(Ok, maybe that’s a slight paraphrase!)
The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”
Song of Solomon 2:8-13
This passage from the Song of Solomon, a book often overlooked or deemed unusual, offers a powerful and passionate depiction of love. It’s a far cry from a dry, theological treatise; instead, it bursts forth with the energy of a lover eagerly pursuing their beloved. In today’s world, we might hear the sentiment of this passage echoed in a popular song, something like The Proclaimers’ iconic hit, “I Would Walk 500 Miles.” While seemingly disparate – ancient scripture and a modern pop song – both capture a profound truth about love, and particularly, God’s relentless love for us.
God’s Love: An Unconventional Romance
We are accustomed to understanding God’s love in familiar terms: fatherly, patient, forgiving. These are comforting and essential aspects of divine love. However, the Song of Solomon presents us with a different facet, a more ardent and dynamic expression. The lover described is not passive or distant. He is a “gazelle or a young stag,” full of vigor and determination, “leaping over mountains, bounding over hills” to reach his beloved.
This imagery challenges any notion of a detached or indifferent deity. It paints a picture of God as an active pursuer, passionately seeking connection. The metaphor might seem startling, even provocative, but it serves to awaken us to the intensity and personal nature of God’s affection. It’s a love that is not static but vibrantly moving, overcoming obstacles to draw near.
Leaping Mountains and Crossing Rivers: God’s Active Love
Think of the lyrics, “I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.” The hyperbole emphasizes the lengths one is willing to go to express love and devotion. Similarly, the Song of Solomon uses dramatic imagery of leaping and bounding to convey the same unwavering commitment.
God’s love isn’t a passive feeling; it’s a force that propels action. It’s the kind of love that motivates relentless pursuit. Just as the song describes an unwavering journey, the scripture illustrates a God who actively seeks relationship with humanity. This isn’t a love that waits idly by; it’s a love that initiates, that breaks through barriers, and eagerly desires communion.
Breaking Down Walls: God’s Persistent Love
The passage continues, “Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice.” This introduces another layer to the metaphor. Often, we erect walls – barriers of doubt, fear, or sin – that separate us from God. Yet, even in the face of these self-imposed obstacles, God’s love persists.
He doesn’t turn away in frustration or abandonment. Instead, he “gazes through the windows,” “looks through the lattice,” seeking entry, longing for connection. This is a persistent love, a love that respects our free will but never ceases to call us into deeper relationship. Like the lover in the song who would walk a thousand miles, God’s love is undeterred by distance or obstacles, physical or metaphorical.
“I Would Walk 500 Miles”: The Song of God’s Heart
The resonance of “I Would Walk 500 Miles” lies in its simple yet powerful expression of commitment and longing. It captures a universal desire to bridge distances for love. When we consider the Song of Solomon alongside this sentiment, we begin to grasp the profound depth of God’s love.
It’s a love that says, in essence, “I would walk 500 miles” – and even more – to be with you. It’s a love that crosses mountains of difficulty, bounds over hills of adversity, and patiently peers through the walls we build. It’s a love that doesn’t just whisper but calls out with joyful anticipation, “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away!”
Our Response: More Than Just Hearing
If this is the nature of God’s love – active, persistent, and passionately seeking us – what then is our part? The passage gently prompts a response: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.” God’s love is an invitation, a beckoning to step out of isolation and into communion.
Responding to this love isn’t about grand gestures or perfect piety. It’s about opening the door when we hear Him knocking, dismantling the walls we’ve constructed, and accepting the invitation to “come away.” It’s about recognizing the relentless pursuit of a love that has already traveled metaphorical “500 miles” to reach us.
In conclusion, the Song of Solomon, through its vibrant and intimate language, reveals a facet of God’s love that is both intensely personal and powerfully active. It’s a love that resonates with the sentiment of “I would walk 500 miles,” a love that overcomes obstacles, persists through barriers, and eagerly calls us into relationship. May we have the grace to hear that call, to respond to a love that has already come so far to meet us.
References
[1] St. Irenaeus, in arguing against those said God’s favour had to be earned, famously summarized scripture in saying “the Glory of God is a human person made fully alive” by beholding the likeness of God in Christ Jesus, face to face. As James 1:17-18 and the whole design of worship under the Old Covenant shows, God’s glory isn’t a thing for us to look at, as though he’s lacking if his glory goes unnoticed; God’s glory is revealed through the act of broken, sinful people like us being brought in, cleaned up, healed, restored, and made to share his overflowing and abundant life!
[2] James 1:17-27
[3] Mark 7:21-23
