Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the LORD.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.
(Song of Solomon 8:6-7, ESV)
The first time I read these verses my parents were getting ready to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. The images were so captivating, they inspired a song that I wrote with my sister for the occasion. One of the lyrics—reflecting v. 7—went like this:
“The merciless rivers of a life can cause two loves to quickly drift apart. Then in despair they look to find the hand. They once held closely to their heart.”
Sadly, that described my parent’s relationship at the time. And yet I wanted the passion of the lover’s relationship so powerfully described in v. 6 for them. I wanted them to have faith that the God who created love’s fiery passion could help them recapture what He created. I wanted them to believe that their marriage could be what He intended. Truth be told, I’ve often needed these same reminders and miracles in my own life.
As we look to today to receive something from God from a book like Song of Solomon, how can we be sure to interpret it correctly? In answering this question, I’ve found Eugene Peterson’s introduction to the book in The Message translation both beautifully expressed and helpful:
“Christians read the Song on many levels; as the intimacy of marital love between man and woman, God’s deep love for his people, Christ’s Bridegroom love for his church, the Christian’s love for his or her Lord. It is a prism in which all the love of God in all the world, and all the response of those who love and whom God loves, gathers and then separates into individual colors.”[1]
Over the next two weeks, I’d like to discuss love’s fiery passion in two parts. First, in part 1 and in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’d like to discuss love’s fiery passion on a horizontal level, giving insights related to marriage. Then, next week in Part 2, I’d like to look at love’s fiery passion from a vertical perspective as it’s expressed in God’s love for us in Christ.
In looking at love’s fiery passion from a horizontal and then a vertical perspective next week, we’ll use the images of first “seals and lockets,” then “death and fire,” and then “many waters.”
Seals and lockets are our first set of images and they are about ownership, permanence, and intimate relationship.
- A seal could be a stamp or a cylinder (the latter being less common) made of metal or stone, and could be attached to a person by a band (and thereby hang from the neck or arm) or worn as a ring. It was pressed into clay to create an image or an inscription that assigned ownership of an object.
- Here’s another way it could be used related to parenting: “My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. (Prov. 6:20-23) The Message translation interprets that same verse as follws: Or to say it more simply, “Hang my locket around your neck, wear my ring on your finger.” The point here is that a young person is to stay in intimate relationship with his parent’s advice.
- Bottomline, the seal and locket are about carrying important things around the neck and close to the heart.
- For discussion: Who are the people that you hold close? How do you show them your love? How might you speak to theie hearts this week?
Death and Fire are our second set of images and are about passionate and resolute devotion.
- Death is the most powerful of the enemies in the Bible and a force that can’t be overcome by mere mortals. And jealousy in verse 6 is about resolute devotion, not selfish ambition. In other words, the point is that love is as strong, stubborn, and unrelenting as the grave. It pursues all things to swallow them up and in this sense it is like…
- Fire— a blazing fire, looking for things to consume. Think about the homes in Boulder, CO recently or CA. Just to give some perspective on this powerful, all-consuming image, let me give you some stats on a grass or brush fire. Let’s assume a 20 MPH wind and a 20% uphill slope with fuel moisture content based on normal weather for August in say Texas. With the fire traveling at just 1.7 miles per hour, an area of 4/5 acre would be destroyed per minute = (1.1 football fields per minute) That is 5 acres in just six minutes! The message in all of this is that love is not passive and will not give up to easy. It perseveres and pursues; indeed, it is relentlessly persistent in pursuing the other’s heart.
- For discussion: Do these last words in bold describe how you care for your most important relationships? How do/did you pursue their heart?
Many waters are the third image and represent the struggles and hardships of life.
- They are the powers of chaos which only the Lord can overcome: “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.” (Psalm 69:1-2)
- For discussion: It seems like we spend a good part of our lives on the struggle bus. What are the “many waters” that hae overwhelmed you this past year? How do the ones you love or the ones that love you make a difference during these times? How might you show love to someone who is overwhelmed this week?
Next week: Love’s Fiery Passion, Part 2 of 2: The vertical perspective– God’s love for us in Christ.
[1] The Message by Eugene Peterson. This is the intro to the book from the Navigators edition.