Song of Solomon 6:13 or 7:1 The Two Camps - Christians & Jews

This is the Truth Network. Hidden treasures of the song of songs, which is Solomon's. Oh, what a puzzle we get to dig into today, as we would normally be talking about the 13th verse and the 6th chapter, which would be the Mem verse, but should know that for years and years and years, probably since Solomon wrote it, the Jews say this is the first verse of the 7th chapter. And if you look at the Torah scroll, that's what it shows. So this verse is the Aleph verse of the 7th chapter, or it could be the 13th verse of the 6th chapter. And I do think it's part of what God's doing to show how the Jews see this, as opposed to how we see it and the opportunities we have to be. What God had in mind in so many different ways in the 7th chapter, which would be the Het chapter, where we'd be united. And oh, I'm sure that God would love to see us all united.

There's no doubt about that. And so it's really a beautiful thing, as when we read this in English, you'll see that it fits right into very well what it says. So 13 verse of the 6th chapter in most of your Bibles, or the first verse if you read a Jewish Bible of the 7th chapter. Return, return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee.

What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were, the company of two armies. And I'm sure that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that there are two ways to look at this.

And there are two groups that well could be two armies, two gigantic group of people that could be talking about. I find it fascinating as you look at this. So the idea of return, return in Hebrew, I think it's critical to understand, is the word shuva. And that word shuva is actually the same word that would be repent or to turn back towards God. And so when they're saying shuva, shuva in so many different ways, there's this talking about repentance. And then when it says, O Shulamite, here we have the first time that we've heard that word that the Song of Solomon has pretty much always talked about the bride being the Shulamite.

Well, here's where that word is. And it's a beautiful study, a word study just to think what Shulamite may be. As you might can hear from the word that it is the female version of the word shalom or the word Solomon, because it's the exact same letters. And they start with the same letter Shulamite does as the word to return, which when you hear that return, which is shuva, and then Shulamite, you can hear how they're beginning with that same concept.

But Shulamite has got a really, really cool suffix on it. So it's called a diminutive or diminutive that when you have something like, say, a spoon that a smaller version of that spoon would be a teaspoon or a half a teaspoon. Well, a diminutive, when it comes to this particular noun, is saying that this is perhaps the weaker vessel of, if you think about it, of shulam. Solomon, you know, it's a beautiful picture and in so many different ways. And so it's saying, in a way, repent, repent, right? The weaker vessel of Solomon, but it could mean return to us that we can look on you.

And that's kind of where this is going. And it says return again. In other words, you've got four times that we're hearing this word shuva. And then, of course, you've got to wonder who is saying this. And, you know, the way that most church people would look at this, the way that it's been done by Matthew Henry and many others, is this is the daughters of Jerusalem that are saying, you know, return, return. And then again, return, return, that we may look upon you, right? And that idea to look is actually to behold and even to prophesy over.

You could even use that word. That's how powerful the word is there when it says hazel, which has, you know, again, that idea of the het, the het being our union with God, and then a zion, which is the point that we're going to reflect God. So it's a very powerful, powerful word that hazel, that we would, you know, look upon you.

This is a really, really strong look that they're talking about. And then again, the word shulamites repeated. And so then we get into this next, you know, beautiful mystery of, as it were, the company of two armies. And so we have two words that are the way that the King James people are saying that these two different camps, so to speak, are the two different armies. And so one of those armies, the difference between the two words, because they're almost identical, the words, with one exception, but the third letter in the first company is a lamed, which has to do with your heart. And like you'll see in some translations, people say this is a dancing company. And that's where it comes from, that idea of the halal, that l sound, that loving and liking.

And so that first army has got a heart, right? That is for God. And it might be dancing, it might be worshiping, but that's the first company. The second company is a nun. And so this is the faithful, this is the light company, okay? This is the church of light and faith.

And so, you know, it's really an amazing thing. And so when you really, and I've pondered this and thought about it like, what may be going on here? Okay, because why did the King James people and the English people and the church for years put this in the sixth chapter? And why did the Jews put it in the seventh chapter? And I think it depends on how you're looking at it, because the Jews take the whole Song of Solomon as an allegory of their timeline. And I can see why they would.

And it's a beautiful thing to read all of Raji, and they're taking you through the timeline. And so when it gets to this, you know, they have just talked about how the Jews have been abused by the Greeks and the Romans. And what we would now know is even, you know, the Spanish Inquisition and eventually Nazi Germany, right?

