Thought for the Day – Friday 3rd July
‘How beautiful you are, my love! How
your eyes shine with love behind your veil. Your hair dances like a flock of
goats bounding down the hills of Gilead. Your teeth are as white as sheep that
have just been shorn and washed. Not one of them is missing; they are all
perfectly matched.’
(Song of Songs 4: 1-2)
Well I know it is Friday but ladies – or indeed even gentlemen - have
you ever been described in such a way?
I know we may be missing our hairdressers at present but do our flowing
locks really resemble a flock of goats bounding down a hillside?
Then what about our teeth being described in such a way – do your teeth
look as white as sheep newly shorn and just coming out of their wash tub? I
mean I know we haven’t been able to go to our dentists for months but really
teeth resembling sheep! Well at least it was noted that none were missing and
they were all perfectly matched.
Well they do say beauty is in the eye of the beholder don’t they?
Actually, funny though it may sound to us today, describing this person
in such a way, when taken in context, does actually tell us a lot about her
beauty.
For instance, because she is veiled her beloved is focusing mainly on
her eyes – which this translation says shone with love, others that they were
like doves. So we know the beloved has soft and beautiful shining eyes!
The goats in Canaan were usually black and lived on the hillsides – so
in describing the beloved’s hair in such a way we know she has flowing black
hair and that it must be in good condition because Mount Gilead was well-known
for being good pasture land! So flowing
black shiny locks has the beloved!
We know too that in Bible times it was often difficult to tell the
sheep from the goats because they both lived in dusty places and on dusty
hillsides and so often looked very similar. So when the sheep were shorn and
then washed as you can imagine they would have looked wonderfully white against
the dusty landscape or against the lush green hills – hence the description
used for the beloved’s teeth – they too shone white and bright and of course
none of them were missing or sticky out or sticky in – all of them were
perfectly matched!!
‘How beautiful you are, my love!’
and it seems she was indeed beautiful to behold – at least to her beloved!
Beauty is a strange thing though, for what some people might think of
as beautiful others might find less so or indeed to hold no beauty at all.
Yet, if we are all made in the image of God and he created such a
beautiful creation and we are part of that beautiful creation then surely we
must be able to find some sort of beauty in everything and everyone.
We may not describe that beauty in such a way as our text for today – actually
I am not sure how people would react today if you told them their teeth were
like sheep or their hair like goats – however, there is beauty there for us to
describe in everything and everyone and we just have to find it and name it.
Prayer
Loving God,
You are the source of all beauty in our world, grow within us an
awareness of the beauty around us, the beauty within us and the beauty within
others that we might recognise it and name it. May your light shine from our
eyes and may we reveal your love to all we meet. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
Friday Fun Time:
Here are your questions and challenges for today!
1. Can you think of five songs with the word ‘Beautiful’ in the title?
2. Describe something you find beautiful to someone and see if they can
identify what you are
describing.
3. Where would you say was the most beautiful place to visit and why?
4. Who would you describe as beautiful and why?
5. Can you sing ‘All things bright and beautiful’ all the
way through without looking at the words?
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