Roses and Thorns

The Song of Solomon is holy scripture, a love song abounding in metaphors and imagery. It depicts the romantic pursuit of a shepherdess by King Solomon and encompasses the joys and heartaches of wedded love. Poetically and prophetically, it illustrates God’s love for Israel and Christ’s love for his bride, the church.

1 Kings 4:32-33
32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish.

Song of Solomon 1:1-4; 16a
1 This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.
Young Woman
2 Kiss me and kiss me again,
   for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How pleasing is your fragrance;
   your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils.
   No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!
   The king has brought me into his bedroom.
16a You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words!

It is the PREROGATIVE of love to assign beauty where it may and the PRIVILEGE of being loved to walk in its assignment. 

Song of Solomon 2:1-2
Young Woman
1 I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain,
   the lily of the valley.
Young Man
2 Like a lily among thistles
   is my darling among young women.

It is from the POWER of love that the PAINS of relationships are addressed.

Genesis 3:17-19 (KJV)
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Micah 7:4-6
4 Even the best of them is like a brier;
   the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns.
But your judgment day is coming swiftly now.
   Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.
5 Don’t trust anyone—
   not your best friend or even your wife!
6 For the son despises his father.
   The daughter defies her mother.
The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law.
   Your enemies are right in your own household!

We cannot expect a thornless relationship but love endures, forgives and redeems.

Song of Solomon 2:2
Young Man
2 Like a lily among thistles
    is my darling among young women.

Ephesians 5:31-33
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Matthew 27:29
29 They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”