So when the Jews look upon the church, they can look at the loving people, hopefully that you and I are, if they choose to, or they can look at the horrible way that Christians have taught them through history, okay, or treated them. I mean, brutally murdered them in all sorts of different ways. And so it is sort of an army, a horde of two different kinds. Like, is it those of us who truly love the Jews and truly want to see them return, return, and come back to God? Or is this, you know, the horrid army that is just unbelievably cruel to them?

Right? And so, you know, the way the Jews see this is that the end of the sixth chapter has to do with the end of all that persecution coming from the Greeks and the Romans. So this, they are talking about God here, and God is saying here, come back, come back the Jews, and be, you know, come out of exile and be who God wants you to be. The church that is both lifting their eyes to dancing and also that their hearts are lit up in the faith of that camper. And so that idea, again, in both situations, are of camps, right? That when they're talking about armies, it's the same idea of these campfires. And of course, if you ever been to camp, you can see how close you get to God at a camp. And so, you know, what a beautiful thing to ponder exactly and what's God trying to tell us, okay? And personally, I think, I really do, that any of us who have really experienced the church the way that God intended it to be is a camp of people that are worshipping and a camp of people that are faithful, that are lights, that are bringing the light and they're bringing rejoicing and faith and happiness and all that. But if, unfortunately, that gets corrupted, then it brings this horrible army of Nazis and Spanish Inquisitors and people that are looking to destroy the people.

It's just, it's unbelievable. What horror, when these same passions are sent in an evil direction, you know, you can see the potential for disaster is unbelievable. And so, you know, our joy is to think about this actually as the end of the sixth verse. I mean, at the end of the sixth chapter, the third, let's just say the Mem verse of the sixth chapter, with the Mem being the Messiah, right? That this is a Masonic verse, like, here we come, it's the church and he's come, and this is what's happening in the 13th verse of the sixth chapter. But for the Jews, right, in the book of Revelation, we know they're all going to turn back to Jesus and it's all going to come back and they're going to return, return, O Shulamite. And so that's beautiful that it would be, right, the first verse of the seventh chapter, right, which is the letter Zion. It is the idea of now they are reflecting God, and it would be their wisdom, the Aleph verse, in order to be able to do that. And so I think it's just totally cool, in my own way of just interpreting this, is like, wow, this is the beginning of the church age, which unfortunately brought in all sorts of hell for the Jews, but it will also be the beginning in Revelation of the Jews. And so the company of two armies, you know, again, you can look at this and you can look at Shulamite and there's so many spectacular things in this particular verse, but again, it gets back to what does this look like for you and how can we apply this? Clearly, to me, we can apply it by loving the Jews in such a way that when they see this is the way people love God and look at the joy and look at the happiness and look at the kindness and the grace that these people are showing us, that they are absolutely our favorites, that they are going to see and gaze upon and be prophesied that this is what is going to happen to them. They're going to get all that when they get their Messiah.

I mean, it just is. But also, you know, when do you get to experience this when you actually go to camp? Okay, I have no other way to say that, that I hope that you have some kind of camps in your life where you actually get out there with groups of believers and chase after the heart of God for some period of time. Like, you know, in our case, we've got boot camps. Nikita's got man camps. You have retreats at your church. You know, John Eldridge has his wild at heart boot camps. There are all these different camps. Women have captivating in Colorado and all sorts of different kind of camps that you can go where you can join with or the road to Emmaus. I've heard people talk about that.

That's an outstanding experience. The idea is to get outside, right? Like in the the Feast of Boos, right? That's the idea that when it comes to, you know, the Feast of Boos, well, that's where we're all headed. Okay, we're all headed to camp at some point in time. I'm just saying. And so when when have you gotten out in camp and experienced this army that has this heart that's dancing and lifting up praises to God by the same time, you know, he's bringing such light that that is just absolutely illuminating everybody there. And you wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Okay, so it's up to us. Where do we want to place this? Is this the first chapter?

I mean, the first verse of the seventh chapter, or is this the 13th or the Mem verse, the Messianic verse of the sixth chapter? Beautiful things to consider. And I am so again, so delighted. I get to share this with you. And so delighted to be able to walk with you. And God is we are happy campers. Thanks for listening.