Valentines Day 13 ~ Apple Trees and Lilies

Valentines Day 13 ~ Apple Trees and Lilies. February 13, 2014 at 7:21am In a farming community about 60 miles from Jerusalem, a young, low-class, peasant woman tended a vineyard that belonged to King Solomon. The king saw her and couldn't get her out of his mind. He disguised himself as a shepherd and returned to the vineyard to win her love. Eventually, this young king revealed his true identity and brought the young Shulammite to Jerusalem, to be his wife. It's such a tender story and it's likely true that this low-class woman was not Solomon's first or only wife (as indicated in Song of Solomon 6:8-9), but she was his one true love. The first thing you notice when you read the Song of Solomon is that this woman was very insecure in her beauty. Her skin was dark from working out in the sun, while women of Jerusalem had light, delicate skin. She claims that she "had neglected her own vineyard", which indicates that she thought she could be more attractive if she had the time. She likely didn't have the time or resources to make herself as attractive as the other women she knew and saw. She even likens herself to a Rose of Sharon and a Lily of the Valleys, very common flowers of Israel, indicating that she felt she wasn't anything special. The young king is quick with a response saying that she is like a lily among thorns, to indicate that he thought she was extraordinary. From the very beginning, she as well, is quick to distinguish how special Solomon is by saying that he is like an apple tree among a forest of ordinary trees. As the Song of Solomon progresses, you see the king build this insecure woman up, until her confidence oozes from every verse of this exquisite and provocative book of the Bible. It's a beautiful story and God includes it in scripture because marriage, sex, and standards of beauty are important to him. It is also an allegory of how the Lord views us, his Bride. There is much spiritual symbolism, which I don't have the time to go into. Standards of beauty are not what they should be, today. A pendulum swings either too far to the left or the right. In the past, the standard of beauty was thinness. Recently, the standard of beauty has dismissed thin women, calling them a range of horrible bad names as well as stating that they are unhealthy. The standard of beauty now, is you must have a lot of curves and thickness, or you are not a real woman. There's no in between. There's no break for the naturally thin woman who is healthy, and no break for the naturally heavier woman who is trying to stay healthy. This standard of beauty also affects men. Some men are tall and thin, some are short and heavier, some are more muscular. Hollywood is very clear on what makes a man sexy. He must be tall, dark, muscular, and highly sexual. Virtuous men and women are not considered valuable, anymore, by today's secular society. Today, sin is prevalent, accepted, tolerated, and even encouraged and glorified. But, even Solomon himself stated, "There is nothing new under the sun." The very same sins that affect us today, are the same sins of biblical times. Solomon's downfall was, in essence, a loss of his previous standard of beauty, which resulted in lust and idolatry. The young Shulammite woman, his perfect one, his dove, was no longer enough for him. He formed alliances with foreign nations by marrying foreign women. The alliances gave him power but even that power wasn't enough. The foreign women pulled him into idolatry, which weakened his once strong relationship with God, until his loyalty to God was obsolete. It can happen to anyone, even the wisest man who ever lived. The man who asked for wisdom above all else....the man who wrote over 3000 proverbs, including one which states, "to rejoice in the wife of your youth, and be satisfied with her only" (proverbs 5:16-19), and warned us over and over about committing adultery, even giving us the consequences of it....committed spiritual adultery, and likely physical adultery, as well. It cost Solomon his relationship with God, probably the relationship he had with the Shulammite (if she was in fact, a real person), and it cost him the slow collapse of his kingdom. But before we go dismissing this king, as good-for-nothing, a disgrace, or a failure, let's remember that some time elapsed between the time he wrote the Song of Solomon and Proverbs and the time that he wrote the beautiful book of Ecclesiastes; one of my favorite books of the Bible. Solomon didn't go to the grave still sinning, still worshipping idols, still seeking power, and obsessing over women. When everything around him started collapsing and he was left with the consequences of his actions, a repentant attitude began to take root in his heart. A sadness began to overtake him. A book of the Bible that holds many lessons for us was written. Something beautiful came from the ashes of his life of vain pursuit. The melancholy tone of Ecclesiastes, lends to his feelings of repentance, humility, and gratefulness to God. He couldn't escape the consequences of his actions, but he could warn others, and that is what makes this king very endearing to me. At the end of his life, he reflected on all that he had done and said all of it was meaningless, without a relationship with, and fear of God, and an obedience to his commands. Solomon's sin started with discontentment, selfishness, and a covetous attitude. In Ecclesiastes, you can almost hear the sadness when he states, "Enjoy life with the woman whom you love, all the days of your fleeting life" (Eccl 9:9). It's almost as if he regrets not being able to do just that. He regrets not being able to enjoy that one woman he loved and letting her set his standard of beauty. I think she was the Shulammite, but by this time, it was too late for him to make it right. He wrote Ecclesiates out of the bitterness of his heart, so people would seek true happiness in God first, for he knew that in doing so, all other things would naturally fall into place! Please set your spouse as your standard of beauty. Let no one or no thing be more beautiful than her or him, except God himself. If you haven't done this in the past, and you are still breathing, you can still heed the advice all through Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and you can take lessons in how to build your spouse up, from the Song of Solomon. You have time. Solomon didn't. Tell your wife she is beautiful, this Valentines Day and everyday after. Tell your husband he is handsome, this Valentines Day and everyday after. Let nothing come between you two. ~ •~•~•~•~•~•~ If you have been wounded and your self-esteem crushed, and you see no way out of the mindset you have about yourself or how others view you, the first place to start is to discover what God's Word says about you. If you don't have a solid foundation about how God sees you, there will be no launching pad, to later see yourself accurately. There are many verses where you can start, like Psalm 139, and First Peter chapter 3. If no one has helped you to rightly view yourself, but instead they have hindered you, forgiveness is in order, but mostly I would suggest to you, to let God set your standard. He created you and loves you and sees you as his perfectly beautiful creation!! <3 This woman overcame being viewed as the ugliest woman in the world. As I watched this, she became more and more beautiful to me, and I'll always love this video! http://youtu.be/R0OV92Yyl20 Dove Beauty Sketches, another video I love to watch now and again: http://youtu.be/litXW91UauE Just for fun: http://youtu.be/oartIE7rKuM Sobering song from Natalie Grant, that shows what happens when a woman becomes wounded, but how God can heal it: http://youtu.be/i6RezoHKni0 The truth: http://youtu.be/p9PjrtcHJPo