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THE SUGAR AND SPICE OF LOVE!

It was one the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. It was also the simplest of all things. All I had to do was walk down the aisle with Sonya, my daughter, and when asked “Who is it that gives this bride away?” say, “Her mother and I.”
What should have made it easier is that it wasn’t like I was the one on center stage. After all, I was just a prop for the event. When we walked down the aisle, no one would be looking at me, their eyes would be on the bride. She would be the center of attention. And, in fact, Sonya was the center of attention as she walked down the aisle with far more grace and beauty than the nervous-oaf that was on her right arm.
It is at this moment in most weddings when everyone quietly acknowledges, consciously or unconsciously, that what was said of little girls in grade school is absolutely true. And what everyone said was:
Sugar and spice and everything nice
that’s what little girls are made of,
snips and snails and puppy dog tails
that’s what little boys are made of
This is the scene that we now come to in the Song of Songs. The Shulammite girl is walking down the aisle. Her dazzling appearance is announced by the daughters of Jerusalem with a chorus that commands everyone to stand and behold the bride who is made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Beginning in v. 6 of chapter 3, we read:
Daughters of Jerusalem
Who is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and incense
made from all the spices of the merchant?
Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel,
all of them wearing the sword,
all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
prepared for the terrors of the night.
King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
he made it of wood from Lebanon.
Its post he made of silver,
its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
its interior lovingly inlaid
by the daughters of Jerusalem.
Come out, you daughters of Zion,
and look at King Solomon wearing the crown,
the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
the day his heart rejoiced.
She comes like a column of smoke, enshrouded by the fragrance of exotic and expensive perfumes. She comes and everyone acknowledges, consciously or unconsciously, that little girls are indeed made of sugar and spice and everything nice. It is interesting to note that the daughters of Jerusalem jump start the procession with a question. Their question, of course, was a rhetorical question whose answer was obvious. It was designed to simply focus everyone’s attention on the bride.
Today, the procession begins with the playing of “Here Comes the Bride.” But as soon as the bride and her father walk down the aisle the official ceremony begins with a question. Who is it that gives the bride away? The answer to most is obvious but custom demands an audible response. Once it is given the ceremony is off and running.
Now I must tell you that some translators, as with the Revised Standard Version, believe that the feminine pronoun “this” in v. 6 refers to Solomon’s carriage. Consequently, they translate the verse as
“ What is that coming up from the wilderness . . .”
When it is looked at in this way, Solomon is pictured as coming for his bride. I believe the feminine pronoun refers to the girl and that Solomon has sent for his bride. If this is the case, the girl is riding in the carriage and not Solomon. Or maybe, both are riding in the carriage.
Whatever the case, the passage speaks of a festive occasion. It also tells us that this relationship between the two lovers was not a private affair. Nor was it a secretive and personal affair between two consenting adults. What one does with one’s sexuality is from a biblical perspective always more than a private affair. For it always has social implications. If it were not a public affair, a marriage could not serve as a picture of Christ’s love for the church.
Furthermore, it is to be noted that a wedding cannot take place without witnesses. The witnesses represent the public and underline the fact that every wedding is a legal matter. This aspect of the wedding ceremony before us helps explain the presence of “the daughters of Jerusalem.” Artistically, they give the Song of Songs the proper pace. Legally, they serve as witnesses to this happy occasion. They, along with others, made this a binding affair; legally and socially.
On the practical side, I want you to think about two things. First, I want you to note that the military escort is prepared to deal with the “terrors of the night.” What these “terrors” are is anybody’s guess. Maybe it refers to nomadic bandits who would’ve jumped at the opportunity to attack and plunder this caravan as it traveled from northern Israel to Jerusalem. If so, it is clear that Solomon took measures to protect his bride against things that go bump in the night.
We need to remember that in the first part of the Song, it is clear that Solomon didn’t try to coerce the girl with the power available to him or by his wealth. He simply won her over with his love. But now, his wealth and power serve a purpose. They serve to calm her fears as she leaves the shelter of her family. They serve to give her a sense of security. The escort, as well as the richness of the carriage, communicates that here is a man who is willing and able take care of her. Love needs to meet the needs of the beloved and one of a woman’s greatest needs is a sense of security.
Second, note the extensive preparations. The carriage is the result of the hard work of a craftsman. Either Solomon built it himself or he oversaw the building of it. Either way, attention was given to every detail and no expense was spared in the making of it. Anyone who would put this much time and money into the construction of a carriage for an ordinary girl who he thought was extraordinary must actually be in love. It tells us that Solomon considered this wedding, this girl, worthy of his very best.
The time for consummation has arrived. The bride, in biblical fashion, is veiled. But Solomon is now free to enjoy her physical charms. He is now at liberty to discover that this girl is made of sugar and spice and everything nice. We read:
Lover
How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Mount Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
not one of them is alone.
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is lovely
(Like the sliced opening of a pomegranate
are your parted lips behind your veil.)
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
built with elegance;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle
that browse among the lilies.
Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of incense.
All beautiful you are, my darling;
there is no flaw in you.
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of the leopards.
You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes.
with one jewel of your necklace.
How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!
Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride,
milk and honey are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like that of
Lebanon.
You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
with choice fruits,
with henna and nard,
nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of incense tree,
with myrrh and aloes
and all the finest spices.
You are a garden fountain,
a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.
The phrase “my sister, my bride” occurs four times. It appears at each stage of lovemaking. In 4:9 it appears after Solomon has taken a physical inventory of his bride. That is, it occurs after he has been aroused and has invited her to be with him. Then it occurs in 4:10 at the kissing stage. It then occurs in v. 12 as the two approach consummation of the marriage. At this stage we read:
Beloved
Awake, north wind,
and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,
that its fragrance may spread abroad.
Let my lover come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits.
The girl has picked up on the metaphor that Solomon has used of the locked garden. She invites her lover to enter the garden, to make it his own, to enjoy its fruit. In the heat of passion, she calls upon the north and south wind to make her fragrances more enticing. We now read the first verse of chapter 5. It reads:
Lover
I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
Daughters of Jerusalem
Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.
For the fourth time we see the phrase, “my sister, my bride.” And here, quite fittingly, we have the high point of the song. The consummation of the marriage. It is the exact center with 111 lines (not verses) preceding it from 1:2 to 4:15 and 111 lines following it! So now the question becomes, are they ready for marriage?

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