks the daughters of Jerusalem for help (Song of Solomon 5:8), but it is the other way around. They ask her where her beloved has turned.

In a similar way, the disciples have tried to make Thomas enthusiastic about the Lord by telling him that they have seen Him (John 20:24-25). Thus we can make others enthusiastic for Him by testifying of Him Who He is to us. If our testimony is real, it contains attracting or recruiting power.

When we talk enthusiastically about Him, the desire arises in others to seek Him too. This may be the result of Bible lectures or Bible studies in which He is central. We listen to what others say about Him. That encourages us to investigate more Who He is. He also likes to listen to it when believers speak about Him. He will then reveal Himself to them.

When the daughters of Jerusalem have asked the bride where her beloved has turned, the bride suddenly knows where he is (Song of Solomon 6:2). He “has gone down to his garden”. By this she means her heart, her life. He called her “a closed garden” (Song of Solomon 4:12). After a short period of her slackening love for him, as a result of which she has placed him outside her life, her heart is again only for him.

When we are full of the Lord, we also know where to find Him. Then our heart is like “beds of balsam”, a place of rest and sweetness for Him (cf. Song of Solomon 5:13). He comes to enjoy what we are for Him. Although we sometimes shut Him away from our lives, He never really leaves us. Nor do we have to go far up in heaven or far down in the realm of the dead to seek Him. He is near us, in our mouth and in our heart (Deuteronomy 30:12-14). He can disappear from our interest. Then He withdraws from us, that we may feel the lack of Him. Thus, He brings us to confess our cooled love for Him.

The Lord Jesus not only pastures in “His garden”, which is in my life, but also “in the gardens”, which is in the lives of other believers who also love Him. For them He is also the center of their lives. That’s how our vision expands. We see not only our own life, but also that of others in connection with Him.

With all these believers He wants to “gather lilies”. He seeks fruit in the life of His own. He finds this fruit when the Holy Spirit can work in our life. He is only interested in the fruit of the Spirit, not in our achievements. The lilies he wants to collect do not indicate impressive deeds, but tenderness and vulnerability in the midst of a hard, thorny world (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). These are features of Himself and He would like to collect them from the lives of His own.

The bride becomes aware again of her connection with him and his love for her (Song of Solomon 6:3; cf. Song of Solomon 2:16). What she says now goes beyond what she said in Song of Songs 2:16. There she first says that her beloved is hers. She is still ‘I’ oriented. But now she first says she belongs to him. She is focused on him. She has grown spiritually through experience.

A proof of spiritual growth is that what I have received is increasingly coming second, while what Christ has received is increasingly coming first. We think about the joy He can experience in our life when we live for Him. Then we are no longer busy with ourselves, but with Him. That does not mean that we are ungrateful for what we have received. The point is that we do not dwell on the gifts, but that from the gifts we focus our eye on the Giver. That also gives a deeper satisfaction.

It is a sign of spiritual growth when we think about what we mean to the Lord Jesus instead of what He is to us. We are more focused on Him than on ourselves. The first finds its origin more in the feelings, the second more in the Person Who is the reason for those feelings. The question should not be ‘what can the other person do for me’, but ‘what can I mean for the other person?’ The Lord Jesus never thought of Himself. He has always thought of the pleasure of God and the well-being of His own.

If we know that we are His, it also means that we are completely for His responsibility. He takes full care of us. Whatever happens in our life, He is involved and helps us. When we know that He is ours, it means that He is at our side with all His love and all His possibilities. There is nothing in our life that is beyond His control.

Thus He pastures “in the midst of the lilies”. Here we have again ‘the lilies’. He is in the midst of these delicate flowers and He appreciates them. To Him we are like these flowers. We are tender, we are weak, incapable, and we have no power to do anything. But He “pastures” among them, that is, He finds that place of rest with them in a world that has no place for Him.

Isaiah 34:15

Where Is the Groom?

After the bride described the groom in the way she has done, the daughters of Jerusalem confirm that she is the “most beautiful among women” (Song of Solomon 6:1). The bride made them enthusiastic for him. After her impressive description of him, the daughters of Jerusalem ask if they can help to find him. Now the bride no longer asks the daughters of Jerusalem for help (Song of Solomon 5:8), but it is the other way around. They ask her where her beloved has turned.

In a similar way, the disciples have tried to make Thomas enthusiastic about the Lord by telling him that they have seen Him (John 20:24-25). Thus we can make others enthusiastic for Him by testifying of Him Who He is to us. If our testimony is real, it contains attracting or recruiting power.

When we talk enthusiastically about Him, the desire arises in others to seek Him too. This may be the result of Bible lectures or Bible studies in which He is central. We listen to what others say about Him. That encourages us to investigate more Who He is. He also likes to listen to it when believers speak about Him. He will then reveal Himself to them.

