King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon.
The scene turns from the bride to one object: a royal carriage that King Solomon built for himself out of Lebanon's cedar. Commentators read the carriage and its materials as a picture of Christ, and they apply its journey in more than one way.
Made by the King Himself
The emphasis falls on who made it. One writer carries that straight over to Christ:
Andrew MillerThe "bed" or "chariot" is the royal carriage. But notice especially that it is the King's own workmanship. "King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon." Christ provides everything, and prepares everything for His people. He leaves nothing for us to do, except to enter into what He has finished.
The materials as a portrait of Christ
Some translations call it a palanquin — a covered seat carried on poles. One writer reads each part of it as a truth about Christ:
Hamilton SmithIn the details of the palanquin do we not see set forth great truths about the Person of Christ — the support of our souls and the foundation of our faith? The cedar wood speaks of His perfect humanity, fragrant and incorruptible. The pillars of silver tell of His redeeming power. The gold speaks of His divine righteousness, and the purple of His royalty. The pavement of love speaks of divine love, the foundation of all. Love comes last: as someone has said, "There is something beyond gold, there is nothing beyond love."
Why cedar of Lebanon
The choice of wood is not incidental. Cedar was prized for lasting where other timber fails:
Early Church History / Song of Solomon studiesCedar of Lebanon is the symbol of stately, lofty, incorruptible glory. The cedars of Lebanon were hundreds of years old and cedar wood does not rot or decay like other wood.
The five materials read as one statement
Taken in order, the list builds an argument rather than a catalogue. The same study assembles them:
Early Church History / Song of Solomon studiesThe pillars, or supports, are of silver. Silver speaks of purity, and of the Word of God, and is also the symbol of redemption... So if you put this all together you get an incorruptible glory (cedar wood) and royal splendour (purple) founded upon redemption (silver), based upon divine righteousness (gold), and the Lord's love for His people.
Another writer goes part by part, and guards what the gold means:
William KellyThere was grace in the pillars of silver. The base of gold is divine righteousness — just as much for Israel as for us. It is never a question of man's righteousness at any time. The covering of purple suits a royal person. The middle is paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. I need not say that the groundwork of it all is love.
That same reading sets the scene in the future and on the ground: "It is anticipative: He is not yet come; but that is what He is to be when He comes for her... It is not at all the scene of one taken away into heaven. It is one coming — coming to the earth."
Carried through the wilderness
If the carriage belongs to the King, then the journey described in verse 6 — coming up out of the wilderness — is not made on foot and alone:
Hamilton SmithThe Church, too, has her wilderness journey — the time of her earthly pilgrimage — before she reaches the end in heavenly glory... The wilderness has its privileges as well as its privations. That is what the Song presents, for she makes the journey in the King's palanquin. What is more, the very privations become the occasion of calling out a sweet fragrance... The trials, the testings, and the privations of our wilderness journey, when taken from the hand of God, become the occasion of developing the graces of Christ.
Summary
- Made — the carriage is the King's own work. Christ prepares everything. His people need only enter what He has finished.
- Cedar — Lebanon's wood does not rot. It pictures an incorruptible glory, and Christ's perfect humanity.
- Silver and gold — the supports speak of redemption, the base of divine righteousness. That righteousness is God's, never man's, for Israel as for us.
- Purple — the covering marks royalty. Solomon is a faint picture of the Prince of Peace in His coming reign.
- Love — love paves the middle and grounds all the rest. There is something beyond gold, but nothing beyond love.