Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon 7: Walking through life together

Begin in prayer

Before we read the husband’s praise and the wife’s answer, let us ask the Lord to teach our family that marriage is a life shared side by side, and to show us the love of Christ. In the verse we read now, Ruth makes a faithful promise like that to Naomi, her mother-in-law.

Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.

Ruth 1:16

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Thank You for making a husband and wife to share life together and give their love gladly. Show us how Jesus gave Himself for His people. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

In this chapter the husband praises his wife at length, and he calls her a prince’s daughter. He uses pictures from the world he knows, such as jewels, a heap of wheat, an ivory tower and the pools in Heshbon. He says she is like a palm tree and that the king is held captive in her tresses. She answers, “I am my beloved’s. His desire is toward me.” She asks him to go out into the field, to lodge in the villages and to go early to the vineyards. There, she says, she will give him her love, and at their doors are all kinds of precious fruits she has stored up for him.

As you read Song of Solomon 7, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God made a husband and wife to give their love gladly to each other and share life together.

This chapter holds another long praise from the husband, and he speaks it to his own wife. He calls her a prince’s daughter and says she is the work of a skillful workman, like jewels made by careful hands (verse 1). His pictures come from the world he knew, such as wheat, towers, pools and palm trees (verses 2 to 8). Her answer is, “I am my beloved’s,” and she says his desire is toward her (verse 10). In verses 11 and 12 she asks him to go out with her to the field, the villages and the vineyards. Marriage is a life walked side by side, in the fields, in the villages and at home. That is why God said it is not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2 verse 18). She promises, “There I will give you my love,” and she gives it as a gift (verse 12). Christ is the pattern for a husband, for He loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5 verses 25 to 29).

How does Song of Solomon 7 show us that God made a husband and wife to give their love gladly to each other and share life together?

A husband delights in his wife, and she gives him her love.

He tells her again and again how beautiful and pleasant she is (verses 1 to 6). She answers, “I am my beloved’s,” and she says his desire is toward her (verse 10). In marriage, love is a gift that each gives gladly to the other. God’s Word says husband and wife each owe the other affection (1 Corinthians 7 verse 3).

A husband and wife share life side by side.

She says, “Come, my beloved, let us go out into the field. Let us lodge in the villages” (verse 11). They go early to the vineyards to see whether the vine has budded and the pomegranates are in flower (verse 12). Marriage is shared work and shared rest, and God made the woman as a helper comparable to him (Genesis 2 verse 18). Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor (Ecclesiastes 4 verse 9).

Jesus shows a husband how to love, by giving Himself.

A husband is told to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5 verse 25). He is to nourish and cherish her, as Christ does for His church (Ephesians 5 verse 29). No husband or wife loves perfectly, so every home needs the forgiveness Christ gives to those who trust Him.

Memorise

Come, my beloved, let us go out into the field. Let us lodge in the villages. Let’s go early up to the vineyards.

Song of Solomon 7:11-12

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, am I walking through life with Jesus, who gave Himself for sinners?

A wife says to her husband, “Come, my beloved, let us go out into the field.” God made a husband and wife to walk through life together, and to give their love gladly to each other. Marriage like this points us to Christ, who loved His church and gave Himself for her.

Christ walked a hard road to reach His people. He came down from heaven, He lived without sin, and He died on a cross, a ransom for sinners. His offering paid for sin once for all, and God showed it was enough when He raised Him from the dead.

Come to Him, and walk with Him. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus. He gives forgiveness and a place at His side to everyone who trusts Him, and He is with them every day.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God made a husband and wife to share life together, and that Jesus gave Himself for sinners. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Please explain verses 1 to 9 and 12 to 13 in your own words, as they speak of married love. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for the life a husband and wife share, and for Christ, who loved His church, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.

Psalm 16:11

Heavenly Father, we thank You for making a husband and wife to walk through life side by side. Thank You for Jesus, who gave Himself for His people. We are sinners and we need Him, so please lead us to put our trust in Him. Be with our family in our work and our rest. Amen.