True Love or Infatuation

Is she infatuated or sincerely in love with Israel’s current Messiah and king?

Read the first two verses as she expresses her feelings and why she has them.  There are two main reasons why she has such ardent feelings for him, the one she loves.  Can you pick out the two reasons.

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his lips, for your love is more delightful than wine.  Pleasing is the fragrance of your ointments, your name is like perfume poured out, no wonder all the single ladies (maidens) love you.”   Solomon’s Song of Songs 1:2-3

Did you see the two reasons.  If not read it again.   First there is something “delightful” that draws her near him.  Second there is something else pleasing to her that makes him the most desirable man alive!  This is no infatuation but true love for “love, the flame of the Lord” is in them.  Solomon’s song of songs 8:6

The two things that make the king or one in authority most desirable are:

1. The sweetness or “delightfulness” of his love v.2
2. His character, reputation or “name” v.3

Certainly she has some of the most ardent affections for him but is it infatuation or True Love?

Definitions I found for infatuation

1.  an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something
2. foolish or extravagant passion
3. very strong feelings of love or attraction for somebody/something, especially when these are unreasonable and do not last long

Intense, short-lived, foolish, very strong and unreasonable are adjectives describing infatuation.  No one would doubt that the Bride in the Song has intense or very strong feelings for the king, which are good and okay if they are not unreasonable or foolish.  But are her feelings foolish, unreasonable or short-lived?

Well, if we read through the whole Song we see that her love does not fail and was not short lived but endured and grew all the way to the end.  Both husband and wife in the Song illustrate a love from God in marriage that is “unquenchable” 8:6,  there these ardent affections of hers are not short-lived according to an oxford definition.

So her feelings weren’t short lived but were they unreasonable, unfounded or foolish?

Her desire for the king was based on two things.  One was the “delightfulness” of his love.    The other was his “name” or current reputation.  The delightfulness of his love or sweetness of it is subjective and changes.  But we can look at the second reason why she desired him so much was mainly his character.

There really wasn’t much to go on for Solomon’s character at such a young age but what we have on him is absolutely amazing!!

As a child Solomon desired wisdom over riches, fame or destruction of enemies.  His desire was for wisdom and peace to the glory of God demonstrated by his selfless desires.  God came to Israel’s Messiah as a child and said He would give him anything.  This is a good test to see what was truly in the heart of Solomon at the time.  Most of us know the story but you can  read about it in 1 King 3:5-15.  But my point is here that Solomon was gifted with unmeasurable wisdom and had a tremendous love for God’s people at a young age and was proven to be a child of godly character, therefore having a name that was praiseworthy right off the bat.

Solomon at his peak would be the greatest Type of Christ alive!!  Imagine a single man that is the greatest type of Jesus Christ alive.  All the single Christian women around his age would surely desire him first above anyone else.

Now if you had intense, ardent, passionate and very strong emotions for a man in authority like him, would you think these emotions were foolish or unreasonable?  Of course not.  Her emotions were reasonable and based on who he was and the kind of person he was.  He was a believer gifted with unmeasurable wisdom who had skill to love his wife in marriage more than any other man and the rest of the Song illustrates how he used his wisdom in marriage.

The man of every woman’s dreams existed and was available!

She was in love and it was not unreasonable.  For a woman to not desire such a man would be unreasonable.  What true believer would not want to be yoked to the greatest type of Christ alive?

 

When dating and you see a man tested does he display wisdom due to his love to God or does he just look cute and have a nice job?

What does he value most?  What do you see him seeking?  Wisdom is more “desirable than gold”  Prov. 8:11, 16:16

Solomon was the wisest king ever and as a good shepherd he lead his people “as written in the Law of Moses” 1 Kings 2:3.   It was a Theocratic Monarchy like never before.  Solomon used the Torah to govern both Jewish and Gentile Nations.

The first 3 chapters of the Song are courtship and feelings can get pretty intense.  Check your emotions are they based on the fact that he keeps going back to Scripture as a rule for his life.  If you have ardent affections for him because every area of his life is ruled by Scripture then you emotions are not infatuation but true love.

Solomon also had a love to God and His people because the “Flame of God” was in him Song 8:6.

Jesus said “If you love Me, you will obey My commands”  Do you have intense feelings for the man you desire because you see him obeying God commands are at least getting better and better at it?  If so then you affections are not unreasonable nor foolish.

Israel’s Messiah and king of peace had wisdom and love to God, which were the foundations of her ardent affections and emotions.  Her greatest desire was not mainly travel, a family or his riches but she desired a closer more intimate relationship with God and if she was yoked to a man that possessed God’s wisdom and love then her greatest desires would be satisfied, therefore true happiness on earth would come through her union and communion in love with Israel’s Messiah and king of peace who’s love was more delightful than wine.

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