for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.
The Bridegroom calls His bride out, and He gives her a reason: the season has changed. Behind the picture of spring lies the question commentators press — whose winter has ended?
The long winter of Israel
Commentators read these seasons as the seasons of a nation. The bride is Israel, and she repeats what her Beloved said to her while she waits.
William Kelly"My beloved spoke and said to me, Rise up, my love" — for this is meant to fill her heart with confidence in His love — "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For behold, the winter is past" — the long winter of Israel.
A winter that will not last
Many have written the nation off. One writer sets that idea beside what Scripture actually says.
Andrew MillerMany have thought and said that Israel's winter would last forever, and that no spring or summer would ever return for the cast-off nation. But no one ever learned such thoughts from the book of God. There we read in the plainest terms that in due time "He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root. Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." The warm beams of "the Sun of Righteousness" will chase away the gloom and barrenness of their long winter forever.
Cold, death, and the spring that ends them
The images that follow in the song show what the winter held back. One writer reads each detail as a sign that Christ's reign is about to begin.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe winter is past, the time of death and coldness; the rain is over, spring-time is at hand. The morning without clouds is breaking! Flowers appear; the birds begin their song; the cooing of the bird of love, the turtle dove, is heard. The fig tree also puts out its green figs — the once cursed fig tree bearing fruit as a nation again. The vines, too, begin to give tender grapes. Who cannot see in all these pictures that millennial times are about to begin!
One writer reads the verse against the two rainy seasons of that land, and traces Israel's winter back to its cause.
L. M. GrantThe early rain came in October and November, and the latter rain in March and April. Spiritually, there was an early rain for Israel when the Lord Jesus came in lowly grace to suffer and die on Calvary. But Israel was not even grateful for this and took no advantage of it. Since then she has been passing through the winter of cold unbelief toward her Messiah. That winter will reach its worst in the great tribulation. But the springtime, "the time of the singing of birds," will follow this long distress. Then the godly in Israel will be awakened to pray earnestly for the latter rain.
Spring arrives by degrees
The change comes like a thaw, not a switch. That is why the bride still needs faith.
Andrew MillerThe full blaze of millennial glory will clearly not burst all at once on the land of Israel and the nations. It will come by degrees, like winter passing away and spring and summer slowly arriving. So the bride needs faith. But He cheers her heart with the assurance that the day of her deliverance draws near. He wants her to know that His eye is on her, and that she should wait patiently.
Winter already broken at the resurrection
Another writer finds the turning point in the tomb. There winter ended, because there Christ destroyed the power of death.
Scripture QuarterlyWhen the blessed Lord Jesus went down into death to destroy the one who had the power of death, there was not a breath for God in the whole universe. Everything lay in death, in the grip of winter... So the blessed Lord rose out of death, having burst its iron gates and destroyed its power for ever. In His resurrection there is the dawn of a new day, life from the dead. The winter is past and gone, the time of the singing of birds is come.
The same call to the waiting believer
Commentators differ on where the verse lands. One writer applies the same words to Christians now, waiting through their own winter for His call.
Hamilton SmithThe waiting-time has been long — the patience of Christ. But before He went He said, "I will come again and receive you to Myself." Soon, very soon, the winter-time will be past and the waiting-time will be over. He will come to fetch His bride, and we shall hear His call, "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away!"
Summary
- Winter named. The season stands for cold and death. For Israel it set in when she took no advantage of the early rain — Christ's coming in lowly grace — and it grows harshest in the great tribulation.
- Winter denied. Many said the season would never end for a cast-off nation. Scripture answers that Jacob will take root, blossom, and fill the world with fruit.
- Winter broken. One writer places the turning point at the resurrection. Christ went down into the grip of death and rose again, and a new day dawned.
- Winter thawing. The glory does not arrive all at once. It comes by degrees, like spring after winter, so the bride needs faith and patient waiting.
- Winter ending. Commentators differ on the use of the verse. Some apply it to Israel's deliverance. Others hear the same voice calling waiting believers away.