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Song of Songs 2:13-15
Section one (1:1-2:7) is focused on the woman and her being satisfied in the Beloved. Now, in section 2 (2:8-3:5), the Bridegroom calls her away from herself and into satisfying Him. He wants her to know that she exists to please Him. He is now at the center.
This section begins with the Bridegroom leaping over the mountains (which represent trials) as the young stag… this word “young stag” is the same as “the doe of the dawn” from the title of Psalm 22; Psalm 22 is about the death and resurrection of Jesus. He then calls her to come to Him. He’s clearly calling her on the basis of Him as the doe of the dawn; aka He’s calling her to come to Him as the one who died and rose again.
It is clear this is how she needs to know Him because she is currently (in v9) hiding behind a wall of separation. She calls it “our wall” and yet He is clearly outside. He is “standing behind… gazing through.” She needs to die to whatever is keeping this wall up (a focus on herself).
-This shows hope that no matter what walls we put up towards Christ, He will pursue us through the mountains of trials and make windows through our wall to call to us.
He calls her to come away, out from the wall of separation, to Himself. It’s like He’s calling “leave yourself behind, deny yourself, and follow me.” Sound familiar? Jesus cries out to His disciples, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.” (Matt 16:24-26).
Everything, in creation and what it represents in the spiritual realm, is shifting to a new season of intimacy with Christ. Will she respond? Will she follow?
We dove into verses 13-15 in this context.
Verse 13
-The fig tree represents the spiritual state of God’s people all throughout the Word. When the fig tree is upheld as bearing fruit, it means God’s people are being faithful and in a good, fruitful relationship with God. When it is cursed, they are not being faithful and in need of correction.
-The Vine is also representative of God’s people (John 15, Ezekiel 15, Jeremiah 2:21)
-2 Scriptures put the fig tree and the vine together:
--1 Kings 4:25
--Joel 2:22
-Both of these verses point towards blessing. There is safety promised and restoration promised. We find blessing, safety, and restoration through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is the resurrection that gives us life, for without it our faith would be in vain (1 Cor 15:17). It is on the secure, firm basis of resurrection life that He calls her to an experience of the cross. This parallels Phil 3:10.
Verse 14
-The words “clefts of the rock” and “crevices” parallel Exodus 33:20-23. Moses asked in verse 18 to see the Lord’s glory. God’s answer is that He will show Moses His goodness and proclaim His name the LORD. However, Moses is not allowed to see God’s face and live. This is when God says He will hide Moses in the crevice of the rock.
-This is ultimately fulfilled in the cross: it is through the gospel that we see God’s glory in the face of Jesus (2 Cor 4:6). It is in the cross that we hide and behold His goodness and glory! It is also in the cross that we know God’s name, for by the cross Jesus was given the name above every name (Phil 2:8-9); He truly is Jesus, Savior!
-It is also in the cross that Exodus 33:4-7 is fulfilled. God tells Moses, in addition to His name: v6-7 “The LORD—the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.”
-This definition of God is fulfilled in Christ’s death. It is by Jesus’ death and resurrection that iniquity, rebellion, and sin are truly atoned for once and for all time (Heb 9:25-26). This passage is also fulfilled in Christ on the basis of the human form God takes on in this passage. Jesus is the exact radiance of God’s glory in human flesh (Heb 1:3).
-In 2 Cor 3:7-18 Paul compares the glory Moses saw to the glory we now see based on the New Covenant of Jesus’ body and blood poured out on the cross. This new covenant is much more glorious!! We are priviledged to behold God’s glory without a veil. We also have the privilege of being transformed into this glory through the work of the Spirit.
-He wants fellowship with her in this place, as seen in Him crying out to see her face and hear her voice. Phil 3:10: God wants us to fellowship in His sufferings so that we will be conformed to His death. When we are conformed to His death, His life will radiate through us more (2 Cor 4:10-11). The word fellowship also means participation. In what ways is God asking you to participate and fellowship with Him in intimacy through suffering?
-We have the hope in Ro 8:17 that fellowshipping in His sufferings leads to greater glory! It is through suffering with Christ that your voice will become more sweet and your face more lovely to God because you are taking on more and more of His image.
-Watchman Nee says, “We preach resurrection to sinners because they need to have life, and we preach the cross to believers because they need to suffer loss.” This is because we are completely new (2 Cor 5:17). The task is not to be raised to life more; we already are. The call is to die more and more to ourselves so the life of the Spirit can actually radiate without our flesh blocking it (2 Cor 4:10-11).
Verse 15
-This call to the cross (and encounter with the cross) leaves them both seeing she needs to die to herself even more. There is more she needs to be delivered from. The more we encounter the cross and fellowship with His sufferings, the more and more our sins are revealed. There are tiny foxes, ‘small’ sins that are grievous to the Lord and can have large consequences: ruining their vineyard. The fact that they are small does not mean they are less grievous or less devastating, just that they are smaller to see (Ecc 3:10). Let the Lord dig into your heart to expose every wicked way and lead you in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24).
-The vineyards are in bloom. This symbolizes that her experiencing fruitfulness in Christ is just beginning. Their intimacy is beginning to bloom. The life of resurrection and ascension is budding and there is great hope for more.
-Little foxes can also be the lies you believe; everything done through unbelief is sin (Ro 14:23). Ask God what lies you’re believing about who He is or life with Him. What does the Word speak as truth to counter those lies?
