Am I hovering over the 1Corinthians 13 of the Old Testament? Hmm . . . could be.

Guess it shouldn’t be surprising that a song written to tell a grand love story will eventually try and define love. While love for sure is better felt than tell’t, it makes sense, at some point, to try to paint a picture of the prevailing dynamic between a beloved and his bride. Think I came to that point this morning as I continue reading in the Song of Solomon. And I guess I also shouldn’t be surprised that when it comes to trying to connect to the nature of love the LORD’s name is invoked — after all, “God is love” (1Jn. 4:8, 16).

. . . for love is strong as death,
       jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
       the very flame of the LORD.
Many waters cannot quench love,
       neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house,
       he would be utterly despised.

(Song of Solomon 8:6b-7 ESV)

The very flame of the LORD . . . a flame of YAH . . . that’s the phrase that caught my attention this morning. Stands out because it’s the first and only mention of God in this song, and that only if you’re reading in the ESV or NASB (in other translations it will be found in the margin as an alternate reading).

So, to chew on the preoccupation, passion, and pursuit of love which is presented in the Song is to appreciate in some measure the very flame of the LORD. When God says to His people, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3), Solomon’s song can give us a picture of what everlasting love looks like.

The very flame of the LORD is as mighty and fierce and unrelenting as death which cannot be denied. It’s ardency, zeal, and passion are like the grave which won’t take no for an answer. Its pursuit is not to be denied, its target surely to be taken.

The very flame of the LORD is unquenchable. Oceans cannot extinguish it. Mighty streams and raging rivers cannot wash it away. It burns not only intensely, but it also burns forever. Its fire is always and never less than “a most vehement flame” (NKJV). Love never ends (1Cor. 13:8). It never fails (NKJV).

The worth of the very flame of the LORD? Inestimable! Any price tendered in hopes of purchasing it is an insulting offer. The only way to attain it is to be gifted it.

Who can adequately describe the very flame of the LORD?

Could we with ink the ocean fill
and were the skies of parchment made,
were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill
and ev’ry man a scribe by trade,
to write the love of God above
would drain the ocean dry;
nor could the scroll contain the whole,
tho’ stretched from sky to sky.
~ The Love of God, Frederick M. Lehman (1917) ~

The very flame of the LORD . . .

Known only through His grace. Delighted in always for His glory.