The Blessing (Luke 3:19-38)

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Chapters

• 1:12 Wedding Day In Song Of Solomon
• 2:28 The Groom’s Royal Arrival
• 3:33 Solomon’s Poetic Praise For His Bride
• 5:34 Bridegroom And Bride: New Identity
• 6:44 Garden Imagery And Consummation
• 8:24 From Marriage Bed To God’s Love
• 9:52 Christlike Love And Marriage Foundations
• 12:37 Final Blessing And Global Ministry Update

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:45

Welcome to the Wisdom Journey with Stephen Davy. Wedding days create powerful memories. Solomon's wedding day did the same. The Song of Solomon lets you see the beauty, the joy, and the purity of this moment. Today, you'll walk through the scene. You'll watch the groom arrive in royal splendor. You'll hear the bride admired and cherished. This passage shows why God designed marriage to hold both desire and commitment. Keep listening to see this unfold.

SPEAKER_01: 1:22

On our last wisdom journey in the Song of Solomon, we were introduced to a rather love-struck couple, Solomon and his soon-to-be bride. Solomon's love song has allowed us to listen in on their courtship. Now, as we begin our study today, we're in chapter 3 and verse 6. It happens to be their wedding day. And unlike many weddings, it seems to be stress-free, trouble-free. There's no mention of any bridezilla moment. There's no mention of a jealous bridemaid or maybe a late groomsman or even the bride's dad over there in the corner trying to figure out how he's going to pay for everything. Well, what strikes our attention first is the arrival of the groom. Verse 6 says, What is that coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant? Behold, it is the litter of Solomon. Well the litter was that shoulder carried couch of King Solomon. Solomon is evidently spared no expense to show his bride how much this wedding means to him. His coach is described here in verse 10. He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple, its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. Keep in mind this is the getaway car. So Solomon is going to escort his bride away in lavish style. This description reminds me of the carriages used by the royal family whenever they arrived at Buckingham Palace, lavish, gold covered. Now, chapter 4 opens with a little speech Solomon has prepared for his bride. He says to her here in verse 1, Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. Well, in Solomon's day, this was a rather poetic compliment. Mount Gilead is a beautiful mountain range of eastern Israel around the Jabak River, and it provides beautiful pastures. And a flock of long-haired goats in green pastures would have made any red-blooded Hebrew man stop and just take in the sight. Well, to Solomon, his bride's hair has made him stop and take in the sight. It just takes his breath away as she walks toward him. Well, he continues his little speech here in verse two. In other words, she's not missing any teeth. She's got a perfect smile. Evidently, Solomon is not going to need much dental insurance. He continues now here in verse 4. Your neck is like the Tower of David, built in rows of stone. On it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Well, it sounds like she's either dressed up to play football or to go to war. But what Solomon is saying here, he sees his bride, she's wearing dazzling jewelry around her neck, and he describes it all in terms of power and dignity and honor. Now, up to this point, Solomon hasn't used the word bride at all. But beginning here in chapter 4 and verse 8, going all the way through chapter 5 and verse 1, he's going to use that term six times. That signals now a change in their relationship. You see, now the courtship is over, the wedding ceremony is completed. One of the bridesmaids has probably edged her way to the front to catch that bouquet, but I can tell you this Solomon's mind is now somewhere else. He describes his bride in verse 12 a garden locked is my sister, my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed. These are references to his bride's virginity. This is a wonderful wedding gift to any husband today, as is the husband's virginity to his wife. Well, here in this section, you'll notice that Solomon uses nearly a dozen different garden metaphors to describe the moment of consummation. He uses poetry and he uses it in order to write with discretion. This here, beloved, is not off-color. This isn't vulgar in any way. This is certainly how God intended it to be. God created this. In fact, the book of Hebrews says marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled. Hebrews 13, verse 4. Well, at this point, Solomon's wife makes it clear the garden gate is now unlocked, so to speak. And she says here in verse 16, Let my beloved come to his garden. In other words, she is entirely his and he is entirely hers. This is what the Lord meant in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 24 when he said of a husband and wife, they shall become one flesh. This is what he had in mind. Now as we were arrive here in chapter five and verse one, Solomon uses past tense verbs, in fact four of them. He says here, I came to my garden, I gathered, I ate, I drank. So these verbs not only communicate sexual union, but also contentment, closeness, commitment. Well, now with that, the marriage is consummated, and we read here at the end of verse 1 that their friends start singing, eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love. Now in the ancient Hebrew culture, it was customary for the wedding party to stick around celebrating until the marriage had been consummated. That would be rather awkward for us today, but it was the custom back in that day to signify that all uh was well. Well, let's let's leave the marriage bedroom uh and and let's take some time to step into God's throne room. The Holy Spirit led Solomon to write a celebration of the marriage bed, but there's a broader illustration here of God's love for us. In fact, you can't find a better picture of the love a bridegroom should have for his bride than what we find in the love of Jesus Christ for his bride, the church. Paul writes in Ephesians 5 25, Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor. He adds in verse 32, This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it, that is marriage, refers to Christ and the church. Let me tell you, beloved, this kind of self-sacrificing love is humanly impossible. That's why Solomon wrote a psalm that's been recorded for us over in Psalm 127, where he puts it rather plainly in verse one unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Let me tell you, the most important thing you could ever do for your marriage is love the Lord. Love the Lord, and the Lord will enable you to love your spouse and then build your home on the strength of your Lord and Savior. The Lord Jesus is the one who makes possible both that vertical love for God and that horizontal love for your spouse. So let me sum this up with two statements. First, Jesus makes true love possible. That's because he shows us how to love. Just read uh his life, read about his life and the gospels, how he demonstrated humility and sacrificial love. You won't find that kind of example anywhere on television or social media or at work or at school. This is unique love. This is the unique love modeled by the Lord for us when he died for us. Secondly, Jesus not only makes true love possible, he also makes true love permanent. The Apostle John wrote it this way, beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God because God is love, first John four, seven and eight. His love is permanent. The very nature of the Lord is love, and when you love your spouse like the Lord loves you, you have every hope in the world that your marriage will last a lifetime. Now it might not, because it does take two people committed to the same Lord and the same kind of love, but you're making sure you're doing your part. Now, if you're demonstrating sacrificial love in your courtship, your engagement, your wedding ceremony, and your home, you're actually building a path toward the Lord, or a path that includes the Lord, rather than away from the Lord. And that will make all the difference in the world. Well, until our next wisdom journey together, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

SPEAKER_00: 11:39

Love like the kind we saw today doesn't happen by accident. Solomon showed us a wedding marked by delight, commitment, and self-sacrificing love. And it all points us to the way Christ loves his bride, the church. That kind of love is powerful, beautiful, and completely countercultural. And God invites us to build our homes and our relationships on that same foundation. Before we wrap up, I want to give you a quick glimpse of what God's doing through the wisdom journey far beyond what you hear each day. Our ministry is called Wisdom International for a reason. Right now, Stephen's teaching is being translated into 13 different languages. Languages like Arabic, Swahili, Hindi, Mandarin, Portuguese, and more. These lessons are reaching believers in villages, cities, prisons, refugee communities, and even underground churches. Our dream is to add six new languages each year so that more people around the world can understand and apply God's word in their own heart language. That kind of global reach is only possible because of friends who pray for this ministry and who give to support these translations. If you'd like to learn more or join us in helping God's word travel further than we ever could on our own, visit wisdomonline.org. Thanks for joining us today. I hope you'll come back next time as we continue through the Bible on the wisdom journey.