Song of Songs 1:9-10
I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.
Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Tag: Images of Love
In this book of Song of Solomon we have an illustration for love. The ultimate interpretation of the contents of the book is to understand it in the context of God’s love for us and Christ’s sacrificial love for us. The imagery is based upon Solomon and the woman he is in love with. The banter goes back and fourth and just be before the above passage, the woman has ask the man (Solomon) where he is feeding his flock (the assumption being, she wants to see him). Solomon’s response is to tell her how to find him, but to let her know that having a woman of her beauty among those he is with would be like putting a beautiful mare (female horse) in the presence of Pharaoh’s chariots ... the chariots would be pulled by “stallions.” Solomon is tending his flocks with other shepherds. He is telling the woman where to find him, but wants her to know she will be in a place where she WILL be noticed. She has just stated (vs. 6), “do not gaze at me.” If, Solomon reasons, you don’t want to be looked at, don’t show up where he is tending the flocks. You will be a good looking “mare” in the presence of a group of “stallions.” On top of her beauty being attractive and an attention getter, she is also told her ornaments and jewelry will bring out the features of her cheeks and neck. Solomon is capture by this woman’s beauty. She enhances her beauty with ornaments and makes herself pleasing and welcoming to him. He is in love with this woman and in this passage he is both admiring her beauty and, at the same time, desiring to protect her from those in the world that might gawk at her. She is someone to be noticed. God uses beauty in our lives. There is nothing wrong in Solomon noticing her beauty. Here we have a great picture of the difference between the “objectification” of a woman and being attracted by her beauty. Solomon warns her if she did, indeed, come to him, she needs to realize there will be some who objectify her. But, he wants her to know he doesn’t miss her beauty. Both of these are important in a relationship. Both attraction (God’s design) and protection are part of a relationship we have in this story.
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