When the daughters of Jerusalem have asked the bride where her beloved has turned, the bride suddenly knows where he is (Song of Solomon 6:2). He “has gone down to his garden”. By this she means her heart, her life. He called her “a closed garden” (Song of Solomon 4:12). After a short period of her slackening love for him, as a result of which she has placed him outside her life, her heart is again only for him.

When we are full of the Lord, we also know where to find Him. Then our heart is like “beds of balsam”, a place of rest and sweetness for Him (cf. Song of Solomon 5:13). He comes to enjoy what we are for Him. Although we sometimes shut Him away from our lives, He never really leaves us. Nor do we have to go far up in heaven or far down in the realm of the dead to seek Him. He is near us, in our mouth and in our heart (Deuteronomy 30:12-14). He can disappear from our interest. Then He withdraws from us, that we may feel the lack of Him. Thus, He brings us to confess our cooled love for Him.

The Lord Jesus not only pastures in “His garden”, which is in my life, but also “in the gardens”, which is in the lives of other believers who also love Him. For them He is also the center of their lives. That’s how our vision expands. We see not only our own life, but also that of others in connection with Him.

With all these believers He wants to “gather lilies”. He seeks fruit in the life of His own. He finds this fruit when the Holy Spirit can work in our life. He is only interested in the fruit of the Spirit, not in our achievements. The lilies he wants to collect do not indicate impressive deeds, but tenderness and vulnerability in the midst of a hard, thorny world (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). These are features of Himself and He would like to collect them from the lives of His own.

The bride becomes aware again of her connection with him and his love for her (Song of Solomon 6:3; cf. Song of Solomon 2:16). What she says now goes beyond what she said in Song of Songs 2:16. There she first says that her beloved is hers. She is still ‘I’ oriented. But now she first says she belongs to him. She is focused on him. She has grown spiritually through experience.

A proof of spiritual growth is that what I have received is increasingly coming second, while what Christ has received is increasingly coming first. We think about the joy He can experience in our life when we live for Him. Then we are no longer busy with ourselves, but with Him. That does not mean that we are ungrateful for what we have received. The point is that we do not dwell on the gifts, but that from the gifts we focus our eye on the Giver. That also gives a deeper satisfaction.

It is a sign of spiritual growth when we think about what we mean to the Lord Jesus instead of what He is to us. We are more focused on Him than on ourselves. The first finds its origin more in the feelings, the second more in the Person Who is the reason for those feelings. The question should not be ‘what can the other person do for me’, but ‘what can I mean for the other person?’ The Lord Jesus never thought of Himself. He has always thought of the pleasure of God and the well-being of His own.

If we know that we are His, it also means that we are completely for His responsibility. He takes full care of us. Whatever happens in our life, He is involved and helps us. When we know that He is ours, it means that He is at our side with all His love and all His possibilities. There is nothing in our life that is beyond His control.

Thus He pastures “in the midst of the lilies”. Here we have again ‘the lilies’. He is in the midst of these delicate flowers and He appreciates them. To Him we are like these flowers. We are tender, we are weak, incapable, and we have no power to do anything. But He “pastures” among them, that is, He finds that place of rest with them in a world that has no place for Him.

Isaiah 34:16

Beautiful, Lovely, Awesome

Here the groom is speaking again. Now that the bride has found him again, he tells again what she means to him. He has told her before that she is beautiful (Song of Solomon 4:1). It is an encouragement for the bride to hear this again after the slackening of her love. We also need to hear from the mouth of the Lord Jesus what we mean to Him every time, especially after a period when our love for Him has been weak. This is how the Lord Jesus encourages the apostle Paul when he is in prison (Acts 23:11).

The practical lesson is that a man regularly tells his wife that she is beautiful. This should not only be said when she has dressed well for a particular occasion. It’s about being beautiful for who she is, being valued for her person with her own abilities. We must also say the same to our children and grandchildren personally. When a child or grandchild is called Emma, we say: ‘You are the most beautiful Emma in the whole world!

A mother called her son. She asked him: ‘Where are you, what do you do?’ The son later said: ‘My mother is only interested in where I am or what I do. But she didn’t ask me how I’m doing, how I feel.’ He missed the interest in him as a person. This is also how we can deal with fellow believers. We do this if we are more interested in what they are doing than in what is going on inside them.

The fact that the groom calls her “my darling” or “my friend” is also a repetition. He has called her so several times already (Song of Solomon 1:9; 15; Song of Solomon 2:2; 10; 13; Song of Solomon 4:1; 7; Song of Solomon 5:2). With this he says that there may again be that confidential relationship that characterizes friendship. He can share with her the intimate thoughts of his heart. That is fellowship. It is a next step in the spiritual development in the unity between the groom and the bride.

The purpose of confidentiality is fellowship, growing in unity. For us it means that seeing the Lord Jesus transforms us into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christ wants to recognize His image in us, that He is formed in us (Galatians 4:19). That is the result of fellowship, recognizing Himself in us. This can happen because He is our life.

