Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Song 8:4
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases. NKJV

The Song was written by  Solomon.  Solomon means Peaceful.  He sings of the Shulamite - the Perfect One, or the Peacable One.  The Shulamite rightfully declared that she belongs to her Beloved and that He is her posession. Nothing would separate her from her Beloved. She has exclusive access to His chambers, she is seated at the King's table, and she enjoys exclusive intimacy with her Beloved!  In Ephesians 5 Paul speaks of a great mystery, the marriage relationship between Christ and His Bride; the corporate Church. He compares our marriage to Christ to the marriage between a husband and his wife. John revealed the Bride, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2) In the Acts of the Apostles and the early Church there were two expressions of Church life. The believers gathered daily in their households of faith for teaching, fellowship, communion and prayers, and the households would all gather together at the temple to celebrate the Body of Christ. The Church in the City would include all the believers in the entire city.

SHULAMITE in Marine Flag Language :

We also see this expression in the Song of Solomon. The Shulamite respresents the Corporate Body of Christ, and the women of Jerusalem represents the single believer, or the diferent households of faith (local church). The daughters of Jerusalem were selflessly and wholeheartedly pursuing the Shulamite. Just like the Bridemaids would adorn the Bride for the Groom, the daughters of Jerusalem are preparing the Shulamite for her Beloved.

Therefore He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

SHULAMITE in Sign Language:

This equipping of the saints takes place in the local household of faith. God called Solomon to build His Temple. David was unable to build His Temple as he was a man of war, but Solomon would be a man of Rest. (1 Chronicles 22:6-11).  When Solomon built the temple the stone was finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. (1 Kings 6:7) The local church is a quarry where the living stones are carefully prepared to feature in the Temple. Today many pastors are equipping the saints with guitars and microphones instead of hammers and chisels. The local church became a place of entertainment. But the Lord never intended for the emphasis and the beauty to be visible in the local church. The local church is a noisy place. It is a place of crafting and shaping, teaching and discipline. Intimacy with the Beloved was never intended for the daughters of Jerusalem. The Beloved belongs to the Shulamite.

There should be an increasing burden upon every leader of the local church to pursue the Shulamite. Every pastor must pursue the Corporate Gathering of the Saints. The Shulamite warned us: Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases. If you are not connected to the corporate temple in your city, if you have no desire to engage other leaders in your city you have no right to the Chambers of Christ.

The "Stirring up of love" belongs to the Shulamite company - The Bride of Christ.

The Shulamite woman was a queen. She was royalty. She was Solomon's princess, his special one. The one who made his heart go boom, boom, boom when he came near to her. She was also black. She said her skin looked like the tents of Kedar, which were made out of black goats' hair, like curtains of Solomon. She was definitely a person of color.

But this sun-caressed, black-skinned Shulamite woman can be a woman of any color. Every woman can be a Shulamite woman. Man looks at the outside, but God looks on the inside. The word Shulamite means 'peaceful'. And the most precious quality a woman can have is not skin color, but a peaceful spirit. As 1 Timothy 2:9 says, "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."

SHULAMITE in Braille (Blind) Alphabet :

Like so many things in scripture, the Song of Solomon goes beyond what it first appears. In it we see God's love for Israel, His chosen covenant people, whom He calls His wife and His bride many times in the writings of the Old Testament prophets. In the Song of Solomon we also see the love Jesus Christ has for His church whom the New Testament calls the Bride of Christ. He's going to sweep us off of our feet and take us up to heaven for His royal wedding, for an eternal, everlasting love affair with Him.

But the Song of Solomon was written for two main reasons: The first to show us how deep and exciting love can be for husband and wife; the second to teach us love, passion and romance do not have to disappear after the wedding takes place. In fact, longing and fulfillment can still be there even after the children arrive. The beautiful Shulamite queen can become the beautiful Shulamite mother, and her handsome, dashing king can become a noble, regal father. The excitement, freshness and newness of love are there for married couples long, long after the wedding vows have been said.

There is the idea in many people's minds that soon after marriage happens, passion, romance and adventure all stop. That's because in many marriages they do. The fire dims; the thrill disappears. Most former lovers just live with it, wishing things were different, and some look elsewhere for satisfaction.

But romance never has to leave any marriage - if the couple is willing to work at it and the two lovers are willing to see each other the right way. As scripture says to the husband in Proverbs 5:18, "Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. [Let her be as] the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love."

But that's about the husband and father. What about the Shulamite mother? Who is she and what is she like? The answer is: she is many, many things. Because being a mother and raising a family is a position and a responsibility so great only the grace of Almighty God can allow anyone to do it well. It is a ministry that takes many, many talents and gifts. So the Shulamite mother is many things.

SHULA in Morse Code :

First, the Shulamite mother is a woman who treats her husband with love, compassion and passion. There once was a country song that said, Good Lovin' Keeps A Home Together. The Shulamite woman in the Song of Solomon says the same thing. In Chapter 1 verse 13 she says, "A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night between my breasts." Now that's keeping a home together!

It's no accident God devoted one chapter, Proverbs 31, plus some New Testament verses, on how to be a godly wife and mother. But He devoted an entire book, the Song of Solomon, to teach a woman how to be a passionate, fulfilling, romantic lover, with both eyes set on pleasing and being pleased by her husband. God wrote an entire book on exploring passion, making love and sharing romance. Indeed, good loving keeps a home together. That country singer was on to something. But God knows that and 3,000 years before that country singer. The Shulamite mother knows keeping her husband's desires and needs fulfilled is a priority for a long-lasting happy marriage and fulfilling relationship. A godly husband and father will respond by giving his wife, her needs and desires the same priority in his life.

