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THE ANTICIPATION OF LOVE!

Homer Peabody would be on no one’s roll of honor, and Homer Peabody would leave no children or grandchildren behind him, and Homer Peabody would die a virgin bachelor, unknown to woman. No one would remember him. He would leave no contributions to law. (And) few clients would honor his efforts.
So writes Richard S. Wheeler in his novel entitled SECOND LIVES. It is the story of the men and women who came to Denver during the 1880s to seek their fortune and/or a second chance to find a life with meaning. Homer Peabody was one of those individuals who came and set up a law practice. He was a good man, but too shy to be a successful lawyer. Out of his shabby office, he barely eked out a living. What is worse, he suffered from an enlarged prostate that reminded him everyday of an early death. A death that would be painful and undignified.
His miserable life, however, took on new meaning when two people walked into his life. The first was Cornelia Kimbrough who came seeking a divorce from the richest and most powerful man in Denver. The second was a young man who came to him wanting to become his partner, not because Homer Peabody was successful but because Homer Peabody was a man of integrity. And this young man felt that he could learn something from a wise old lawyer.
On the morning of his death, Homer Peabody somehow dressed himself, crawled to his office, and sat in his chair so that to the best of his ability he could die with some dignity. As he sat, as his breathing spiraled upward to panting, and then retreated to a long pause where life hung suspended, he thought of the two people who had come into his life during the last three years.
As he dreamt of Cornelia, he said,
“ Ah, Cornelia, you walked into my office and made my days warm. If I could have married as a young man, I would have married the likes of you. Ah, Cornelia, come and help me lie down. It is hard to sit this way way. Cornelia, take what little you get from the estate and buy some roses, and let them decorate your rooms until the petals fall one by one. Cornelia, I’ve never felt so cold and weak. You glow with goodness. I never told you that I loved you from the moment you walked into my office.”
Toward the end of his middling career and miserable life, Homer Peabody had found love. He had fallen in love with Cornelia, a young client seeking a new life. This wasn’t the love of I Corinthians 13 where this lawyer had an obnoxious client that he simply chose to show Christian love to by being patient, kind, and keeping no record of his client’s hateful words.
For you see, I Corinthians 13, while a great chapter in the Bible, is about showing love in the midst of a hostile environment. It is about expressing love toward those we don’t even like at the moment, for whatever reasons. It is about expressing love toward those who have stepped on our toes. It is about responding to others, not as a child, but as a mature adult.
It is addressed to the church for good reason. For in the church, while we’re learning to love each other, we will inevitably step on each others toes. We will hurt the very ones who are closest to us. When this happens, the proper response, but not the natural response, is found in I Corinthians 13.
But when I say that Homer Peabody found love, I mean to say that he found himself in love. Yes, it is true that he acted in a manner toward Cornelia in keeping with the character of I Corinthians 13. He was always the gentleman, the willing listener, and the wise counselor. Yet, the friendship that formed between the two and the transformation of this down-and-out lawyer was not a function of love expressed, it was a function of being in love.
In-love, Homer Peabody began seeing himself as somebody who had something to offer to others. In-love, Homer Peabody began to like himself. In-love, Homer Peabody found the energy to live. In-love, Homer Peabody found pleasure in having lunch with Cornelia, even though it was a business lunch. In-love, Homer Peabody discovered that the simple pleasures of life were the deepest. In-love, had Homer Peabody been younger, he would have joyously anticipated spending a Spring day with Cornelia.
For when you are in love, you joyously anticipate being with the one you love. It doesn’t matter whether the two of you are enjoying a football game, basking in the sun as you partake of a picnic lunch, or simply going for a walk. With the excitement of anticipation, it is not in the doing it is in being with the one you love.
This is where we find ourselves in the Song of Songs. The Shulammite girl is evidently back at home. A separation has occurred, but now her lover comes for her to resume the courtship. In chapter 2:8 - 17 we read:
Listen! My lover!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
My lover spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.
See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in out land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
Anticipation! Here the girl’s anticipation of enjoying a wonderful spring day with her lover is almost tangible. She sees him coming, bounding over the hills with all the energy of someone who is in-love. He draws near to the house, he looks through the windows, peers through the lattice work, then, finding the girl he extends an invitation to enjoy a glorious spring day with him.
