The Song of Solomon and the Beloved Bride

The Song of Solomon and the bride restored

The Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim, is the crown jewel of biblical poetry—a love song so intimate, so layered, that Rabbi Akiva called it “Kodesh Kodoshim,” the Holy of Holies. Once felt to be so “erotic” that many felt that it had no place in the Biblical canon, yet it is a beautiful picture of the love story between Messiah and His bride.

Traditionally read during Pesach, it celebrates the divine romance that began when God redeemed Israel from Egypt. Yet its longing, its bridal imagery, and its mysterious shepherd-king, whisper of a deeper consummation still to come—a wedding that echoes through the fall feasts and culminates in the union of Messiah Yeshua and His restored bride.

At Passover, Israel was delivered from bondage and led into covenant at Sinai—a moment likened to a wedding under the chuppah. The Song of Songs captures this early intimacy: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine” (Song 1:2). The maiden, representing Israel, delights in her Beloved’s presence, basking in His shade and savoring His sweetness (Song 2:3).

But this love story is not without heartbreak. As Rashi and the prophets attest, Israel proved unfaithful—first with the Golden Calf, then through generations of idolatry. The bride who once pledged loyalty wandered, and the King, though grieved, sent her into exile. Yet His love never waned. He watched from behind the shutters, longing for her return.

Messianic interpretation sees Yeshua as the mysterious shepherd who woos the soul in garments of humility. Like Solomon in disguise, He wins the heart of the maiden before revealing His royal identity. “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away,” He calls (Song 2:13). Though the bride sleeps, she dreams of Him. Though ridiculed, she waits. Her soul aches with longing: “I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not” (Song 3:1).

Yeshua’s work—His death, resurrection, and ascension—makes restoration possible. He redeems the unfaithful bride, not by dismissing her past, but by transforming it. In Him, Israel is not discarded but reclaimed. The covenant is renewed, the love restored, and the bride made ready.

Though the Song is traditionally read at Passover, its imagery pulses with the rhythm of the fall feasts. Yom Teruah (Trumpets) heralds the coming King. Yom Kippur (Atonement) cleanses the bride. And Sukkot (Tabernacles) celebrates the dwelling of God with His people (his bride)—a foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Psalm 45, often linked to the Song’s “lilies,” offers a Messianic vision: “The King will desire your beauty… forget your people and your father’s house” (Psalm 45:10-11). This is the call to the bride—to forsake all and be joined to her Beloved. Revelation echoes this: “The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7).

The Shulamite is no longer a forsaken widow. She is the “choice one of all,” the beloved for whom the King returns. Her past is not erased but redeemed. She is weathered by exile, yet radiant with hope.

And the King? He comes with pomp and passion. “Make haste, my beloved,” she cries, “be like a gazelle on the mountains of spices” (Song 8:14). The final union is not just a return—it is a wedding, a restoration, a joy beyond springtime. It is the eternal fall harvest of love.

In the Torah it is forbidden for a man to take back a wife who departed from him and lay with another man thus defiling the land (Deuteronomy 24:4). Since we know that the Father nor His son, Yeshua, would ever violate their Torah, how do we reconcile Yeshua reclaiming His bride (Israel) who was unfaithful? This is how- the Newer Covenant declares that if “the husband has died”, the woman is then “free” from that law of her husband (I Corinthians 7:39). Thus we see in Yeshua that God died as a mortal man. Upon His resurrection He was free to take back a repentant, unfaithful woman. She no longer had to remain a widow. It needs to be pointed out here that we are all, Jew and Gentile, one in Messiah. We were all guilty of sin. Non-Jews are grafted into Israel through Messiah Yeshua. Israel has not, and never will be, replaced.

What a beautiful picture! What a hope and longing for that great day that we, by faith, can see on the horizon.

In Messiah we have hope,

Leisa