Warm Christian greetings to you all in the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I believe that many of us who visit the ScriptureSource website must be born and raised in a Christian background and are very much familiar with Christian teachings. Sometimes, we become too familiar with Christian teachings/practices and possibly take them for granted and miss a lot of important teachings that the Scripture sets before us. For instance, as a Christian believer, God is supposed to be the center of our life and everything that we say and do must revolve around God’s will upon our life. However, as days pass by, we are influenced by the world around us; which means, instead of becoming more and more like His Son Jesus (Colossians 2:6; Philippians 2:5-11), we become more and more worldly due to world’s influence upon our life (2 Kings 17:14-15; Colossians 3:5-17). As the followers of Christ, we must know the importance of trusting in the triune Godhead (which include, God the Father, God the Son [Jesus Christ], and God the Holy Spirit); and maintaining a right relationship with God and our fellow human beings.

God has blessed us with another week in our life to draw closer to the Throne of Grace and continue to taste and experience that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). Our Lord God who created us is loving and compassionate as it is stated in Psalm 145:8-9 that The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. God knows all about us – our body, soul, and spirit is wide open before Him for He created us, as king David stated:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you (Psalm 139:13-18)

I believe that the Lord God, being our creator and redeemer, has been faithful to each one of us throughout our life, that is, from the moment we were created until this moment; and I am very sure that He will remain faithful to us for the rest of our days on earth. After that we will stay with Him in eternity forever and ever. He who called us is faithful and He will never fail us (1 Thessalonians 5:24). So, let us take refuge in the shadow of His wings as He extends His compassion and loving kindness toward us (Psalms 57:1; 91:1).

This week’s Scripture for the Week meditation is based on Song of Songs 2:4b, which states that … His banner over me was love. Although, the passage contains just a few words, it attempts to communicate the power of the most influential word that exist in the universe, which is Love. Perhaps, love could be the most powerful driving force in the universe either to save someone/something or to destroy someone/something. When God created the universe – the heavens, the earth and everything in it including human beings, He said it is good (Genesis 1:1-31) because He loved all that He created. However, the first humans fell into the deceitful trap of Satan and committed sin against their creator God. Due to that reason, sin and wickedness spread across the world and God judged the world by water. Then again, when God saw the misery humans and other creatures went through, He showed concern for them and made a covenant with Noah (and his family) that Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth, and He confirmed it with the sign of a rainbow (Genesis 9:8-17). The driving force behind God’s decision was nothing but His love for the people and other living things He created. Again, when sin and wickedness increased in the world, instead of destroying humanity, God sent His One and only Son to this world who took our sins upon Himself and died on the cross of Calvary on behalf of all of sinful humanity and redeemed them from eternal condemnation so that we may live in Him and for Him in this sinful world. He did this because He loved them. The Scripture states that:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son (John 3:16-18 [also refer: Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; 1 John 2:1-2])

Let us try to understand the passage we chose for our meditation, which is, … His banner over me was love (Song of Songs 2:4b). The book, Song of Songs (שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים Shiyr Hashirim), in the Holy Scriptures is also titled in some translations as Song of Solomon or the Canticle of Canticles. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the book is part of the Megillot (the Five Scrolls), but in the Christian Scriptures it is part the Old Testament and included among the Poetical and Wisdom Literature books known as Ketuvim (Writings). The book is written by Solomon king of Israel (Song of Songs 1:1) and many assume that it is the life-story of king Solomon and one of his wives, perhaps a Shulamite woman whose name is not mentioned in here. If you are familiar with the contents of the book, at least some of us must be wondering why a book like Song of Songs included in the Scripture since it is talking about the relationship between a beloved and her lover. In fact, many Rabbis and Bible scholars/historians thought the same way in the process of making it a canonical book and including it in the Scripture. There were many arguments as well as back and forth discussions on the contents of the book and whether to include it among the canonical books or not. Finally, despite all other arguments, the book was considered as a canonical book and found its way in to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament Scripture) mainly for two reasons: (i) the content of the book is allegorically portrayed to be God’s love for Israel, and (ii) the book was written by king Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. Although the book plainly narrates the relationship between the beloved and her lover (the bride and her bridegroom), in Jewish tradition, it is considered as an allegorical portrayal of God’s love for His chosen people Israel, as prophet Isaiah stated: As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:5b [also, refer to Isaiah 54:4-8; Hosea 2:19-20; and, Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-28]), where as in Christianity, it is portrayed allegorically as the symbol of Christ’s love for His church as Apostle Paul stated: … Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word … I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-32).