SHULA in Sign Language :

Next, the Shulamite mother is sensitive to her husband and family. She knows what they do. She knows their habits. She even knows when anyone in her family is coming or going. Song of Solomon 2:8-9 says, "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice."

I'm exceedingly blessed to get a phone call from my wife at work every night at 6:30 asking when I'm coming home. And I better have a good answer. Amen? But that's the voice of love. That's how the Shulamite wife and mother treats her family. She knows their quirks, their shortcomings, where they need help. She knows their strengths, how to bring those out, how to bring out the best in them. She knows how to be an encourager.

The Shulamite mother knows her family's potential. Proverbs 31:23 says, "Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land." The Shulamite mother, however tender and feminine on the outside, is extremely tough inside; independent-minded, fairly intolerant of immaturity, weakness or wishy-washiness, and very demanding that a man be a real man. She must be careful not to let her strength and high standards turn into a critical spirit. And her bridegroom must be careful not to feel threatened, but to take her insights and suggestions as a challenge to reach higher, grow stronger and become a better man for God.

The Shulamite mother is a helpmate to her husband and a wise partner in the family business. Proverbs 31:16 says, �She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hand she planteth a vineyard.� This pays off for her family because Proverbs 31:21 says, "She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household [are] clothed with scarlet." And even if it's not as expensive as scarlet, the Shulamite mother's family will be looking good in whatever they have on. The Shulamite mother will make sure of that.

The Shulamite mother is also a helper in the gospel. She knows Jesus Christ has given her a part and responsibility for the Word of God within her home as well as to the world outside it. She wants saved children and a godly home. And she wants to see the gospel go to the ends of the earth. As Paul said in Philippians 4:3, "And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellow laborers, whose names [are] in the book of life." And Proverbs 31:20 says of her, "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy." And this, of course, is not only for the mothers, but for young ladies who are going to be mothers, wives and God-fearing, godly women when they grow up.

It takes great strength to accomplish all of this, so the Shulamite mother is a mother of backbone, not easily intimidated. Song of Solomon 3:1-4 says, "By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: [to whom I said,] Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? [It was] but a little that [while that] I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me."

The Shulamite Cinderella
Act 1: Put to Work!
Solomon had a vineyard in the hill country of Ephraim, just outside the little town of Shunam, about 50-miles north of Jerusalem (8:11). The vineyard was rented out to a family of sharecroppers, consisting of a mother, two sons, and two daughters. The oldest of these girls was the Shulamite, and the youngest, her little sister (6:13; 8:8).

The Shulamite was the Cinderella of the family, having great natural beauty, but unnoticed by the world. Her brothers made her work very hard, tending to the vineyards, so that she had little opportunity to care for her personal appearance. (1:6) She pruned the vines, she set traps for the little foxes (2:15), she also kept the flocks (1:8).From being out in the open so often, she became sunburned (1:6)

a. First Dream - that they are already married and that one night she awakens to find him missing from her bed. She quickly dresses and goes out looking for him (3:2-4).
b. Second Dream - that her beloved has returned and besought her to open the door and let him in. But she refuses for she is unwilling to re-clothe herself and soil her feet going to the door. Soon however, her heart smites her for this shabby action and she leaps for the door. But alas, he has gone! "I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer." (5:4-6) Suddenly and joyfully she discovers his whereabouts.
These then, are her two dreams concerning the mysterious shepherd lover of the Shulamite girl. But why did he leave her? Where did he go? Would he ever return?

Act 3: The Mighty Monarch
One day the little town of Shunam receives some electrifying news. King Solomon himself is approaching their city. But the lovesick and lonely maiden is not interested, and takes no further notice until word is brought to her that the powerful potentate himself desires to see her. She is puzzled until she is brought into his presence, where she recognizes him as her beloved shepherd. He then gently explains to her that although he has already gathered sixty wives, eighty concubines, and unnumbered virgins, that she will be his choice bride and true love (6:8). He invites her to come with him and promises to care for her little sister (8:8, 9). The bride is then placed in the King's chariot, made from the wood of Lebanon, with silver posts, a golden canopy, and purple seating (3:9, 10). Together, they ride off to the Royal Palace in Jerusalem, accompanied by sixty mighty swordsmen and experienced body guards (3:7, 8)

In Conclusion
Solomon, represents Christ as the triumphant prince of peace. The camp in the wilderness represents the Church in the world; the peaceful reign of Solomon, after all enemies had been subdued, represents the Church in heaven, of which joy the Song gives a foretaste. The interpretation is twofold:
1. Primarily, the book is the expression of pure marital love as ordained of God in creation, and the vindication of that love as against both asceticism and lust--the two profanations of the holiness of marriage.
2. The secondary and larger interpretation is of Christ, the Son and His heavenly bride, the Church.

1. The glory of wedded love.  This book shows us the sacredness of the marital bond and the passion that is a part of this type of bond.
2. The love of God (Jehovah) for Israel. The Bible often portrays Israel as the wife of God and Israel's unfaithfulness as a breach in a marital relationship.
3. A picture of Christ and His Church.  The Church is portrayed in Scripture (Eph. 5, Rev. 21) as the bride of Christ.  Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom on many occasions.  This book takes us into the honeymoon and beyond.
4. The communion of Christ with the individual believer.  This book is a manual for the passion that each believer in Jesus should feel for the Savior.  Jesus is passionate about us.  We must experience His love, deeply.  This book gives us a good way to think in those terms.