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Song of Songs 3:6-11
6 What is this coming from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
from the burning of myrrh and frankincense
made from all the scented powders of the merchant?
7 Behold! It is the couch of Solomon.
Sixty mighty men around it from the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them wielders of the sword, trained for battle;
Each, his sword at his side
(for protection) from the terrors of the night.
9 A palanquin King Solomon made for himself
from the timber of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver, its back of gold,
its seat of purple cloth, its interior inlaid
with expressions of love from daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon
with the crown with which his mother has crowned him
on the day of his wedding
and on the day of the gladness of his heart.
A Wedding Approved by God and Loved Ones
Marriage should be entered into only if you are 100 percent desirous of making a vow before God to love the person who is standing by your side regardless of what happens and for as long as you both live.
Go into your wedding with a glad heart. Celebrate the fact that God has brought you together, all the way through dating, courtship, and engagement to the holy matrimony.
Your wedding should bear a sense of holiness, pleasantness, joy, strength, security, safety, protection, and solidarity. (6-7)
What Is the True Marks of a Blessed Wedding?
- God is the beginner, the completer and finisher of your wedding. (3:6)
Both of you must have a keen understanding that God has brought you together to this point. As we know the Christ led wondering Israel in the terrible wilderness for 40 years. (3:6) Yes, as YAHWEH delivered the wondering Israel to the promised land, after 40 years of wilderness life, the same God caused both of you to start dating each other and led you all the way to this point. At Mt. Sinai He made Israel His own possession as His kingdom of holy priests, the same faithful God made you priests of this sinful world to show His holy and mighty Name. Your wedding is holy and committed to God and to each other by His gracious help.2. Bridegroom produces a joyous atmosphere. (3:6)
Solomon has made his wedding pleasant and joyous with his own unique expression. Solomon uses all his resources to make this occasion so pleasant to let all present know how blessed he and his bride are in their holy matrimony. Just attending this holy matrimony makes one’s heart sense the sweet-smelling aroma of God’s approving presence.3. Stick to only Safe and Supportive Family and Friends. (3:7-8)
King Solomon’s mighty and well-armed groomsmen are 60 in total to guard and protect this holy matrimony from any possible disrupter, or intruder. Unlike Solomon’s day, nowadays, we have a groom’s best man, maid of honor for the bride, groomsmen, and bridesmaids who are supposed to fully support and protect the groom and his bride from all harm and dangers on the holy vow-making wedding ceremony. Keep distance from any friends and relatives who could not give a helping hand in your times of need in the future, and do not include such a person in your circle of support group before, during, and after the wedding.4. The real strength of the Bridegroom must be present for his bride. (3:9-10)
Every Christian bride wants a man of leadership traits in her future husband. Solomon provides his bride with a solid palanquin. It is a material strength he provided for his wife. King Solomon made his palanquin from timbers of Lebanon meaning the best of the best timbers in the whole country was used for his palanquin. Its solid construction materials manifested his strong and solid character traits. There is the embroidery masterpiece woven by daughters of Jerusalem whose loving solidarity with their King Solomon is solid and unbreakable like his own strong character traits. Such strength of the Groom would bring forth the Bride’s best qualities and make her better person. The Bride’s love for King Solomon should have the same positive impact on him as well.
- All families involved must obey the divine rule, “Leave and Cleave.” (3:11)
In Genesis 2:24, God approved the wedding between Adam and the woman and proclaimed, “Therefore, the man should leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife and two shall become one flesh,” with His seal of approval.
During their courtship and engagement periods, both parties must work out this specific ‘divine rule’ of a blessed wedding and the marriage life. It is a kind of spiritual maturation process for both families involved. Especially, the Groom, here King Solomon made himself independent from his aging mother and widow, Bathsheba. King’s mother approved her son’s choice of the Shulamite woman as his Bride. For the token of her parting gift from King Solomon was the crown that she put on her son Solomon’s head on his wedding day. Such an emotional, physical, financial, and geographical separation is a correct way of “leaving his parents” by the ‘divine rule.’ Thus, Solomon is ready to cleave to his Bride on the wedding day in every conceivable way before all the people present and God. Without such a distinct and biblical leaving and cleaving, all newly wedded will suffer in their intimate married relationship. The selfish desires manifested by both parties’ parents, and the married couple would ruin the fresh new married life and harm their true unity in God’s blessings. The worse part is that most likely such an evil possessive inclination will be inherited to their next generation with worsened consequences of their sins of obsession. “No Leave, no Cleave!”
Questions to Ponder with Prayers
- In what areas the Bride and Groom must work out during their courtship and engagement period regarding “Leave and Cleave” Rule?
- Are you willing and able to discern and make the definitive separation of the supportive persons from the rest of possible saboteurs for your future marriage life prior to your wedding?