Knowing God through His Word … Day by Day

Ray Stedman comments on Song of Solomon 8:9

God has ordained that the delights reflected here be a part of the experience of man and woman in marriage. To ignore this is to cheapen these delights and to make sex as commonplace as cutting one’s fingernails. That which, with due restraint, is intended to be a rushing torrent of sensuous delight becomes instead a spreading flood in which one wades continually without pleasure.

This is clearly indicated toward the end of the book where reference is made to a sister of the bride: “We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister, on the day when she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build upon her a battlement of silver; but if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar” (8:8,9).

The little girl may be like a wall, that is, closed to easy friendships, resistant to the approaches of others. Her family then will respond by “building upon her a battlement of silver.” A battlement is a sloping ramp by which a wall may be surmounted. In this case it was to be made of silver, which in Scripture is always a picture of redemption. The suggestion is that by teaching her the value of redemption by the love and grace of God she will be enabled to find a security that will safely accept the approaches of others and make her more open to communication.

However, “if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.” She may be like a door–open to all who come and far too easily influenced by others. In that case the role of the family is to protect her and enclose her with loving guidance that will enable her to grow and fully develop before she enters into marriage.