Song of Songs is a romance of Christ with His elect, written as poetry. Let us review the crucial points, or “crystals,” which we have covered thus far. First, there is the initial pursuit by the lover. Second, the lover is brought into the inner chamber of fellowship. Third, the lover is directed to enter into the proper church life. Then in the church life there is the transformation to transform us, the saved ones, absolutely in the divine life, making us the new creation. Fifth, there is the mutual gain and enjoyment of Christ and His lovers. Sixth, Christ calls His successful pursuer to go to the cross that the self might be broken and the natural man might be terminated. Seventh, the lover of Christ is brought into the full realization of the flourishing riches of the resurrection of Christ by which she is encouraged and empowered. This corresponds with Philippians 3:10—to be conformed to Christ’s death by the power of His resurrection. After passing through the above stages, the lover of Christ is worthy of God’s economy. At this juncture she is seen as one who is moving with God and united with Christ. We may talk about God’s economy and yet not be in it because we are not the proper kind of persons.
Song of Songs 3:6 says, “Who is she who comes up from the wilderness / Like pillars of smoke?” Such an illustration is used only twice in the entire Bible. Exodus 14 refers to God as the pillar of cloud who brought Israel out of Egypt unto Himself for the fulfillment of His economy. Now in Song of Songs the seeker of Christ has become like a pillar of smoke. She is spiritual and steady, unshakable, so she is qualified to move with God.
After this vision, Song of Songs presents two other signs of the lover of Christ. One is the bed in the night during the wartime (3:7-8). The other is the palanquin in the day for the celebration of the victory from the war (vv. 9-10). Following this there is a call for the daughters of Jerusalem to come to see Solomon in his bridal love (v. 11).
At this point the seeker of Christ has passed through the cross and entered into resurrection. In resurrection she has been transformed to be a spiritual person, not a physical person; she is like smoke, but she is a pillar that can stand on the earth touching the heavens. In experience she has become God. This is the experience of God becoming man that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead. She is a spiritual person standing on the earth as a ladder, bringing heaven to earth and joining earth to heaven (Gen. 28:12; John 1:51). The heaven needs her and the earth also needs her. All of Christ’s believers, His members, should be like Him. He is the pillar, the ladder, that brings heaven to earth and joins earth to heaven. We should be the same. We should be unshakable and spiritual like God, who is Spirit.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” Paul was qualified to be such a pillar. When we study Paul’s Epistles, we sense that this man was just like God. He was a spiritual man, not a natural, soulish man, nor a fleshly or fleshy man. Because he was such a person, like God, he was the only writer of the New Testament to touch the economy of God. In 1 Timothy 1:3-4 he exhorted Timothy to charge certain ones not to teach different things from God’s economy. Then in Ephesians 1:10 he said that in the economy of the fullness of the times, all things would be headed up in Christ. In Ephesians 3:8-9 he also said that he had been charged to announce the unsearchable riches of Christ to the nations and to enlighten all to see God’s economy.