Song of Songs 6:11-12 (ESV Strong's)
“She” is Speaking:
I went down to the nut orchard
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
Before I was aware, my desire set me
among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.
Anticipation and Dismay
The above two verses are the most difficult verses in all of the Song of Songs to interpret. Verse twelve in particular is the most of any verse to translate. Here is what one commentator stated about verse twelve:
UBC OT:
This verse is so difficult to understand that a few commentators refuse even to translate it. A very literal rendering is:
“I did not know my desire-being-soul-it-you-she set me chariots of Ammi-Nadib.”
Perhaps the best way to simply glean some practical insight from the two verses is to understand that the context is the bride longing for her groom. In the first verse (11) she is in great “anticipation” for him. She is going down to some location. We don’t know if it is an actual orchard, or this is a euphemism about a sexual desire she has. We are not really sure. Remember, the Song of Songs goes from the literal to the metaphor very easily. What we do read is that she is in great anticipation of something. The next verse (12), however, show something startling. Something happens. Here is one one commentator World Biblical Commentary) states about the opening phrase as:
“Before I knew it ...”
“I do not know my-self ...”
“I can hardly keep my composure ...”
“I am bedside myself ...”
The point is that in the middle of a pursuit of anticipation, something happens that takes her by surprise. She suddenly finds herself in a place she was not expecting. Perhaps the ambiguity and the difficult of interpretation gives us a lesson for all lovers and all couples who are in a relationship: Love is both anticipation and filled with surprise and dismay. She went somewhere, expecting one thing, and found another. Perhaps this is the journey of couples in love. Marriage starts out with a dream and then ends with a reality path of life. What we anticipate is not always what we find. That is neither bad nor good. The key is trusting in the sovereignty of God to allow the journey of love with mother to unfold and take you where He wants you to go. God is not mentioned in these verses, but it is the theme of the book. Jesus Christ is our groom and we are His bride. We head out for something in our walk with Him and He brings us to another place, we did not expect. In the act of love and in the act of faith there is anticipation and dismay at the journey. The key is having faith in God that He is directing the journey in His sovereign grace. In the final like the bride finds herself among the “prince.” We have no idea what that means. What we do realize, by reading the rest of the book, is that she is in a good place. Whatever has happened to her leads her to communion with her love. That is the power of the song. Love always brings them together. God’s love will always bring us back to Him.
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