There are two key words in the passage we chose for our meditation His banner over me was love (Song of Songs 2:4b) that we need to give special attention to understand and they are: Banner and Love. The term ‘banner’ in English is equal to the Hebrew word דֶּגֶל (degel or dehghel), means ‘to cover.’ A banner is a poster made on a long piece of fabric bearing a tagline or message/design put up on a post in one’s place/property or carried in a procession to display one’s identity. A banner is a visible sign of mutual trust and companionship/friendship and the symbol/words in a banner identify itself to whom the banner belongs. Almost every nation on earth has a flag (banner) of their own with their nation’s logo/motto. If we use the term banner from a military perspective, it is used as the sign of ownership. For instance, when a king or ruler conquers a land or kingdom, he posts his kingdom’s flag upon the conquered land in order to show the rest of the world that this particular land belongs to so and so king or kingdom, and others will not make a claim upon that particular piece of land or kingdom. In the context of our passage, that is, Song of Songs 2:4b; there are no competitors but the beloved belongs to her lover who is powerful and mighty, and the lover took the ownership of his beloved not with a banner of fear, harassment, annoyance, exasperation, fury/rage/anger, intimidation, displeasure, control-by-force, or anything as such, but with the banner of love, which marks one’s authority, ownership, guardianship, security, over the one who comes under the banner. The simple meaning of ‘love’ is nothing but deep affection for someone like father, mother, brother, sister, a relative, friend, neighbor, or anyone who is dear to us. The quality of sharing love bonds people together and makes them committed to one another. During Israel’s wilderness journey, Moses built an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi (the Lord is my Banner) when God gave victory against the Amalekites who came to fight against the Israelites (Exodus 17:8-16).

We can analyze the passage, His banner over me was love (Song of Songs 2:4b), by dividing it into three different sets: (i) His banner (v.4b1), (ii) over me (v.4b2), and (iii) Was love (v.4b3).

His banner (v4b1) [His banner over me was love] Here, the key player is a banner – the banner of love. The beloved feels security and safety and loved when her lover extends his banner of love over her. A banner of love guarantees ownership, protection, and provision. This is what exactly the Scripture tells us about the love that God the Father lavished on us (even when we did not deserve it). Psalm 60:4 states that But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Prophet Isaiah prophesied regarding the coming of a savior (Jesus Christ): In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious (Isaiah 11:10). If God is for us and with us (Romans 8:31), in peace we can lie down and sleep, because the LORD make us dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8). It is like when a young child (son/daughter) feels security and loved when his/her father puts his arms around them. I still remember very clearly some of the childhood memories (not only me specifically but almost everyone of us may have similar memories to cherish): as a child, when we are on the bed at night for a good-night sleep, before our parents go to bed, they walk into our room and look around and come and give us a kiss on our cheeks/forehead and pull the blanket over us nicely to make sure that everything is okay with us. At that moment we feel so secured and loved and we fall into sleep with confidence. In a similar way, our heavenly Father, the Lord God Almighty, who promised His presence, protection, and provision is faithful and He will not leave us as orphans as Jesus assured His disciples (John 14:18-26). Psalm 4:8 states that In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety. The Sons of Korah experienced the love and compassion of the Lord God Almighty in times of trouble, and they testified:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging (Psalm 46:1-3)

