Their Trouble

Song of Solomon

Chapter 2

In the last several verses of chapter two we will talk a lot about the seasons of the year. These verses will mainly talk about winter and spring. I’m sure each of us has heard at least one comparison between the changing of seasons and the Christian life. Just like there are four seasons to the year, there are four seasons to the Christian life.

Let’s take a minute and see these seasons, or the changes this couple has gone through.

Summer

The summer is the hottest part of the year. This would be the time when she first moved into the palace. In the Christian life this is the time when we are first saved.

When she first gets to the palace they are talking about flowers, or harvest season. No matter what time of year you are saved, that is harvest time in your life. Your life is the harvest. Things are exciting. New life, new love and new living have come your way. So it was with this couple.

Fall

After the summer comes the fall. After she talked about the flowers, she began to talk about trees. The thing that make my part, east Tennessee, of the country so beautiful in the fall are the trees. People will travel from all around to see the leaves on the trees.

Fall is beautiful at first because things are bright and colorful. The reason that the leaves change however is because they are dying. After they turn orange and red, they turn brown and fall off.

This happens to all of us. There comes a time in our lives when cold wind blows, we grow cold on God and we begin to dry up spiritually. Maybe we become cold and critical of others. We dry up on the inside.

This happens in a marriage as well. We can lie and say that we have been on a honeymoon for 50 years, but that simply is not true. Each of us experience times when things are not as “warm” as they used to be. This begins to happen in our happy couple in the scriptures.

Winter

Of course winter follows fall. Have you ever been to the point in your life where everything just seems dead? You may not realize it but you are in the winter season of your life. “This Sunday school is just so dead lately.” “This church is just so dead.” Some of us even begin to wander if the sun will ever shine in our lives again. We long for the warmth of the relationship we once had.

I’m afraid that too many give up in those times. They abandon God, the church and their bible.

In our society one in two marriages ends in divorce. In the hard times of a marriage many are just simply giving up. They decide there is no use to go on.

I want to encourage you. If you are in the winter part of your life, just hold on, spring is coming. The flowers will bloom again in your life if you will just hold on.

Obviously this woman is in the winter part of her life. Their marriage is going through the winter. From these next verses it seems that she has gone back down to the vineyard. I don’t know why. Maybe she went to check on her family. Maybe she only meant to stay a few days. But hours have turned to days and days turn into months.

This woman stays at the vineyard so long that she begins to get used to being away from Solomon. She is sleeping in her old bed. In fact that is where we find her in verse eight. She has learned that she can get along without him, but we will see that he cannot get along with her.

When you read verse 8 this woman is lying in her bed when she hears something that she has not heard in some time. She hears the voice of her beloved. Notice what she says in this verse. “He cometh leaping upon the mountains.”

Mountains divide people. These mountains are a wonderful picture of the things that separate us. Maybe we are separated from God. Maybe we are separated from our spouse.

Whatever it is that is separating her and her beloved must be big in her eyes. She describes them as “mountains.” I want you to notice that the things separating them are mountains in her eyes, but they are not a problem for her beloved. He comes “leaping” on the mountains.

Each of us has been in this winter part of our life. We have grown cold on God. We have grown cold in our marriage. In those times we look and say, “There are just too many problems.” “There is just too much standing between us.” Please keep in mind that the things that look like mountains to you, God will come leaping on. Nothing is too big for God!

Do you remember the story of the disciples on the water? The wind and waves were over their head. They just knew they were going to be consumed by this storm. Just when they think they are going down Jesus comes walking on the water. The waves that were over their heads were under His feet.

In verse 9 Solomon has come to look for her. She has heard his voice, now she sees him. She can’t see him good at first because he is behind the wall, but he moves closer.

Then he presses his face up to the glass. He peeps at her from behind the lattice. Here she is, away from her love, in the winter of her life, but he does not forget about her. He comes looking for her. In fact he was willing to come all the way back down to the vineyard to find her.

Sometimes God has to go a long way to find us. In fact there have been times when he had to come all the way back to the place where he first saved us. But he is willing to do that in order to bring us back home.

In verses 10 through 13 Solomon speaks to her. He tells her to rise up. She has been in the vineyard for way to long. It was time to come back home.

Notice that he does not fuss at her. He had every right to point his finger and confront her. He could have said, “I have saved you. Taken you away from this place and moved you into my palace. I loved you and this is how you repay me.” Instead he says “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

I also want you to notice that while her feelings may have changed, his feelings have not changed. He is still using the same words he used in chapter one.

How about you today? Today may be the last day of winter in your life. Today could be the day that God allows the flowers to bloom in your life again. Maybe you are cold spiritually. Maybe your marriage has grown cold. God could come leaping on the mountains in your life today. Today could be the day he says:

“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;”

Solomon warns in verse 15 about the small foxes. Although their relationship is back together, they must set up safe guards so this does not happen again. The foxes are the things that come into our lives and spoil our relationships.

When a relationship is just becoming fruitful again we must be careful. At this turning point it is easy for something to come along and spoil all that has been accomplished. Notice that many times it is a small thing that has to be guarded against. A fox is a small animal, but it will ruin a vine.

In our relationship with God and in our marriage we have to put up guards. Maybe today you restore your relationship with God. Maybe you and your spouse restore your marriage. Be careful because a little thing will want to creep in and destroy that new fruit.

The chapter ends with a wonderful statement and a terrible mistake. She is now able to say something that she has not been able to say in some time. “My beloved is mine, and I am his:” That is a wonderful statement.

She also makes a terrible mistake. This mistake will take us into chapter three. In my next blog I will explain the mistake and the result of making the mistake.

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