Title: Solomon's Rite Procession
It usually takes about a week, but in some cases the reception can be longer than that. As the reception continues, the bride and groom spend their first night of marriage and enter into an actual marriage.
1. Marriage procession (verses 6-11), the wedding ceremony between Solomon and a Shulammite woman is introduced. First, there is a description of the marriage procession, where Solomon sent a wedding carriage to bring a Shulammite bride living in Lebanon to his palace.
The description of the procession begins with the scene where a carriage carrying a Shulammite woman passes by the vicinity of Jerusalem. Note that the entire text is the words of the choir. Through the mouth of her choir, she recalls the wedding procession. The subject of the recollection is her, but from the standpoint of an observer who watched the wedding procession, she borrows the mouth of the choir and reflects on that time.
Verse 6 says, “Who is it that comes from the wilderness, like a pillar of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense and the various spices of commerce?” Here, the choir is describing the splendor of the marriage procession entering the city from the perspective of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and admiring it.
“Pillar of smoke” refers to the smoke that burns as the incense jar sways from side to side in front of the wedding procession. The fact that the smoke looked like a column suggests that the procession was very large. The phrase “scented with myrrh and frankincense and various spices of commerce” means that the spices used in the wedding procession were very expensive,
indicates that it is intended to be. Solomon must have used the most expensive and best perfume for his beloved bride. The olfactory stimulation of the fragrance from the incense along with the enormous scale of the wedding procession would have heightened the atmosphere of the wedding feast.
Verses 7-10, “This is Solomon’s kite, and sixty men of Israel’s mighty warriors guarded it, all of them accustomed to fighting with swords, each with a sword around their waist for fear of the night. The pillars are silver, the floor is gold, and the seat is a purple wall, in which the love of the women of Jerusalem is overlaid.”
In “Solomon's kite”, “Kite” is a kiln for a person, and several men can lift it from the left and right front and back. Solomon prepared a kiln to bring the bride, and now the Shulammite woman is entering the city of Jerusalem in the kiln sent by the king.
Solomon's hospitable attitude toward her is reflected in the figures of the warriors escorting the palanquin. Solomon had 60 specially selected warriors to escort the bride's palanquin.
“Fear of the night” refers to a sudden attack by unidentified birds of prey even while passing through mountains and wilderness. For the safety of the bride's way, Solomon appointed outstanding warriors to serve as special escorts.
2. This is the love on the first night of marriage. (4:1-5:1), Following the recollection of the wedding procession, the recollection of love on the first night of the wedding will be dealt with. After the recollection of the wedding procession is over, the recollection of the first night continues with the recollection of the wedding omitted. Marriage is consummated by the personal union of the two and the physical union of the two.
The groom looks at the bride in bed on the first night and praises her beauty over and over again. She praises her beauty three times, “beautiful and pretty” in verse 1 and “beautiful” in verse 7. Words of praise for the bride's beauty come naturally from the heart of love.
Verse 4:1 says, “You are beautiful, my beloved. Your eyes in your veil are like doves, and your hair is like a herd of goats lying at the foot of Gilead.” The groom looking at the bride was mesmerized by her beauty. The word “pretty” twice is a compliment with admiration.
Exclamatory praise for the “beloved” eyes and hair texture. Peeking behind the 'veil' that covered her face, her eyes were pure and enchanted. Some view the “veil” here as the bride’s hair, not the veil worn by the bride. There is no reason for the bride to wear a veil in the new room.
Admiration for her beautiful hair follows along with her innocent eyes. The tribute to the beauty of the Shulammite woman continues. 4:2,3 “Your teeth are like a sheared ewe that came out of a bath, without any young, each giving birth to twins. Your lips are like scarlet thread, your mouth is beautiful, and your cheeks in the veil are like pomegranate.” Said.
Solomon meticulously praised the beauty of the bride's face one by one, and then stroked her neck. Now Solomon praises her beautiful “breasts”. In the parable of “twin roe deer cubs that feed among the lilies,” “lilies” is a metaphor for the white skin of her deer board to a field full of flowers. A “twin roe deer cub” refers to a breast that rises in the middle.
In particular, the analogy to “a roe deer” is intended to describe the elasticity and softness of the breast. God perfects the marital union within the frame of His ordained love. He calls these grooms and brides, who enjoy sexual love, “my friends” and “my beloved ones,” and there is no negative point of view here.
Rather, “Eat. Drink and drink a lot.” It is an invitation to fully enjoy the approved sex in marriage and to enjoy it positively and abundantly. Please note that Solomon and the Shulammite were married in a love that transcends status.
Solomon chose a bride as the motive of a true man, and the Shulammite also accepted Solomon as her husband with pure and deep love. This is a marriage based on true love. Her purpose was not to raise her status or live a luxurious life as a queen. She just wanted to be the bride of the man she loved.
Today, many young people decide to get married based on conditions such as status, wealth, education, and ability, rather than ‘love’. But these things cannot motivate marriage. The greatest motive for marriage should be the sincere love between two people.
The descriptions of Solomon and the Shulammite's first night show what love should be like between husband and wife. Love between husband and wife should not be one-sided, but should be mutually active and active.
At the same time, that love must be built on personal respect for each other. The text's candid and delightful descriptions of sexual relationships show that marital sex is something that should be enjoyed in good health as it brings great joy and satisfaction to both.
Please note that their sex is not based on physical indulgence, but on true love and consideration for each other. They truly wanted each other to be joy and satisfaction to each other. The description of the text that deals with this is truly astonishing, and what is healthy and beautiful for believers who have a distorted perception of sex.
It teaches us what a beautiful couple relationship is in accordance with the creative order. Genesis 2:21-25 “The Lord God put Adam into a deep sleep, and while he fell asleep, he took one of his ribs and filled it with flesh, and the Lord God made a woman from the rib that he had taken from Adam, and brought her to Adam, and Adam said,
This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; it is taken from a man, so it will be called woman.” I am not ashamed.”
This is the marriage system ordained by God. There is no shame between the couple. Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will live a blessed life that glorifies God the Creator through a healthy married life. *