-The voice talking can be either the man or the woman’s. They are probably both saying this because the sins and lies need to be destroyed together. She cannot do it on her own, but he also will not do it for her without her participation.
This section begins with the Bridegroom leaping over the mountains (which represent trials) as the young stag… this word “young stag” is the same as “the doe of the dawn” from the title of Psalm 22; Psalm 22 is about the death and resurrection of Jesus. He then calls her to come to Him. He’s clearly calling her on the basis of Him as the doe of the dawn; aka He’s calling her to come to Him as the one who died and rose again.
It is clear this is how she needs to know Him because she is currently (in v9) hiding behind a wall of separation. She calls it “our wall” and yet He is clearly outside. He is “standing behind… gazing through.” She needs to die to whatever is keeping this wall up (a focus on herself).
-This shows hope that no matter what walls we put up towards Christ, He will pursue us through the mountains of trials and make windows through our wall to call to us.
He calls her to come away, out from the wall of separation, to Himself. It’s like He’s calling “leave yourself behind, deny yourself, and follow me.” Sound familiar? Jesus cries out to His disciples, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.” (Matt 16:24-26).
Everything, in creation and what it represents in the spiritual realm, is shifting to a new season of intimacy with Christ. Will she respond? Will she follow?
We dove into verses 13-15 in this context.
Verse 13
-The fig tree represents the spiritual state of God’s people all throughout the Word. When the fig tree is upheld as bearing fruit, it means God’s people are being faithful and in a good, fruitful relationship with God. When it is cursed, they are not being faithful and in need of correction.
-The Vine is also representative of God’s people (John 15, Ezekiel 15, Jeremiah 2:21)
-2 Scriptures put the fig tree and the vine together:
--1 Kings 4:25
--Joel 2:22
-Both of these verses point towards blessing. There is safety promised and restoration promised. We find blessing, safety, and restoration through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is the resurrection that gives us life, for without it our faith would be in vain (1 Cor 15:17). It is on the secure, firm basis of resurrection life that He calls her to an experience of the cross. This parallels Phil 3:10.
Verse 14
-The words “clefts of the rock” and “crevices” parallel Exodus 33:20-23. Moses asked in verse 18 to see the Lord’s glory. God’s answer is that He will show Moses His goodness and proclaim His name the LORD. However, Moses is not allowed to see God’s face and live. This is when God says He will hide Moses in the crevice of the rock.
-This is ultimately fulfilled in the cross: it is through the gospel that we see God’s glory in the face of Jesus (2 Cor 4:6). It is in the cross that we hide and behold His goodness and glory! It is also in the cross that we know God’s name, for by the cross Jesus was given the name above every name (Phil 2:8-9); He truly is Jesus, Savior!
-It is also in the cross that Exodus 33:4-7 is fulfilled. God tells Moses, in addition to His name: v6-7 “The LORD—the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.”
-This definition of God is fulfilled in Christ’s death. It is by Jesus’ death and resurrection that iniquity, rebellion, and sin are truly atoned for once and for all time (Heb 9:25-26). This passage is also fulfilled in Christ on the basis of the human form God takes on in this passage. Jesus is the exact radiance of God’s glory in human flesh (Heb 1:3).
-In 2 Cor 3:7-18 Paul compares the glory Moses saw to the glory we now see based on the New Covenant of Jesus’ body and blood poured out on the cross. This new covenant is much more glorious!! We are priviledged to behold God’s glory without a veil. We also have the privilege of being transformed into this glory through the work of the Spirit.
-He wants fellowship with her in this place, as seen in Him crying out to see her face and hear her voice. Phil 3:10: God wants us to fellowship in His sufferings so that we will be conformed to His death. When we are conformed to His death, His life will radiate through us more (2 Cor 4:10-11). The word fellowship also means participation. In what ways is God asking you to participate and fellowship with Him in intimacy through suffering?
-We have the hope in Ro 8:17 that fellowshipping in His sufferings leads to greater glory! It is through suffering with Christ that your voice will become more sweet and your face more lovely to God because you are taking on more and more of His image.
-Watchman Nee says, “We preach resurrection to sinners because they need to have life, and we preach the cross to believers because they need to suffer loss.” This is because we are completely new (2 Cor 5:17). The task is not to be raised to life more; we already are. The call is to die more and more to ourselves so the life of the Spirit can actually radiate without our flesh blocking it (2 Cor 4:10-11).
Verse 15
-This call to the cross (and encounter with the cross) leaves them both seeing she needs to die to herself even more. There is more she needs to be delivered from. The more we encounter the cross and fellowship with His sufferings, the more and more our sins are revealed. There are tiny foxes, ‘small’ sins that are grievous to the Lord and can have large consequences: ruining their vineyard. The fact that they are small does not mean they are less grievous or less devastating, just that they are smaller to see (Ecc 3:10). Let the Lord dig into your heart to expose every wicked way and lead you in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24).
-The vineyards are in bloom. This symbolizes that her experiencing fruitfulness in Christ is just beginning. Their intimacy is beginning to bloom. The life of resurrection and ascension is budding and there is great hope for more.
-Little foxes can also be the lies you believe; everything done through unbelief is sin (Ro 14:23). Ask God what lies you’re believing about who He is or life with Him. What does the Word speak as truth to counter those lies?
-The voice talking can be either the man or the woman’s. They are probably both saying this because the sins and lies need to be destroyed together. She cannot do it on her own, but he also will not do it for her without her participation.