In Song of Songs 2:8, the bride eagerly anticipates hearing from her beloved, exclaiming with longing, ‘The voice of my beloved!’. This heartfelt call seems to stir him, as he swiftly responds, effortlessly leaping or springing toward her as if nothing can stand in his way. He arrives promptly, peering keenly through the lattice before addressing his eagerly awaiting bride. He speaks tenderly to her saying:
“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 Songs 2:10-13
In these insightful verses, the beloved presents seven compelling reasons for his bride to join him, beckoning her into the season of Spring, symbolising new life, and concluding with the same heartfelt summons. These reasons are:
1. The passing of winter 2. The departure of rain 3. The emergence of flowers 4. The onset of the season of singing 5. The voice of the turtledove 6. The ripening of the fig tree, and 7. The blossoming of the vines
Later, in Song of Songs 2:17, the Bride assumes the role of a timekeeper as she declares,
‘Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved be like a gazelle or young stag on cleft mountains’.
Remarkably, she calls upon her beloved to turn and seek out all the other cleft mountains of which the other ‘hidden ones’ reside, that is until dawn finally breaks – an act of unselfish love and maturity; also, an act of patience, desiring that none would miss out of most wonderful coming away invitation.
These passages exemplify the dynamic interplay between the bride and the beloved. While the beloved calls the bride into a new season, the bride exercises a consciousness over the passage of time. This partnership mirrors the truth revealed in Revelation 19:7, where the wedding of the Lamb occurs only after the bride has made herself ready.
Although each reason listed above could warrant further exploration, let us briefly delve into number 5 – ‘The voice[gol] of the turtledove is heard[shama] in the land.’ The dove, often symbolic of the Holy Spirit, holds significance in this verse. Notably, these migratory birds arrive in the UK during spring, aligning symbolically with the season relevance of the current verses we’re unpacking.
The first time we get the use the words ‘voice’[gol] and ‘heard’[shama] is with the story of Adam and Eve back in Genesis 3:8,
“And they heard[shama] the sound[gol] of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day….”.
The sound of the Lord is aligned with the presence of the ‘breeze’ that was blowing. This word for breeze is ‘Ruach’, which many of you will know relates to the Holy Spirt as the word directly translates as breath or wind, even on many occasions used directly as the word for spirit. You see, Adam & Eve could hear God walking in the garden and as a direct consequence of this, the Ruach Spirit was blowing in the garden.
Therefore, as the Lord once walked in the garden of Eden and presently among the seven gold lampstands, I pray that you may attune your ears to what the Spirit is saying in your local community and regional assemblies. May those with attentive ears discern the direction in which the wind of God’s Spirit is blowing, that we may truly grasp the message the Lord is imparting to the Churches in this season. I encourage you to regard and test the words of your regional prophets, for it is written, ‘For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to His servants the prophets’ (Amos 3:7).
Closing words…
The boat is being rocked by great winds of false doctrine. Even in this great storm, it is time to arise in faith and to step out toward the beckoning call of our beloved, the voice of truth that silences even the wind and waves! Take courage, show face, step out from the crannies of the cliff that we’ve come to be too comfortable in and ascend higher by the secret of the stairs. With the dawning of a new age, may the voice of the Bride resound out and over the nations with the sound of a new song for her Bridegroom. I hear the Beloved saying, ‘O my dove, in the cleft of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely’, Song of Songs 2:14.
I pray that through the turmoil of all that surrounds us, the voice of the Beloved would be clearly heard in your land and in your hearts, and that the heartfelt response of the Bride be with unwavering eyes like a dove, voice of a wisdom and spring in her step. Amen.
