Song 2:8-17 – Make time for the Lord in solitude and d silence

In the earlier verses, we saw how true love for her beloved shepherd helped the Shulamite maiden to withstand the scorn of the harem’s ladies. Despite their attempt to influence her about how gallant Solomon was, she remained steadfast and true to her beloved. Solomon’s flattery to woo her also did not move her heart. She remained steadfastly faithful and committed to her true love. In Song 2:8-17, the scene shifts. Her imagination returns to a time in the past, to her rural countryside. And there She recalls the time where she pines for her beloved and how he courted her.

In that scene, she recalls how she longingly yearns for the arrival of her beloved. Then in verse 8, she remembers the time her beloved came looking for her. On hearing his voice, her excitement mounted. In excitement she exclaimed to herself, “Behold, he comes….”  Her beloved on his part was also thrilled and motivated to meet her. So, he came “leaping over the mountains and skipping over the hills.” These actions could hardly be describing Solomon's. He would certainly be more dignified as such outward expression would be inappropriate for a king.  

In verse 9, her beloved shepherd, like shy animals, “a gazelle or a young stag”, is described as shyly standing outside the wall of her house and peering through the lattice windows, looking for her eagerly with longing eyes. Then his voice is heard beckoning her to come away for fellowship. He calls out longingly for her, saying:

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.

These verses depict the lover of her soul coming and inviting her to leave the comfort of her house and accompany him on a journey. He desires to take her away into the surrounding and serene nature of the countryside, to commune and build their relationship. Isn’t this how Jesus our beloved also longs for us to make time in fellowship with Him? He desires that we will find the time and come away into a quiet place, and in silent solitude, commune and build our relationship with Him. Remember His words to us in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Winter is a time of death. During this cold and snowy season, everything dies. We have all seen pictures of the wintery season where branches of trees just shrivel up and devoid of their foliage. It speaks of death. Life only begins to return during springtime. It is during spring that the green leaves would return. Our past without Jesus, our beloved, is a time of spiritual death. When He came into our heart, He gives us new life. He now longs to fellowship with us. We must no longer live as we formerly did, as children of disobedience. Knowing Christ makes us alive to His voice that will create a desire in us to seek Him in fellowship. If we can hear Him today, He is saying to us, “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”  

However, sadly, we see how bashfully she refuses to join her beloved in a peaceful journey. Like a dove, she is contented to nestle in the cleft of the rock. This phrase “cleft of the rock” has been used to describe a believer’s salvation experience. Many Christians today are contented just to live in the initial experience of salvation and will not take time and make progress in their walk with the Lord. Without a doubt, Jesus our beloved’s desire is for us to make the journey with Him. We must find time to fellowship with Him and hear from Him. What a joy it is to know Him and to be known by Him.  

Spiritual progress requires that we catch the little foxes that spoil the vine. There are things that will spoil our peaceful relationship with Christ, our Lord. We must heed His call to identify ways that will derail our walk with God. If we don’t, they will cause us to meander into the broad way of destruction. When our relationship with Jesus, our beloved, is in blossom, we don’t want to spoil it by entertaining things that will distract us from fixing our eyes on and gazing at Him. We must keep short accounts with God and deal with the sins and failures that will stumble us. Verses 16-17 show how the Shulamite cherishes the thought that her beloved deeply loves her and that they belong to each other. Though she is now in the palace far from her beloved, yet her heart is with him and assured that he still loves her. And until the day they are reunited, she envisages her beloved going about freely living his life like a roe or a hart.

Jesus, our beloved, is beckoning us to make the journey with Him. We must make time for solitude and silence, and learn to cultivate attentiveness to identify His voice. Do not be bogged down with the mundane activities of life till we fail to make time for the Lord. Remember, the Christian life is like springtime. The wintery of our past life is gone when we made Jesus our Lord. Let us now make time to cultivate our relationship with Him through constant loving fellowship with Him.