With the words “beautiful”, “lovely” and “awesome” the groom uses three pictures. The bride is beautiful “as Tirzah”. Tirzah was the capital of the ten tribes realm before Omri made Samaria the capital (1 Kings 15:33; 1 Kings 16:23-24). Tirzah means, among other things, ‘pleasure’. It must have been a beautiful city.

He then compared her loveliness to “Jerusalem”, the capital of the two tribes realm. Jerusalem means ‘the foundation of peace’. In both capitals we see the glory of all Israel when the twelve tribes are back in the land.

The bride is beautiful and lovely for the groom, but also awesome for those who want to do her harm. She is “as an army with banners” to resist the enemy.

After speaking to young people about sexuality with the history of Dinah as an example (Genesis 34:1-4) two girls came to me. They looked beautiful. They asked what kind of evil it can be to go out, just like Dinah, and have certain friendships.

My answer was: ‘Then you’re on dangerous ground. Boys can come to you and they want ‘something’ with you. They are there for that. If you’re there too, they think you want the same thing. ‘Yes, it has happened before’, one said, ‘but I said no.’ My reaction was: ‘If a boy has had the occasion to ask you, it means you’ve already gone too far.’ Such girls have not raised up the banners, the banner of the Lord Jesus’ love (Song of Solomon 2:4; Song of Solomon 5:10), and are not awesome to the world, but are attractive to the world.

For us, it means that we do not give sin, which is an enemy, a chance to gain a place in our lives. We must take a clear stand against sin. This also applies to the local church. When sin is allowed to enter, the love for the Lord Jesus disappears.

In the bride is beauty and loveliness that attracts those who want to join her and at the same time there is a deterrent power and strength toward those who want to do her harm. It seems that many believers have lost both aspects. Because we have lost our holy character, people are no longer afraid of us. Because we have lost our lovely character, there is no longer any attraction with us.

Isaiah 34:17

The Bride Described Again

When we look at the Lord Jesus, when our eye is only on Him, it is as if our gaze is too much for Him (Song of Solomon 6:5). When we are restored to fellowship with Him, our eyes are directed more on Him than before. They no longer roam away from Him to other objects. Then we see ‘Jesus alone’. It is as if this confuses Him. Thus, He can be amazed about the faith of a Canaanite woman. She believes with perseverance in His power to heal her daughter. This elicits from Him the statement: “O woman, your faith is great” (Matthew 15:28).

The groom is impressed by her renewed dedication. This leads him to describe her again because of what she means to him. He starts with “your hair”, which is the symbol of her dedication. He sees the same dedication to and dependence on him he described earlier (Song of Solomon 4:1b). It is a repetition, but he sees that the bride now experiences deeper what he says with it. This is also the case with the believer who, after a period of slackening in his relationship with the Lord, again comes to live in fellowship with Him.

Also what he says of the bride’s teeth is a repetition (Song of Solomon 6:6; Song of Solomon 4:2), but also not meaningless. Here too, the groom assumes a deeper feeling of the bride. The first time it is about “a flock of [newly] shorn ewes”. The emphasis is on ‘new shorn’. It indicates a fresh beginning. Here it is about is a “flock of ewes”, which indicates adulthood. It refers to the Lord Jesus observing a change that shows spiritual growth.

“Teeth” is about eating and grinding food so that it can be absorbed into the body. In a figurative sense, it is about the absorption and processing of spiritual food, as a result of which there is spiritual soundness. The “twins” indicate spiritual balance. The “young” indicate that the effect of balance in spiritual life will be fruit.

When we eat sound spiritual food, that is, when we read God’s Word, we know when to say something to encourage or exhort. We also know when to spend time with our family and when to go somewhere. In every area of our life, we will see the responsibilities in the proper perspective and fulfill them. The one is not at the expense of the other.

The groom also spoke earlier about the bride’s “temples” (Song of Solomon 6:7; Song of Solomon 4:3b). The temples refer to thinking, of thought life. This is “like a slice of a pomegranate”, indicating abundant fruit. This fruit can be seen in her dedication, of which her “veil” speaks.

If there is dedication to the Lord, thinking of Him will fill our thought life. The Lord knows our thoughts. He “understands my thoughts from afar” (Psalms 139:2). When two people love each other, they are always busy with each other in their thoughts. When love fades, also the thinking about each other fades away. This applies to our thinking of the Lord Jesus and also to our thinking of the husband or wife.

In my mind I always have to take into account what my wife thinks of something. Just as I stand before God, I stand before my wife. We are a unity. This also applies, for example, when the husband is at work and his wife at home. What the husband at work says to someone should be the same as if his wife was present. This is a protection of marriage and at the same time a deepening of it. In a relationship of love there are no secrets for each other.