Song of Solomon 8 Devotional

A Love Not for Sale

“Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.”Song of Solomon 8:7 (BSB)

The Song's final chapter reaches its peak in two verses. The woman asks her beloved to wear her like a seal on his heart and arm, because love rivals death in its strength and burns like a blazing fire (8:6). Floodwaters cannot put it out, and no fortune can buy it (8:7). Around this center come a final charge to wait for love's proper time (8:4) and a last call to her beloved (8:14).

Love like this cannot be purchased. It can only be given. Paul says that marriage, at its deepest, speaks of Christ and the church, and that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25-32). That does not turn every image in the Song into a hidden picture, but it shows where human love points. The strongest love the Song can describe is a love that rivals death. In Christ, God showed a love that went through death. That love was never for sale, and it is freely given to all who trust him.

To think about: What would change in how you love others if you lived each day knowing that Christ's love was given to you freely, not earned?