Today’s passage: Song of Solomon 5:2-6:3
Helpful thoughts:
- The dreaming of the Shulammite woman continues.
- This dream takes a much different turn than the last, but love prevails!
- The first half of this dream is more like a nightmare. The couple are separated and there is pain in their separation (Illustrated by the violent actions of the watchmen?).
- After her heart is broken by the absence of the shepherd, she tries to gather a team of friends to help her find him.
- When they can’t understand why finding him is so important she expresses her love for him, convincing them to join in the search.
- The nightmare ends with a startling turn for the good (6:2-3)! Seemingly out of nowhere, the second dream ends the same as the first, with the couple together.
Questions to consider:
- Who is giving a description of whom in this chapter? Who is giving the description in chapter 4? What have these two dreams allowed both the shepherd and the Shulammite to communicate?
- The shepherd may not have been more wonderful than “another beloved” from everyone else’s perspective, but to the Shulammite, he was like no other! Do you think the other women were amazed at the appearance of the shepherd themselves or were they more impressed by the Shulammite’s love for him?
- How do verses 2-3 in chapter 6 speak to the purity of a monogamous marriage? Whose “garden” is the Shulammite woman? To whom does the shepherd belong? Why is there a place for righteous jealousy for any married couple?