Passage Read: Song of Solomon 3-6
Meditation Verses: 6:8-10
Thought
This is an intense song of love, filled with longing and desire and delight, until I reach this point. This is still early in Solomon's pursuit of pleasure, his wisdom guiding him. He only has sixty queens and eighty concubines. This one whom the song and all the women praise for her beauty may indeed be the most beautiful of women, but she will not satisfy Solomon. He will go on to add hundreds more of queens and concubines. Was she truly the most beautiful of all or only the most beautiful up until this moment? This reminds me that the eyes of man are never satisfied, and "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
Application
This kind of passionate love is a fun part of the marriage relationship, especially if you can make it last. But it is not a firm foundation for a lasting relationship. While Solomon never divorced her, it's hard to imagine that she kept her place as the most beautiful of women, or that she kept a special place in Solomon's heart, among the 999 other women he took as wives. There will always come along another woman who seems more attractive in one way or another than my wife. It's not a matter of the attractiveness of the other, but of the contentment and loyalty and fear of God on my part. And my wife does better not to depend on her looks or feelings of romance, but also on fearing the Lord and walking in the ways designated for her. Submission, respect and honor are far more attractive than looks, and they are all easier to maintain, grow and develop than are looks. What is true of wives is also true of followers of Christ. What He values is my submission, humility, respect and honor. Those are far more beautiful to Him than any outward appearance I may project.