Song of Songs 2:4-16 | He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me! I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.
In 2013, John and Ann Betar became the oldest known American married couple as they celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary. Their advice on staying happily married includes the following: “Don’t hold a grudge. Forgive each other. Live accordingly,” John advises. And Ann adds, “It is unconditional love and understanding. We have had that. We consider it a blessing.”
The longing in any marriage is in knowing that the affection of your spouse is directed solely toward you. The Song of Songs captures this active commitment with two lovers delighting in and yearning for each other (1:15-16, 3:1-3). They love and are loved in return (2:16, 7:10) and are satisfied and content in each other’s company (2:16, 4:9-11, 7:10). Surely this can be one of life’s greatest joys.
The earthly love between husband and wife, however, is an echo of the passionate love and fervent pursuit of Jesus for those who believe in Him—His bride. The powerful and deceptive lure of sin forced a chasm between God and man, turning our affections away from our first love and focusing our attention on the temporary things of this world—resulting in emptiness, death, and destruction (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:23).
But herein lies the greatest love story: “This is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8).
While it’s beautiful to see the love a man and woman can share for decades, it pales compared to the amazing love God extends to us for eternity. That’s the greatest love story! —Ruth O’Reilly-Smith
MORE: Read Romans 5:1-2 and consider how the broken relationship between God and us has been restored through Jesus.
NEXT: What marks a truly loving and beautiful marriage? How is God’s love for us even more beautiful?