Songs 6 Commentary
Once in a while, the holy pages give away their identity. At times, it’s the timing of the script that is exposed unintentionally.
The mention of Tirzah and Jerusalem in the same thought may give us an estimation of the time when the Book was written. It wasn’t definitely written during the reign of Solomon. Tirzah was the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel under the reign of Baasha and partly Omri. We don’t hear much about Tirzah after this as Samaria became the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, simply called Israel. Jerusalem remained the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Israel called Judah.
History aside, it’s probably Tirzah’s gardens that warrant the city’s mention here. Beyond that, the author is probably presenting his work as an authority for both sister kingdoms. The scripture doesn’t have political eyes.
Chapter 6 starts with the bride’s community joining the search team. They must find the groom for the beautiful bride. Marriage is always a community situation. The Hollywood version of marriage where fake love is exclusively traded between two sinners isn’t at all scriptural.
Then the woman speaks up. She actually knows where her man is. The point here is that while the search is now a community function, the woman, and she alone knows and should define her wants. She knows the size, shape, and color of her groom
And now the groom speaks. He is around after all! He declares his love for the bride – comparing his bride to both Tirzah and Jerusalem.
Several centuries later, the bride is in bad shape. Tirzah, represented by Samaria and Jerusalem. They are called out for adultery by several prophets, notably Ezekiel.
The Bible is one long story about the LORD God and His people. In some places, the LORD God is the Shepherd while His people are the sheep. In this Book and particularly in the Book of Ezekiel, The LORD God is the groom while Israel is the bride.
There is a time when the bride is described in glowing terms. This is the time before Genesis 3 – the famous fall. There is also a time when the bride is described as lowly, sinful, stupid, down and out. The saint can look at his life as the bride and check the Groom’s description against his or her name.
The groom must explain his absence. He had gone out and before he realized it, his desire for other things kept him away from the bride. Are we back to the little foxes that ruin the vines? Men must watch out for things that can possibly keep them away from the joys of marriage, including work. Verses 11 and 12.
The chapter closes with an envious groom protecting his bride from the piercing eyes of the community.
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