It is incredibly encouraging and refreshing that this section (Song of Solomon 5:2–6:3) follows straight after the joyous celebration of marriage and sexual intimacy in Song of Solomon 3:6–5:1. Even though marriage between a man and a woman is still God’s good and right context for sexual pleasure and fulfilment, being married and experiencing sexual intimacy is not smooth sailing in a sinful and broken world. How many married couples find themselves facing a crisis in their marriage once the highs of the honeymoon have worn off and the complexities of two selfish people giving themselves completely to one another begin to emerge? Married life and intimacy, both sexual and emotional, can become painful and a source of great anxiety. When misunderstanding, miscommunication, mismatched expectations, unfulfilled desires start to bring coldness and distance into their relationship, a husband and wife can feel more alone than they ever did before they were married.
This passage reminds us that as painful and confusing as those struggles can be, God’s design for marriage has not changed or failed. As married couples face up to their own brokenness and sinfulness, they will overcome the difficulties of married life and begin to discover the depth and strength of the commitment they have made to each other, and the power and goodness of the unity God has so wisely built into the one flesh union of marriage. If they once again commit themselves to pursuing each other with selfless commitment, they will find each other again.
A much greater alienation we experience is when our selfishness robs us of intimacy and joy with our Father. Far too often we fail to pursue time with him, and we miss out on the intimacy he desires to have with us. The good news is that he will never give up on us. He has come looking for us by sending his Son and he will keep on pursuing us through his Spirit who now lives in us. When we turn back to him, he is always ready and waiting with open arms.
The other good news is that marriage is not the relationship that will give us ultimate fulfillment and pleasure. That joy can and will only be found in our relationship with God as our Father. As God’s people we are ultimately the Bride of Christ, that is the wedding we all long for the most.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies.