“Draw me after you, let us hurry.”  Solomon’s Song of Songs 1:4

The Bride to be desires Israel’s king who had a good reputation and who’s love was more delightful than wine to draw her closer to him by his delightful love and coming Christ like character.

In Song 2:8-2:14  Solomon draws his future bride closer to himself.  He proposes to her, works out some issues and they get engaged.  From complete separation due to enmity to her submitting to him as king then accepting him as her shepherd, then a first date that ends with her passing out in his arms overwhelmed by his love in the banquet house 1:7-2:6.

Then because he loves her he desires to be married so he sweetly proposes to her in 2:8-13.  All the while drawing her by his most delightful love.

What will we learn?  Men courting will learn how to draw the one they love closer.  Christians will learn how to have a closer more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ!

But first we need to understand some context of Song 2:8-13.

They are not engaged yet but will be in 2:16.  They went on a wonderful first date in 1:7-2:6.  The Love Song was written so that we could learn more about love thus learn more about God for God is love.

The bride to be desires a close intimate relationship with Israel’s Messiah in marriage in Song 1:2-4.  Solomon is a Messiah or anointed king of Israel and the greatest Type of Christ alive.  All the single ladies desire to be the wife of Israel’s anointed king.  Her words are “Draw me after you…” 1:4

Not only does she want to be drawn by the delightfulness of the experience of God’s Love through union and communion with her king but she desires it as fast as possible for she says,  “Let us hurry.”  1:4

She is like a beautiful, swift mare in pursuit of the one she loves.

No need to wait around looking for a better qualified husband for Solomon had Love, the Flame of God in him. 8:6  and also he was gifted with unmeasurable wisdom, therefore he had the skill to love her.  guided by heavenly wisdom 1 Kings 4:29 he was capable of drawing her closer better than any other husband 5:9-10.

Just like Jesus Christ is always wanting a closer more intimate relationship with us more than we desire intimacy with Him, so also Israel’s Messiah desired a closer more intimate relationship with his bride to be whom he was courting.

Solomon proposed to his future bride in Song 2:8-13 with these words

“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.
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.”

Some things to take notice of are 1.  They are apart and he is coming closer expressed in the words “Here he comes”  2.  He is coming in a manner in which he is using his skill in overcoming great difficulties that separate the two from each other.  For he is coming closer “leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills like a gazelle or a young stag.”  Wisdom to do so.   Degree of love is illustrated by his willingness to overcome those great difficult mountains in order to be near the one he loves.  3.  The one with the skill is her beloved.  She loves him.  4.  He calls her to arise and come away with him or in other words to marry him 2x.  2:10, 13.  5.  He calls her closer at the right time. 6:11-13.  6.  He calls her using sweet words, “My darling”, “My love”, “my beautiful one”.

You would think that when the most wise and loving king of Israel proposes that the woman would immediately accept, but she doesn’t.

She has some issues and he needs to use his skill and love to overcome them and draw her closer because he loves her and she loves him, she just has some foxes that need being caught that are keeping the relationship from blossoming.

Love desires the strictest union with the one it loves.  Here Solomon, Israel’s current Messiah and king, proposes to the one he loves.

If you read Song 2:8-13 then read 2:14 where the one she loves is asking his dove to show him his face and let him here her voice for her face is lovely and her words are sweet.   He just proposed to her and yet there is no immediate answer.  Its like she leaves him hanging and he says, well give me an answer.  She is not speechless and can’t answer.  Though she is not looking at him and not answering immediately.  She needs some coaxing.  Or rather she needs him to draw her closer by loving her in this situation.

Something is holding her back from responding with a quick, “Yes I will go away with you.”  Or “I will marry you”.  They are engaged a few verses later in 2:16 but right after the proposal and before the engagement they have some issues that need to be resolved.  Called “foxes”.   The foxes separate the two lovers.  The foxes keep her from responding positively to his advances.

She desired him, but there is an obviously huge maturity gap between the two.

So how does the wisest king, Israel Messiah draw the spiritually immature one he loves closer to himself?  As a suitor he is perfectly able due to his love to God and her to draw her closer.  Guided by wisdom he says to her as she is silent with her face away and in a safe place,

^{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.“

Here she gets the answer to her deepest desire.  She desired for him to draw her after him in 1:4 and now he sweetly, lovingly, gently, patiently, in purity and understanding sincerity calls her closer once she feels she is in a safe place.

After verse 2:14 she answers him in verse 2:15 and says,  “Catch for us the foxes…”  that are ruining the intimacy in the relationship.  Or that are ruining the relationship from moving forward.

They agree to work on destroying the enemies of the relationship.  He gives himself to her and she gives herself to him and then get engaged in 2:16 for she rejoices proclaiming,

“My beloved is mine and I am his.”

“My dove in the cleft of the rock in the hiding places on the mountain side”

He calls her closer by his love.  Love waits.  Love desires the object of its affection to feel safe and not fear harm.  Love communicates best when she feels safe.  Remember she didn’t answer him right away.  She fears something so she flies off to some place safe.  Now she feels safe in the cleft of the rock.  She is not in a cleft of a rock literally.   The point is that doves in a cleft of a rock are safe, comfortable and not threatened by danger.  Therefore before asking to see her face and have her sincerely talk to him to let him know why she didn’t respond to his advances he patiently waits until she feels she is in a safe place, for love is patient.  She doesn’t feel threatened or that he is out to harm her but she feels protected and out of harms way, like a dove in the cleft of the rock.

Use of application for those in courtship.

Men in courtship.  There is a right time for proposal.  The woman you are courting needs to feel safe and not threatened by your advances.  The timing of your courtship must be right.  Metaphorically, speaking it must be after “the rains are over and gone” and season of “singing is here” and love is in the air 2:10-13.  Don’t propose in the middle of everything going wrong and true love is not in the air.  Some issues in 1:2-2:7 need to be resolved before proposal 2:8ff.  Like she has to desire to be married 1:2-4, other’s should approve of his Christlike character for his “name” should be like perfume poured out to everyone that knows him 1:3.  Nobody is staring or judging current remains sin. 1:6.   Do each have a Biblical testimony? 1:5-6  etc. Go here for other things that should be in place before proposal.

Wait till the cooing of doves in heard in the land, meaning are you and her flowing, loving each other, working things out Biblically, communicating, growing under trials etc.

Even though she doesn’t quickly respond, his desire or love for her moves him to sweetly get her to talk.  He sweetly initiated the conversation that would move the relationship forward to a stricter oneness or union in the relationship through engagement.

The king of peace kept the bond of peace in the union and not enmity by his Love to God and her.  Letting her know how he feels about her face and voice draws her closer to him.  He loved to see her face and hear her sweet voice.  Letting her know how he feels about her looks and the sound of her voice in the context of her feeling safe draws out the sincerity of her voice and for him to see the beauty of her face as she talks to him.  He later specifies the beauties of it in 4:1-3 but for now he just generally says her face is lovely or beautiful to him and he desires to see it in sincere conversation.  He wants to look into her beautiful doves eyes and here what she says about his earnestly desiring to be in a stricter union with her.   Only love could draw them closer.

“Show me your face… For your face is lovely”

Her Beauty is what he is after,  he wants to see her beauty.  She is the most beautiful woman. 1:8.   She knows she is lovely 1:5.  But now she is looking more intently on the dark side.  She is viewing all the foxes in her life that will separate her from him.  She loves him and desires to be near him and close to him, yet there are foxes in her life that would keep the relationship from blossoming.  She needs to know that he will do his part in the relationship to destroy their enemies.  The root cause of all their sins are unbelief, pride and selfishness.  These dark shadows must flee and fade away in order for the two to love each other in marriage Biblically.

Love is sincere. Rom. 12:9.   One of her moral beauties is the sincerity of her heart in conversation in the context of dealing with things that keep the relationship from blossoming.  She needs help and if they are united in love she will desire for him to do his part in drawing her closer.  Expressing his love for her by catching the foxes that ruin the relationship from growing closer.

What are those foxes?  Our flesh or sin which separates us from God for God is love.  If love is the bond of peace then do nothing to separate that bond.  Sin sparks enmity and love sparks joy and peace in the relationship.

Jeremiah 31:3

Application for the believer

Of all the husbands that could draw their wives closer to themselves, Jedidiah, God’s beloved son, the king of kings, Solomon, to whom peace belongs, son of David, Israel’s Messiah, gifted with unmeasurable wisdom loved his wife.  He was the chief lover  above 10,000 other husband’s 5:10.  Solomon was chief husband, king, friend and beloved above all others.  Jesus’ is Greater bar far.  His Eternal, unfailing love to His Bride is greater than Solomon’s.  Solomon was only a type of Christ.  Jesus is the Anti-type who will fulfill God’s promises to the fullest.