Song of Solomon 3:6-11
Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
This is the 7th canticle, or poem, of this book. In the beginning of this study, I mentioned that this book was a collection of poems. The chapter markers are not divisions of the poems. I will leave a list of the canticles and the chapter and verse markers so to better help with reading and interpreting the book sensibly. For example, Chapter 3 verse 5 ends a poem and verse 6 begins a new one. without knowing this we will struggle to cope with the sudden change of theme and thought. Below are a list of the canticles or poems.
Here is a breakdown of the book, used from a Rock of ages study Bible.
Title SS 1:1
Canticle 1 SS 1:2-6
Canticle 2 SS 1:7-8
Canticle 3 SS 1:9-17
Canticle 4 SS 2:1-7
Canticle 5 SS 2:8-17
Canticle 6 SS 3:1-5
Canticle 7 SS 3:6-11
Canticle 8 SS 4:1-7
Canticle 9 SS 4:8-5:1
Canticle 10 SS 5:2-6:3
Canticle 11 SS 6:4-7:10
Canticle 12 SS 7:11-8:4
Canticle 13 SS 8:5-14
The canticle we will deal with today is the seventh one of the book. This poem is about a procession, in which Solomon and his bride are being drawn from the wilderness and proceeding on to Zion [Jerusalem]. As always this is a type of Christ and His bride, The church. In dealing with this portion of scripture I want to break it down in to 4 obvious sections. Verse six is about the Procession, Verses 7-8 are about the Protectors, Verses 9-10 are about the Palanquin [His Chariot], and verse 11 is about the Potentate.
The Procession vs. 6
Verse six open this poem with a question. "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?" Who else could it be? It must be Christ and His procession of believers! Who else can move through the wilderness as if they were on a grand parade through the cities of the rich? Whom else could have such a heavenly experience in such a desert land? Whom else smells of frankincense and myrrh? What other name is so sweet? The smell of his sacrifice ascending up into heaven as a sweet-smelling savor to our God. The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the countless men and women who have laid down their life for the gospel. Indeed, it is a sweet smell! His sacrifice fills our wilderness with the aroma of the palace, his moving along with us through the dessert makes hell on earth heaven on earth, it makes the dreariest of places, the most horrible and hot desserts an oasis for the soul. Who is this? Why, it Is Christ moving with his people, and how happy are they to move through that dessert with Him. Happy because he moves with them, happy because they dwell under the sacrifice made for them, happy because they are moving through the dessert in a caravan that will take its final rest in heavenly Jerusalem, Mount Zion, heaven! So happy are they that men and women through the ages have watched as they journeyed, happily, with Christ to the gallows, to the chopping block, to the lion's arena, to imprisonment and their joy has caused a desire to join this wilderness band. His people are so happy in such horrible condition that I must know what and why and how they have been so satisfied. I remember the day I join his wilderness caravan; it was on a hot Thursday night in August of 1998, I found the reason for such rejoicing in the storms and wildernesses of life. I used to wonder how the poor widow in our church could stand and cry because she was happy, why she would shout and clap her hands and rejoice about the goodness of the Lord. All I could see was a poor deserted widow who lived on very little. Upon joining Christ and his wilderness caravan I immediately knew what she was so happy about. I shed tears of joy that night, I seen and felt what had cheered her along all those years, it was that Christ was moving in her and with her, and desserts are oasis's when Christ is in the caravan. Prison cells are Heavens chambers when Christ is your warden. Who is this band of people coming out of the wilderness with such pomp and circumstance? Why are they so happy? Join us and you will see. Have Christ as your savior and your God and you too can move through the wilderness of this life with the pillars of sweet-smelling sacrifice perfuming the way.