HE
Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
SHE
Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.
The book of Song of Songs (or, Song of Solomon) is a love story. Solomon and his love (never named) are expressing love. It could have been a song Solomon wrote to show all their mutual love for each other, or it could have been written in honor of Solomon and this unfolding love that others see. There is a both a private aspect of the song (poem) and a public aspect. In the above lines of the song we read of a private exchange between the to lovers. Some people prefer touch or action to communicate love, others prefer words. In these lines we read the words they express to each other. He says she is beautiful (this is yâp̱eh, in Hebrew). Solomon uses the word in this book more than it is used by any other author in any Old Testament book. When she replies that he, too, is beautiful, she uses the same Hebrew word. Here the two are exchanging compliments about one another’s beauty. We have no idea what the standard for beauty is. As the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” No one has a market on beauty. But these two, in their love for each other, have no worries to express what they see with their eyes, from their hearts and thru their lips. There seems to be quite a physical attraction between the two. But the writer of the poem also includes the setting for the two lovers. They are in an intimate place where their sitting arrangements are described in visual and scent terms. The couch is green line, is probably referring to an outdoor seating where the vines, leaves and branches have created an intimate and soft setting like a couch. The phrases about the cedar and pine conjure up smells and strength at the same time. They are both comfortable and secure. The writer wants us to see that these two are in a setting that is as attractive as it may be functional. These two are in love and their expression of how the view the other is the paramount point of the exchange. Their ability to find a setting that matches their feelings seems almost too good to be true. But that is how love between lovers is expressed. Verbiage to communicate feelings and settings to titillate the emotions. We ought to spend time thinking about these things for our spouses. We ought to verbally express how beautiful our spouse is. We ought to look for places and settings that capture moments for our lives. The above setting is a picture on the outside of a Hallmark card. The comments they express to each other, are in the inside of the card. God gives us this moment in the lives of these two to remind us of His love for us. His beauty transcends anything these two have, but their expression of love for each other flows from His love for them. Take time to say to your lover, “You are beautiful.” Find the perfect setting to say it.
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