Closer Day By Day

Bible Passage:  Song of Solomon 5-6

In Praise of Your Beloved

O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have overcome me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.

Song 6:4-5

Whenever I read the Song of Solomon, I could not help but noticing how the Shulamite woman or the Beloved would constantly sing the praises of the other party.  In the verses above, we read about how the Beloved praises the beauty and awesomeness of his loved one.

This causes me to consider if I have been so forthright and open in singing the praises of my Beloved?

Who is your beloved or loved one?

In this world, it could be your parents, your spouse, your children or even your close friends or brethren.

Maybe it has to do with our oriental culture but I do find that we are very stingy with singing the praises of our beloved.  We find it difficult to tell them or anyone else how great they are, or what a wonder they are in your life.

One of the ways the Song of Solomon encourages married people to celebrate their relationship is through words of praise to one another. Some of these are strange to us, such as Solomon’s comparison of his wife’s hair to a “flock of goats” (Song 6:5), but in that culture, centered as it was around animal husbandry, this was a great compliment indeed.  In fact, a modern scholar once said he never understood how such a thing could be beautiful until he saw with his own eyes a flock of goats descending a mountain in Palestine.  The compliments we offer may be different today, but the Song of Solomon exhorts us to build up our spouses through words of praise.

Let’s take some time today to say some complimentary words about your loved ones.

I would start but that would mean another very long posting….