“Anticipation” by Duane Garner
Song of Solomon 3-4
Every good love story shares the same basic template. It centers around some conflict that drives the two characters apart. This tension, the separation and distance prior to coming together, is at the heart of romance; it involves adventure, danger and peril. We love it because all things that are good and beautiful are a reflection of THE meta-story. The Song of Solomon is no different. It begins with a conflict, a distance between two lovers and the Shulamite’s longing and anticipation for intimacy and communion with her beloved. We are reminded of the many forms of closeness, separation, delay and the various degrees of anticipation between us and our Lord now and throughout our history in Scripture. We are reminded of why we celebrate intimacy and the coming together in our own wedding feasts. Finally, we are exhorted to cultivate a certain kind of tenacious, wrestling, fiery, passionate, fighting faith that is not worried about being embarrassed, but is only worried about Him giving us His covenant blessing.