For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, as with studies elsewhere, each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read on the main Bible page.

The main male and female speakers (identified primarily on the basis of the gender of the relevant Hebrew forms) are indicated by the captions He and She respectively. The words of others are marked Friends. In some instances the divisions and their captions are debatable. [NIV text]

Passage:  2:1-3

She

1 I am a rose of Sharon,
    a lily of the valleys.

He

2 Like a lily among thorns
    is my darling among the young women.

She

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
    is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

A. Find Out

• 1. What does she say she is? v.1
• 2. But what does he say she is? v.2
• 3. What does she say he is? v.3a
• 4. What does she like doing with him? v.3b

B. Think:

• 1. What do you think his description of her indicates?
• 2. How may that be in contrast to verse 1?
• 3. What is her description of him really saying?

C. Comment:

From the general interchanges of verses 15 and 16 in chapter 1, these verses give us the two young people making comparisons of each other.  First of all the girl says that she is a lily. Now lilies were very common, so it is as if she is saying, “Oh, I’m just a very ordinary person”.  He gallantly rises to the occasion with, “A lily you may be, but you stand out from all the rest as a lily alone surrounded by thorn bushes on the hillside. You’ll see from then note in your Bible that this “Rose of Sharon”, this lily, may in fact be a member of the crocus family.  Imagine in your garden in early spring, the first crocus coming up, standing out against the hard earth. That is what he says she does, she stands out colourfully in this hard world.

So often Christians put themselves down by saying “I’m only……”, demeaning themselves. Yes without Christ we can do nothing (Jn 15:5), in ourselves there is no good thing (Rom 7:18) but in Christ we are children of God (Jn 1:12), in Christ we are holy and blameless in God’s sight (Eph 1:4), in Christ we can do everything he gives me to do (Phil 4:13). Oh no, from God’s viewpoint we stand out in this world like a crocus against the thorns!

She compares him to an apple tree in the woods. In the same way he stands out,  but even more so, for he produces fruit that is a blessing to eat. Being with him is a blessing, as it is for us with Jesus.

D. Prayer Suggestion:

Lord, thank you that I stand out in this world. Lord,  it is wonderful knowing you, because of all you give, your fruit. (Gal 5:22)

Passage:   2:4-7

4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
    and let his banner over me be love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am faint with love.
6 His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.
7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.

A. Find Out

• 1. Where had he taken her? v.4a
• 2. What did she see as flying over them? v.4b
• 3. What did she need and why? v.5
• 4. How did he hold her? v.6
• 5. Who does she charge not to do what? v.7

B. Think:

• 1. What does a banner signify? What does it signify here?
• 2. How does verse 6 compliment verse 5?
• 3. What do you think is the meaning of verse 7?

C. Comment:

The first part of the chapter has pictured the two of them swapping pastoral images of each other. They are in the woods in the countryside, the branches of the trees forming a roof over them. For her though it is like they are in his banquet hall, a place of consuming all good things. When a king is in residence his banner flies over the residence. It proclaims his presence and his reign there, it declares his protection and provision for all who reside there. The banner that flies over her is love. It declares his intent toward her, his protection and provision for her. She feels secure under it.  So it is with us and Jesus: wherever we are with him, it is a banqueting hall, a place of blessing, of receiving from him, a place of knowing his beautiful provision.

Yet love is heady thing, and she feels weak with it. Does she want literal feeding, or having just spoken of him as an apple tree, is she saying she simply wants more of him? He supports and holds her, she feels protective intimacy. That’s how it is with us and Jesus, we need more and more of him, we need his support and protective but intimate closeness.

 But wait, don’t rush things, let love take its time (v.7). Love has to grow naturally otherwise it is so easily bruised or abused. Let it develop stage by stage, not rushed. How we need to learn this in this day. Our love for Jesus needs to develop stage by stage.

D. Prayer Suggestion:

Lord, hold me close, feed me with your presence.

Passage:  2:8-10

8 Listen! My beloved!
    Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
    Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.

A. Find Out

• 1. What does she see her lover doing? v.8
• 2. To what does she compare him? v.9a
• 3. What does she see him doing? v.9b,c
• 4. What does he say to her? v.10

B. Think:

• 1. What indications are there that this is a new section?
• 2. What is taking place in these verses?
• 3. What does he want her to do?

C. Comment:

Of course this poem or song wasn’t written with chapter numbers and verse numbers, they have been added. Verse 8 might have been a better place to start chapter 2, for it starts off a new series of pictures. In the first chapter she had gone looking for him, now he comes looking for her.  Later (3:1-) she will look for him again.

