THE COURTSHIP OF THE
MARRIAGE CONTINUES
Song of Solomon
6:4-12
When you consider the Song of Solomon, it is good to view it
as a marriage between a
man and his wife and to view it as the marriage between
Jesus and His Church. Jesus is
the bridegroom and we, the church are His bride. In each
case, you will see the adoration
the bridegroom has for the bride and adoration the bride has
for the bridegroom.
GENIUNE FLATERY
V4. " You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely
as Jerusalem , majestic as troops
with banners."
A. We are attracted
by the outward appearances of a person first. It is only when
we get to know
a person that we see the inward beauty.
1. Christ
focuses on the heart and not any outward appearances.
2. The word "Tirzah"
means delightsomeness.
a. Jerusalem
is the center of religious activities.
b. The Word Jerusalem
means peaceful.
c. The
phrase "army with banner"
means conspicuous or flaunt.
3. Every Word
describes the love of bridegroom for his
bride.
a. She is dear
to him; his darling.
b. He
describes her beauty with a series of adjectives.
c. She is
delightful, righteous, and her beauty is conspicuous.
B. Every man ought to see the beauty in His bride
as Christ sees the beauty in
his church.
1. No marriage
is without its flaws. But the good should always overshadow
the bad.
2. If we focus
on the good, we will never see the flaws.
3. The bad
should not be ignored, because the bad is an opportunity for improvement.
CALL HER EVERYTHING GOOD UNDER THE SUN
V:5. " Turn your
eyes from me; they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending
from Gilead ."
A. The eyes can sometime tell a story by themselves. The
gleam in the eyes can show
affection and
compassion. When ones eyes are focused on the eyes of another person,
it can sometimes indicate truthfulness.
1. The pupils of
the eyes open wide when someone is interested in what you are saying.
2. The pupils stay
dilated when love and affection is involved.
B. The flock of goats indicates that there are many
witnesses to this love.
1. Someone excited
about their relationship will tell others.
2. There are many
witnesses in heaven to the love Jesus has for His Church.
3. There are many
witnesses to our love for Christ.
4. A person in
love with Christ will be active in the ministry of the Gospel.
C. Gilead is a rugged
mountain east of the Jordan river .
.1. Solomon, the
bridegroom saw his bride descend down from the mountain.
2. She was a gift
from God.
3. Jesus the
bridegroom of the Church descended from heaven to receive His bride.
4. He will ascend
back into heaven with his bride.
D. One writer describes Jesus as overwhelm with joy in this
way:
1. Jesus is
overwhelm when the eyes show repentance.
2. Jesus is
overwhelm when the eyes mourn over sin.
3. Jesus is
overwhelm when the eyes look to Him for salvation
4. Jesus is
overwhelm when the eyes trust Him.
5. Jesus is
overwhelm when our prayers are genuine.
THE HUSBAND RESPONIBILITY TO PROVIDE
V:6, " Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up
from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is alone."
A. Solomon found beauty in his wife everywhere he looked.
1. There was
beauty in her teeth.
2. Men should
appreciate every part of his spouse's body.
3. Every part
makes up who she is
4. It is the
package that is attractive.
5. The more we
find to love, the more in love we will be.
B. Sheep are animals that need a shepherd to lead, provide
and protect them
1. They are
totally dependant on the shepherd,
2 . God made man
the head of the woman
C. The shepherd represents man's responsibility to lead.
1. The sheep represents the woman expectation
to be led by the head of the household.
2. The man has a
head, who is Jesus Christ.
3. The man must
lead the wife as Christ leads the Church.
D.. When the husband is excited about his wife, there will be
many witnesses.
1. Our love for
Christ is evident by what we do for Him.
2. There a cloud of
witnesses in heaven and on earth to our love for Christ.
CONSTANT ADORATION
V:7. " Your temples behind your veil are like the
halves of a pomegranate"
A. The Hebrew word
for temple means thinness on the side of the face.
1. In America
the ideal model is thin from head to toe.
2. A
pomegranate is red on the inside.
3. Solomon wife
may have been thin with rosy cheeks.
B. Perhaps Solomon described the outward beauty of his bride.
1. Every husband
ought to describe the beauty of his wife in
his heart.
2. Out of the
his heart he should express the beauty he sees to his wife.
3. Beauty is in
the eye of the beholder and has its value when expressed
to your
spouse.
4. A marriage
grows strong when the couple find constant approval in each other.
A SPECIAL BRIDE
V:8-9 " Sixty queens there may be, and eighty
concubines, and virgins beyond number; 9 but my dove, my perfect one, is
unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised
her."
A. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
1. Out of all of
them only one was special and unique.
2. He described his
love for her and neglected to mention the others.
B. God did not approve Solomon's decision to have
relationships with
many wives.
1. He allowed it
to show him the foolishness in vanity.
2. His love for
women drew him away from God and caused him much pain.
3. From the
beginning of man's creation, marriage was designed to be permanent
between one
man and one woman. Gen 2:23
C. The Church is special to Jesus.
1. There is only
one Jesus and one Church of Jesus Christ.
2. The body of
Christ, the Church has been washed clean with His Word
and redeemed
with His blood.
3. The Church has
been made acceptable to God the Father through the work
Christ did on
the cross.
D. The road to
salvation is a narrow way.
1. The road to
salvation is through the righteousness of the Jesus.
2. The way of the world is wide and leads to
destruction.
3. Those who know
the Lord are blessed by Him.
a. Blessed with his love.
b. Blessed
with his grace.
c. Blessed
with his mercy.
d. Blessed
with his protection.
e. Blessed
with his provisions.
f. Blessed
with eternal life,
THE LOVE OF CHRIST
V:10. Who is this that
appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic
as the stars in
procession?"
A. Christ describes His Church born in the morning hours of
His resurrection.
1. The sun is the
source of light for the universe.
2. The moon only
has a partial light from the Sun
3. Christians are
in the light of God but not perfect yet, because we are housed
in the flesh.
4. As beautiful as
the stars are at night, they derive their light from the sun.
5. Jesus is the source
of spiritual light of the world.
6. We derive our
light from Jesus.
7. It is our job to
reflect the light of Jesus to others.
B. The source of love in a marriage is the love of Christ.
1. Our love for
each other is just a shadow of the love of Christ.
2. The best man can
do is to try to imitate the love of Christ.
3. Man is commanded
to love his wife like Christ loves the Church.
GROWING IN CHRIST
V:11-12. " I went down to the grove of nut trees to
look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the
pomegranates were in bloom. 12 Before I realized it, my desire set me among the
royal chariots of my people."
A. The grove or the garden is the place of new life and
continued growth.
1.There should be
continued growth in the Church.
2. There should be
continued growth in the marriage.
3. Christ looks to
see if we are following the great commission.
4. We are to make new disciples, baptizing them
in the name of the Father
the Son and
the Holy Spirit. Matt 28:19
B. We should grow from babes in Christ to mature productive
Christians.
1. All marriages
should grow from the surface love at first sight to
to a deep
abiding love.
2. Marriages fail
when the two do not become one flesh.
a. Marriages flourish
when Christ is at the center.
b. Goals and
aspirations should be shared
c. There should
be one shared voice based on the Word of
God.
3. Christian growth
and development stalls when we fail to seek to be one with
Christ.
C. When we seek the love of Christ we will have a desire to
fellowship with other
believers in
Christ.
1. Christ is the
King among us.
2. He said when two
or more come together in my Name, He would be in the midst.
3. We have constant
and continuous access to Jesus.
CONTINUE THE COURTSHIP WITH CHRIST AND LOVE WILL GROW AND
FLOURISH.
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
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