This Week\’s Sunday School Lesson, \”The Courtship Of The Marriage Continues\”, 1/10/2016

THE COURTSHIP OF THE MARRIAGE CONTINUES

 

Song of Solomon 6:4-12

 

When you consider the Song of Solomon, it is good to view it as a marriage between a

man and his wife and to view it as the marriage between Jesus and His Church. Jesus is

the bridegroom and we, the church are His bride. In each case, you will see the adoration

the bridegroom has for the bride and adoration the bride has for the bridegroom.

 

 

GENIUNE FLATERY

V4. \” You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners.\”

1. We are attracted by the outward appearances  of a person first. It is only when

we get to know a person that we see the inward beauty.

1. Christ focuses on the heart and not any outward appearances.
2. The word \”Tirzah\” means delightsomeness.
3. Jerusalem is the center of religious activities.
4. The Word Jerusalem means peaceful.
5. The phrase \”army with banner\” means conspicuous or flaunt.
6. Every Word describes the love of bridegroom for his bride.
7. She is dear to him; his darling.
8. He describes her beauty with a series of adjectives.
9. She is delightful, righteous, and her beauty is conspicuous.
10. Every man ought to see the beauty in His bride as Christ sees the beauty in

his church.

1. No marriage is without its flaws. But the good should always overshadow

the bad.

1. If we focus on the good, we will never see the flaws.
2. The bad should not be ignored, because the bad is an opportunity for improvement.

 

CALL HER EVERYTHING GOOD UNDER THE SUN

V:5. \” Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead.\”

1. The eyes can sometime tell a story by themselves. The gleam in the eyes can show

affection and compassion. When ones eyes are focused on the eyes of another person,

it can sometimes  indicate truthfulness.

1. The pupils of the eyes open wide when someone is interested in what you are saying.
2. The pupils stay dilated when love and affection is involved.
3. The flock of goats indicates that there are many witnesses to this love.
4. Someone excited about their relationship will tell others.
5. There are many witnesses in heaven to the love Jesus has for His Church.
6. There are many witnesses to our love for Christ.
7. A person in love with Christ will be active in the ministry of the Gospel.
8. Gilead is a rugged mountain east of the Jordan river.

.1. Solomon, the bridegroom saw his bride descend down from the mountain.

1. She was a gift from God.
2. Jesus the bridegroom of the Church descended from heaven to receive His bride.
3. He will ascend back into heaven with his bride.
4. One writer describes Jesus as overwhelm with joy in this way:
5. Jesus is overwhelm when the eyes show repentance.
6. Jesus is overwhelm when the eyes mourn over sin.
7. Jesus is overwhelm when the eyes look to Him for salvation
8. Jesus is overwhelm when the eyes trust Him.
9. Jesus is overwhelm when our prayers are genuine.

 

 

THE HUSBAND RESPONIBILITY TO PROVIDE

V:6, \” Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is alone.\”

1. Solomon found beauty in his wife everywhere he looked.
2. There was beauty in her teeth.
3. Men should appreciate every part of his spouse\’s body.
4. Every part makes up who she is
5. It is the package that is attractive.
6. The more we find to love, the more in love we will be.
7. Sheep are animals that need a shepherd to lead, provide and protect them
8. They are totally dependant on the shepherd,

2 . God made man the head of the woman

1. The shepherd represents man\’s responsibility to lead.
2. The sheep represents the woman expectation to be led by the head of the household.
3. The man has a head, who is Jesus Christ.
4. The man must lead the wife as Christ leads the Church.

D.. When the husband is excited about his wife, there will be many witnesses.

1. Our love for Christ is evident by what we do for Him.
2. There a cloud of witnesses in heaven and on earth to our love for Christ.

 

CONSTANT ADORATION

V:7. \” Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate\”

1. The Hebrew word for temple means thinness on the side of the face.
2. In America the ideal model is thin from head to toe.
3. A pomegranate is red on the inside.
4. Solomon wife may have been thin with rosy cheeks.
5. Perhaps Solomon described the outward beauty of his bride.
6. Every husband ought to describe the beauty of his wife in

his heart.

1. Out of the his heart he should express the beauty he sees to his wife.
2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and has its value when expressed

to your spouse.

1. A marriage grows strong when the couple find constant approval in each other.

 

 

A SPECIAL BRIDE

V:8-9 \” Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; 9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.\”

1. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
2. Out of all of them only one was special and unique.
3. He described his love for her and neglected to mention the others.
4. God did not approve Solomon\’s decision to have relationships with

many wives.

1. He allowed it to show him the foolishness in vanity.
2. His love for women drew him away from God and caused him much pain.
3. From the beginning of man\’s creation, marriage was designed to be permanent

between one man and one woman.  Gen 2:23

1. The Church is special to Jesus.
2. There is only one Jesus and one Church of Jesus Christ.
3. The body of Christ, the Church has been washed clean with His Word

and redeemed with His blood.

1. The Church has been made acceptable to God the Father through the work

Christ did on the cross.

1. The road to salvation is a narrow way.
2. The road to salvation is through the righteousness of the Jesus.
3. The way of the world is wide and leads to destruction.
4. Those who know the Lord are blessed by Him.
5. Blessed with his love.
6. Blessed with his grace.
7. Blessed with his mercy.
8. Blessed with his protection.
9. Blessed with his provisions.
10. Blessed with eternal life,

 

THE LOVE OF CHRIST

V:10. Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic

as the stars in procession?\”

1. Christ describes His Church born in the morning hours of His resurrection.
2. The sun is the source of light for the universe.
3. The moon only has a partial light from the Sun
4. Christians are in the light of God but not perfect yet, because we are housed

in the flesh.

1. As beautiful as the stars are at night, they derive their light from the sun.
2. Jesus is the source of spiritual light of the world.
3. We derive our light from Jesus.
4. It is our job to reflect the light of Jesus to others.

 

1. The source of love in a marriage is the love of Christ.
2. Our love for each other is just a shadow of the love of Christ.
3. The best man can do is to try to imitate the love of Christ.
4. Man is commanded to love his wife like Christ loves the Church.

 

GROWING IN CHRIST

V:11-12. \” I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom. 12 Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.\”

1. The grove or the garden is the place of new life and continued growth.

1.There should be continued growth in the Church.

1. There should be continued growth in the marriage.
2. Christ looks to see if we are following the great commission.
3. We are to make new disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father

the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Matt 28:19

1. We should grow from babes in Christ to mature productive Christians.
2. All marriages should grow from the surface love at first sight to

to a deep abiding love.

1. Marriages fail when the two do not become one flesh.
2. Marriages flourish when Christ is at the center.
3. Goals and aspirations should be shared
4. There should be one shared voice based on the Word of God.
5. Christian growth and development stalls when we fail to seek to be one with

Christ.

1. When we seek the love of Christ we will have a desire to fellowship with other

believers in Christ.

1. Christ is the King among us.
2. He said when two or more come together in my Name, He would be in the midst.
3. We have constant and continuous access to Jesus.

 

CONTINUE THE COURTSHIP WITH CHRIST AND LOVE WILL GROW AND

FLOURISH.

 

Rev M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway

Houston Texas