Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost its young.
In chapter 4 the King describes His bride feature by feature. The second feature He names is her teeth. Why teeth? And what does a flock of shorn, washed, twin-bearing sheep say about the one Christ loves?
Words spoken by the Bridegroom
The description is not the bride's estimate of herself. It is what the King says about her. One writer shows why that matters for our own peace.
Hamilton SmithThe bride loves to speak to others about the glories of the King. But it is His joy to tell the bride what He thinks of her. Telling others about the glories of Christ is a blessing. Yet if our hearts are to be settled in solid peace and joy, we must hear from Christ's own lips what He thinks of His people.
The picture taken apart
Each clause of the comparison carries its own weight — the shearing, the washing, the matching pairs, the absence of any gap. Older translations read the last line as "none is barren among them," while the ESV has "not one among them has lost its young."
Andrew MillerIn sheep that are evenly shorn, the extra covering of nature is gone — everything is regular and even. "Coming up from the washing" — cleanness, whiteness. The fountain that takes away all uncleanness has washed them. The upper and lower rows match. They are "twins." "None is barren among them" — nothing is missing. The bride can now eat the bread of life. She is fully grown. The risen, exalted, glorified and coming Messiah is the food and nourishment of her soul. In the Lord's sight there is evenness, purity, fruitfulness, nothing lacking in the one He loves.
Teeth for feeding, not for tearing
Teeth can tear, or they can feed. Comparing the bride's teeth to a flock of sheep shows which use God intends.
The Song of SolomonOnly wild beasts use their teeth to tear their prey… But a Christian should never use his mouth to snap at others, to talk them down behind their backs, or to wound with sharp, cutting words. The natural heart finds it easy, and often does it carelessly, without a thought… God never meant His children to use their mouth that way. He gave them teeth so they may feed on the gospel feast that God has spread for them.
Shorn and washed
Before the verse speaks of fruit, it says two things about the flock: the sheep are shorn, and they come up from the washing. One writer explains the shearing through the picture of the leper's hair.
The Song of SolomonHair grows on the surface, but its roots are deep within. So the leper's hair pictures the actions that spring from the corrupt nature inside. Shaving the hair pictures cutting those actions off, by taking the sharp razor of self-judgment to ourselves… If we keep going on with actions and ways that spring from our old corrupt nature, we cannot enjoy Christ.
Self-judgment needs a standard. The washing supplies it.
The Song of SolomonWashing with water is a picture of applying the Word of God to ourselves in a practical way. How can anyone shave the hair — get rid of the ways and actions that spring from the old corrupt nature — unless he knows what is of God and what is of the old nature? And where can he learn that, except in the Word of God?
Twins, and nothing missing
The flock is not just clean; it is fruitful, every ewe bearing two. That detail tests what our reading of Scripture produces.
The Song of SolomonWe must not only keep our way clean by paying attention to God's Word (Ps. 119:9). We must also take the Word so deeply into our hearts that it bears fruit in our lives. If our knowledge of God's Word stays in the head only, and we remain barren and unfruitful, we will not enjoy feeding on Christ.
Said once, and said again
Almost the same words come back in chapter 6 — but by then the bride has wandered and been restored. Miller asks why the Spirit repeats them.
Andrew MillerHe repeats to her what He said before. In this way He assures her heart that her beauty in His sight is unspoiled. He says nothing about her having been away from Him. Yet these words of unchanged admiration now take a deeper hold on her heart than before. The circumstances in which He repeats them make them seven times more precious.
Summary
- Shorn — self-judgment cuts off the ways that spring from the old corrupt nature.
- Washed — cleanness comes by the Word, which alone tells us what is of God and what is not.
- Twin-bearing — the Word absorbed must produce fruit; head knowledge leaves the flock barren.
- Feeding — teeth exist to eat the gospel feast, not to bite and wound with cutting words.
- Unchanged — He repeats the same praise after she wanders, so we hear from His own lips that nothing is lacking in the one He loves.