A devotional thought from Song of Solomon 2:1-2
1 I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys. 2 As the lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. Song of Solomon 2:1-2
What if the song got it wrong?
What if the hymn that we grew up singing didn’t interpret the passage properly? What if what we have always heard about these verses is just not true? When faced with such a dilemma, do you stubbornly hang on to what you had been taught and believed or let God say what he actually intended? I don’t know about ya’ll, but what the Bible actually says is more important to me than what I have been taught. Concerning the Word of Almighty God, what I have always believed must bow down before what is true, to quote the Apostle Paul “Let God be true and every man a liar”. Today’s passage is one that I now understand to have taught poorly based on some common misunderstandings.
Let me give you two things that I misunderstood about this passage.
1. I misunderstood the plants.
When reading about the rose of Sharon I have always imagined the red rose. You know, the ones you buy from the flower shop or steal from the U.S. government. I suppose that last part needs some explanation, doesn’t it?
When I was just a little fella in elementary school I had this huge crush on a cute little girl named Nicole. I asked my mom for money to buy Nicole some roses but was disappointed when my mother refused because she had no money to spare. My mom, well known for her abundance of personality, had a workaround for our empty flower fund. The VA hospital near our house had a fence covered with red roses so she snuck up to that fence under the cover of night and stole a few roses from the U.S. Veteran’s administration.
We trimmed those stems and wrapped them in paper. I gave those stolen roses to Nicole with lots of pride.
In case you are wondering, we have since repented of our life of crime!
I hope the statute of limitations applies.
The rose of Sharon isn’t the kind of red rose that I presented to my crush. According to 1 Chronicles 27:29 Sharon was the pasture land of King David and Bible scholars say the rose that grew there was actually a crocus, a common wild-flower that you could find easily in pasture land.
The lily mentioned is the lotus or water lily and is also a very common flower in the valley of Esdraelon. My point is that we are talking about common flowers that grow in the wild, not the ones we have pictured in our minds.
There is another misconception that I have held about this passage.
2. I Misunderstood the People Speaking
This is where I had really misunderstood this passage, I had always thought that Solomon said, “I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys”.
Since I have often sung the hymn and because Solomon is a type or illustration of Jesus in the Song of Songs then I thought this verse was ultimately about Christ, but what if the song is wrong?
Most Bible scholars understand that in the original Hebrew these words are in their feminine form so they are actually the words of the bride, not the groom. If that is correct, and I believe it is, then the bride is the rose of Sharon and the Lily of the valley, not the groom.
What if the song is wrong?
What if we are the rose and the lily?
That may ruin some of my past teachings, but it doesn’t ruin the present, there are some really great lessons to learn. Let me show you!
Until now in Solomon’s song, the groom has been complimenting his bride, but now she says, “I am the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.”
If these had been the flowers I had thought, then that is really arrogant, isn’t it?
She would be saying, “I am pretty, and I know it!”
But, the Rose of Sharon and Lily of the Valley are just common wildflowers, so she is actually saying “I’m pretty…common!”
“I’m just a common flower and they are just a dime a dozen”
“I’m not out of the ordinary”
“Girls like me are everywhere!”
“I’m nothing special”
In verse 2 the groom speaks and listen to his response,
Song of Solomon 2:2 As the lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.
He is saying,
“You are a lily alright, a lily among thorns”
“Compared to you honey, every other woman is a thorn bush”
The groom compliments her, he wants her to feel unique and special. Perhaps, she hinted for reassurance and her man gave her what she needed!
How might we find a lesson in this passage?
Even we who feel common, not so special or even undesirable we are desired by our Lord with an uncommon love!
Oh, to comprehend the value placed upon us by the Father, we are his unique treasure, the apple of his eye, lilies among thorns!
The Bible teaches how the sins of Adam brought a curse on creation. Did you know according to Gen 3:18 that thorns are the result of man’s sin? I believe that before the fall the rose bush had no thorns. That is why I believe that the crown of thorns that my savior wore the day he willing went to the cross had such meaning, it showed that when he took the thorns, he was actually taking our curse!
We are his lilies brought forth from the thorns!
What if the song got it wrong?
What if this passage actually teaches us that we are special to him and that he wore the thorns so we could be his rose?
Reading for 12/18/20