New love and spring naturally go together, and the reason is pretty obvious. In spring everything is fresh. New life flows though the world as a variety of colors triumph over winter’s boring gray landscape. When you are in love, it is the same thing. Your dull and depressing life is now full of color and the anticipation of better days ahead. Happiness, at long last triumphs over the melancholy days of winter.
Such is the setting here, in the Song of Songs. Spring has sprung and Solomon is longing to be with the Shulammite girl, his darling companion. But, it must be said that being in love can transform any environment regardless of the season. The office, the copy room, the production line, or the college library can all be transformed into a beautiful setting when two people are in love.
The fragrance of jasmine may be replaced by the aroma of Starbucks or the stale odor of dusty old books, but this does little to diminish the delight two lovers find in each other. Of course, it’s nice when love blooms in spring for spring and love go hand-in-hand.
Solomon has clearly extended an invitation, but the invitation seems to be left hanging in the air. We don’t know whether she accepted it or not. Judging from the verses that follow, it appears that the girl is inaccessible. She does not show her face, nor does she let her voice be heard. In vv. 14 - 15 we read:
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.
This section began with the Shulammite hearing Solomon’s voice, it ends with him longing to hear her voice. But like a dove in the clefts of the rock, she was, for whatever reasons, inaccessible. Maybe, she was playing hard to get knowing that less is more. Or perhaps, she was being kept from going out to join him. Either way, it appears that Solomon didn’t receive the response his heart desired.
In v. 14b, the NIV is misleading for the Hebrew word that is translated as “face” is not the normal Hebrew word for “face.” It is better translated as “form” or “appearance.” He wants to see all of her. And because it is plural, it suggest that he wanted to see her form from every angle. The second time the word is used, v. 14c, it is singular but should still be translated as “form.” In short, he longed to hear her voice and behold her figure.
As I see it, when he gazed through the window he must have seen her in a sweater. For every girl knows that if you want to capture a boy’s imagination simply wear a tight-fitting sweater. In fact, if you want the boy to propose to you wear the sweater on three different occasions! It is not a surefire method, but it does start the turbines purring in the right direction.
To Solomon’s credit, however, he didn’t simply long for her body. He wanted to know the whole person, the form of her body and the voice of her heart. He loved all of her – her outer and inner beauty, her form and her soul.
The refrain of 2:15 bewilders interpreters. It reads:
Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.
Translators, or interpreters, don’t know whether to credit the words to Solomon, the girl, or both. It’s possible that the girl responds with this refrain challenging Solomon to take the initiative to address the problems that were potentially harmful to their relationship. After all, foxes were noted for their destructive tendencies among the vineyards, so her reference to these animals suggest, metaphorically, that they needed to protect the blossoming relationship so that it would bear fruit.
Perhaps it was the fox of uncontrolled desire that was about to drive a wedge of guilt between the couple. Perhaps it was the fox of mistrust that threatened the couple. Perhaps it was the fox of jealousy that torn at the heart of one or the other. Perhaps it was the fox of outside interference that threatened to break up the two. Or, perhaps it was the fox of a reluctance to adjust one’s schedule for the other.
These foxes have been ruining vineyards for years and will continue to do so. Every courtship, or friendship, encounters some potentially destructive problems. However, it is the willingness to solve these problems, either as a couple or individually, that speaks of maturity. So, if it was the girl who was speaking, and if the verse metaphorically referred to issues within the relationship, then her maturity was being demonstrated by her willingness to address matters. Of course, if the two were speaking in unison then they were both demonstrating a lot of maturity.
On the other hand, it may not have beem a challenge to deal with nagging issues. Maybe, the girl was just teasing Solomon. He wanted to hear her voice and so she replied with a nursery rhyme. She spoke of little foxes, playful creatures that simply romped through the vineyards and coincidentally destroyed the blossoms. They were not like the lions in the mountain ranges of Lebanon which constituted a real threat. Or, if it was not a nursery rhyme maybe it was something snatched from a catchy folk song, whose meaning had no actual relevance to the situation.
Whether the girl was encouraging her lover to deal with some issues or was teasing him is anyone’s guess. But whatever the case, suitors tend to be insecure. So much so that when there is an unexpected change in the pace of the courtship, they need to be reassured. Consequently, the girl reaffirmed her commitment to the relationship. The remaining verses of chapter two read:
My lover is mine and I am his;
he browses among the lilies.
Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
turn, my lover,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the rugged hills.
In saying each was the other’s possession, control was never an issue. Both belonged to each other and the only influence that remained to govern the relationship was their love for each other.

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