Christians read the Song on so many levels: as the intimacy of marital love between man and woman, God’s deep love for his people, Christ’s Bridegroom love for his church, the Christian’s love for his or her Lord.

While it is legitimate to read the Song of Songs as a picture of marital love, the reflections in this daily devotional focus on the love between God and us as the beloved. In addition, it is important to know that it is a reflection and not an exposition of the Song. There will be some things that seem mysterious about the text and as we understand it as poetry, we are wise to let mystery draw us rather than resist it or attempt to control it. Indeed, love is mysterious. Let it be so. In Proverbs 30:18-19, Solomon writes: “Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden.” In the pages of this love poem, allow the mystery to elicit awe, wonder, and even surrender.