Song of Solomon 1:15-17

(15) Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove's eyes. (16) Behold, you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our bed is green. (17) The beams of our houses are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

The last few verses we looked at, the bride was in deep contemplation about her bridegroom King, realizing just how much He loved her. At this point, He speaks to her and not only confirms what she was thinking, but describes how He sees her. Twice, He says to her "You are beautiful (fair)! Not once, but twice! He wants her to know how He sees her. I believe this affirmation speaks of first, her outward beauty, and then her inward beauty, as He goes on to say she has eyes like a dove.

A dove does not have peripheral vision, but can only focus on the one thing right in front of it. They have "single vision," if you will. The bridegroom King sees His bride's focus is like that: it's on Him alone. That is very beautiful and precious to Him. The Holy Spirit is teaching us how to focus on our bridegroom King, even with all that is going on around us. It is possible, you know, to have your spirit in tune with the Holy Spirit, no matter what may be happening around you. It just takes some practice.

She responds back to Him by calling Him handsome and very winsome. She also calls Him her beloved, and speaks of their bed being green, meaning the rest they experience together is very lush and full.

There is an exchange of love going on here I like to call the romance of the gospel. It's very real! If you've never experienced this kind of love exchange, you're missing out on a very important part of the gospel, or good news. You see, we are Jesus' inheritance from the Father. The Father had a plan from the beginning of time; that plan being that we would love Him as much as He loves us. If we don't practice that love exchange, how will we ever know what real love is?

You can love your husband or wife or another person here on earth with all your heart, but there is no one that can give you the pure, unconditional love that He can. It's just not possible. And to experience unconditional love will ultimately cause you to love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Lastly, she speaks of their houses being built with cedar and fir. Cedar and fir trees were used in the in the building of the temple, and were known for being strong, fragrant, long lasting material. She was saying that their relationship, along with the rest of the Lord's corporate bride (houses), was very permanent, safe, and long lasting, full of beauty and fragrance. Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." As the bride of Christ, we understand this.