In this next scene she is at home in the country or on the edge of it. She hears his voice, she looks out and she sees him bounding down the hillside towards the house, looking for her. he reminds her of a young, sure-footed gazelle, or a strong young stag.  He arrives outside and peers in looking for her. He calls to her to come out with her.

How can this apply to us and Jesus?  Isn’t Jesus always with us (Heb 13:5b, Mt 28:20b)?  Yes but the awareness of his presence varies. Sometimes he makes his presence clearly felt.  He comes by his Spirit and makes us aware of his presence. He calls us by the Spirit. We hear look at and catch a sense of his desire to come close.  He draws near and calls us to come aside. To know his presence in this way often means we have to put aside the things of the world that would impose on us. The key point in this passage is that he comes to us, he draws near to us (in our awareness) and calls us to come to him, to come in awareness that he is there and wants to talk. Will we listen, will we pause, will we come and commune with him?

D. Prayer Suggestion:

Oh Lord, help me to be sensitive to your wonderful presence, help to catch the call of your voice. I want to be with you.

Passage:  2:11-13

11 See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

A. Find Out

• 1. What has happened? v.11
• 2. What sign is there of that? v.12a
• 3. What season has come? v.12b
• 4. What is heard? v.12c
• 5. What other signs confirm this? v.13a
• 6. So what does he again encourage her to do? v.13b

B. Think:

• 1. Why was it now a time for going out and about?
• 2. Of what, do you think, is singing a sign?
• 3. Why was it good to be out and about?

C. Comment:

She has watched her lover come and now he speaks, calling her to come out with her. Why? Because it’s a good time to be out; the bad weather has gone and new life is springing up everywhere.  Flowers appear and as new life comes, the heart is lightened and that is reflected by a song on the lips. We tend to be a more restrained society that has mass music provided for it, but in the rural culture, singing is always part of life, especially when the heart is lifted up, and Spring is a particular time for that.  As they went out and about doves could be heard, early fruit seen, and blossom on other plants, everything says this is a time of new life, a time when love springs forth.

There are phases or seasons in the kingdom of God, and in our lives. There are times when it seems like winter and all is still or dying within us it seems. But then suddenly, it seems, the Spirit is moving and new life gushes forth. When the signs are there that he is moving, it is imperative that we join in. The girl could have stayed in and missed the beauty of Spring, missed the wonder of her lover’s love. When the Spirit of God starts moving, we can remain lethargic, indifferent, still caught up in the affairs of the world, and if we do that we miss out on the wonder of His love as He pours it forth.

D. Prayer Suggestion:

Oh Lord, help me to be sensitive to the seasons in your kingdom, help me to respond when you start moving.

Passage:  2:14-15

He

14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,
    in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
    let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.
15 Catch for us the foxes,
    the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
    our vineyards that are in bloom.

A. Find Out

• 1. How does he see her? v.14a
• 2. What does her first ask her to do? v.14b
• 3. What does he then ask her to do? v.15a
• 4. What do they do? v.15b
• 5. What is the state of their “vineyards”? v.15c

B. Think:

• 1. What is his yearning in v.14?
• 2. What do you think the reference to foxes means?
• 3. At what stage is their love?

C. Comment:

Verse 14 is really just a continuation of the man’s call to the girl (so don’t be put off by any sub-heading above it). He has been calling her within the house to come out and come away with him. He says she’s like a beautiful dove on a rocky hillside who cannot be seen. Make yourself known  to me, is what he is saying.

Now, what about “catch the foxes”. The young foxes would damage the vines and have to be driven out. The older foxes would eat the grapes when they are formed.  He says their “vineyards”, their feelings for each other (?) are in bloom; it is the early days of their love that is blossoming but not yet bringing forth fruit. So, he says, don’t let anything come in that will damage our growing love, deal with anything early on that might harm the growth of our love, don’t let anything spoil it.

We have in this passage, therefore,  the yearning of the man for the girl, for her to come to him, for her to deal with anything that might stop their love developing.

If we take this as allegory, pointing to facets of our spiritual life, we must see it as Jesus calling to us to come out of our hiding place to be with him and to deal with any little things in our lives that would spoil or hinder our relationship with him.

[NB. Veres 16 & 17 are included with Ch.3]

D. Prayer Suggestion:

Oh Lord, help me to put aside the “domestic chores” and to come to you, help me to deal with the small things that hinder me.