Love & Marriage 44 - Perfect Love

On this Sunday, I share a few verses out of Song of Solomon with you. This is so beautiful to me.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised."

The text starts with "set me as a seal upon your heart, a seal upon your arm." NKJV. In my Afrikaans (my mother tongue) translation, it speaks about a signet ring.
What is the meaning of this?
"Ancient kings used signet rings to designate authority, honor, or ownership. A signet contained an emblem unique to the king. Official documents were sealed with a dollop of soft wax impressed with the king’s signet, usually kept on a ring on his finger."
https://www.gotquestions.org/Zerubbabel-signet-ring.html

Just for more clarity the following scripture also uses this metaphor. Haggai 2:23 ‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts."

So in the verses in Songs of Solomon the bride says to the bridegroom, as you have chosen me, put me as a seal on your heart and on your arm. When love is imprinted on a person's heart, nothing can deter it from its course or discourage it. Nothing can destroy love, not even disasters can destroy love. Not even death can separate people from love's grip. Men would even be foolish and try to buy love but it can't be bought.

I suppose that is where the custom came from to give each other rings when we get married. It is also a sign that we promised to love each other till eternity, till death do us part and as the scripture remind us, not even death can destroy this love. Lots of times we even heard that if one spouse dies, the other one died not long after. Even if we stay behind, that love stays with you and become a treasured memory but also can cause us a lot of heartaches.

Love is a precious gift that we received from God. We should treasure it. Even if disaster struck in your life, e.g. your spouse neglected you, lied to you or even an unfaithful spouse, your love would and should not die. If your spouse asks for forgiveness you should forgive him/her and your love will be restored. It won't be easy but if we have the unconditional love of God in our hearts it will be possible.

The book Songs of Solomon is not only a collection of songs celebrating love and marriage but also a metaphor of God's love for His people, and Jesus' love for us, He the bridegroom and we, the church His bride.
Revelation 19:7-8 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."

God's love is the greatest love there is. Nothing can weaken His love for us, not even our sin. He sends Jesus to redeem us from sin so that we can be the perfect bride for the Lamb. We received love as a gift from God and we should mirror His perfect love for us in our marriages in a testimony to the world about His unfailing and unconditional love.

Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com -NKJV
Images: pixabay and
za.pinterest.com/pin/20570479477785098835, za.pinterest/pin/20451556300113956584

Thank you for reading, praying that everybody is able to mirror God's perfect love in our marriages this week for His glory and honor.

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