Well this one had me off balance at first! As I did my due diligence studying historical references to Jewish betrothals, parental involvement, scheduled and non-scheduled visits between the engaged couple leading up to the wedding attempting to reconcile the text to Jewish customs and the morality of the Law. Finally, as I was praying (a little frustrated in how things were going) it occurred to me that these initial verses in chapter 3 were probably a dream of the Shulamite. Only later was I to discover this is a commonly held thought among theologians and scholars. So I feel as if I heard correctly.

The person speaking in the second half of chapter 3 is unidentifiable and may just be an unnamed narrator. The other options are the Shulamite or her bride’s maids, the “daughters of Jerusalem”. This depicts Solomon coming, in traditional Jewish fashion to retrieve his bride from her father’s house and speed her away in a Palanquin to his estate where the consummation of the marriage will take place just before a 7 day wedding feast.

Nearly all of chapter 4 is Solomon, giving a traditional wasfs – which is a poetic description of the beauty of his bride-to-be.

That all of this is brilliant imagery depicting the believer’s relation to Jesus as “the bride” is sobering and telling. It really calls you out of your comfort zone and challenges notions and expectations of deity, you probably didn’t even know you had.

For example, to have Jesus – the Creator of the natural universe, look at the church (also His very Own creation) and say, “You have stolen my heart, with one glance of your eye” is something serious followers of Christ will have to take time with to allow the Spirit to capture it for you in ways you can comprehend and accept… and THAT is my challenge to anyone who reads the book or listens to this message.