Over me (v.4b2) [His banner over me was love] In the statement of His banner over me was love (Song of Songs 2:4b), the phrase ‘over me’ is very specific and speaking from a very personal perspective. The beloved feels very loved and cared for when the lover spread the banner of love over her. It’s like the little ones in our families feel accepted, loved, and safe when their father put his arms around them and holds them closely. Most of us will have some of the dearest childhood memories to cherish even though we are grown up to be in our thirties or forties or fifties. I still have some of such dearest memories to cherish as if it happened in the recent past. For instance: as children, when we go to our bed for a good-night sleep, our Mom or Dad (or both) before they go to bed walk into our room, kiss us on our cheeks or forehead, pull the cozy blankie over us nicely and look around the bed again and again to make sure everything is fine with us and then slowly they go back to their bed. As a child, when we experience their love and care for us we become so bold and confident and sleep so peacefully. I believe that almost every child who is born into this world might experience such love from their parents and grow up to be like their parents and continue the similar pattern for generation after generation. Perhaps such was the acceptance and security the beloved felt when the banner of love was spread over her. Similarly, Christ, being the bridegroom, and the church His bride, the banner He held over the church was love and His name is written on the banner, which is a sign of ownership, acceptance, security and a shield of protection upon His saints. Jesus died for each and every one of us personally and His name is written upon each one us (Revelation 22:4), and He has sealed us with the promise of the Holy Spirit as Apostle Paul noted:

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:3-14)

Psalm 49:7-8 states that No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough. Yet, Christ redeemed us from the wrath of God but He paid a high price (His precious life/blood) for our redemption, thus, we are redeemed by the blood of Christ, as Apostle Peter stated:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:18-21)

Was love (v.4b3) [His banner over me was love] The beloved testifies in here that her lover’s banner over her was nothing but love, which conveys the message that she could experience his presence, protection, provision, and his kindness upon her life in addition to the love that he lavishly poured out on her. It is very interesting to know that her beloved spread the banner of love over her despite her lower social status as one who was forced to take care of the vineyards (Song of Songs 1:6), or her unusual behavior of going out at night through the city’s streets and squares in search of her lover (song of Songs 3:2; 5:7), or anything as such that could hinder a man from choosing a person like her to be his beloved. Despite everything else, he extends his love for her and chose her to be his beloved. This is exactly what the God of heaven has shown to us, the sinful humanity, by extending His love for us and saving us from eternal condemnation, as it is mentioned in the Epistle of Romans:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8)

We, the saints of God, are so privileged people that, being under God’s banner of love, we experience His compassion, security and protection upon our life, in addition to the spiritual fellowship we enjoy with Him. Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, about God’s perpetual and incomprehensible love for us:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6)

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen! (Ephesians 3:14-21)

God, being our creator and redeemer, did not withhold anything from us rather He blessed us with everything that we needed according to His will and for His purpose. Paul said: What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things (Romans 8:31-32). Therefore, as children of God, we need to display God’s love that is in us with others who are around us, especially among the believers. Apostle John wrote to the early Christians that:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us (1 John 4:7-12)

Just as the Lover overrode everyone else’s accusations about his Beloved and extended the banner of love over her, Jesus overruled the accusations of the religious fanatics, the wealthy, and the politically and socially powerful and He raised the downtrodden, the poor, the weak, the powerless, and revealed the truth (Himself) to them and uplifted them to higher ranks in their spiritual journey. Although, some may argue that Jesus came to seek and find the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24), His overall redemptive mission was to save everyone, as Apostle Paul instructed young Timothy that:

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

As we have heard the testimony from the Beloved that … His banner over me was love (Ecclesiastes 2:4b), the banner the Father extended over to us through His Son Jesus was love. Therefore, let us Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30; [Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27]), and dedicate our life to loving Him and fulfilling His purpose in and through our life. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!