the labor

October 5, 2016

No foreigners would eat or drink in Jerusalem (Isa 62:8-62:9)

“Yahweh has sworn

By his right hand,

By his mighty arm.

‘I will not again give your grain

To be food for your enemies.

Foreigners shall not drink the wine

For which you have labored.

But those who garner it

Shall eat it.

They shall praise Yahweh.

Those who garner it

Shall drink it

In my holy courts.’”

Yahweh now contends that no foreigners will eat or drink from the labor of those in Jerusalem. Yahweh has sworn by his mighty right hand that the grain harvested there will stay there, not be given to enemies. These foreign enemies will not drink the wine that was developed in Jerusalem. Instead the locals will gather the grapes and drink the wine in the holy courts at Jerusalem.

March 20, 2016

The power of love (Song 8:5-8:7)

Male lover

“Under the apple tree I awakened you.

There your mother was in labor with you.

There she who bore you was in labor.

Set me as a seal upon your heart.

Set me as a seal upon your arm.

Love is as strong as death.

Passion is as fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire.

It is a raging flame.

Many waters cannot quench love.

Neither can floods drown it.

If one offered for love

All the wealth of one’s house,

It would be utterly scorned.”

The male lover woke his lover up under the apple tree. He maintains that it was there that she was born from the labor of her mother. Now he wants his lover to bear his seal on her heart and on her arm. The seal was a sense of ownership. Then he went on to talk about the power of love. Love is just as strong as death. Passion is just as fierce as the grave. The love flashes of fire become a raging flame that no water can quench. Not even a flood can drown out love. If someone offers all the wealth they had, the lover would scorn it for his true love.