The lover of Christ becoming the moon and the sun indicates that she has become not only wholly spiritual but also absolutely heavenly and signifies that she has become an overcomer. In Song of Songs the lover of Christ eventually becomes a pillar of smoke (3:6); that is a figure showing that she is altogether spiritual. Then she becomes the moon and the sun, indicating that she is not only spiritual but also heavenly. As such a person, she has become an overcomer.
In Song of Songs the lover of Christ overcomes in stages. In the first stage of this book she overcomes the attraction of the world by being captivated by Christ. An overcomer should be attracted by Christ and even captivated by Him to give up the world to follow Him.
Then the lover of Christ overcomes the self which secluded her from the presence of Christ by becoming one with the cross of Christ in the second stage of this book. This stage is the stage of experiencing the cross to deal with our self.
In the third stage of this book the seeker of Christ goes further to overcome the old creation by living in the ascension of Christ in resurrection after her self was dealt with by the cross. The physical things of the world are a part of the old creation. A Christian who lives in the old creation cares for physical things, such as a big house, a nice car, and good clothes. If we desire the physical things of the world, we are living in the old creation. The old man cares for physical things, but we should be those who live in ascension as God’s new creation in resurrection. When the lover of Christ lives in ascension she has been dealt with in her self and has been dealt with by the Lord’s calling to live not only in ascension but also within the veil. To live within the veil means that she has dealt with everything that is not God. Within the veil there is nothing but the Triune God Himself.
In the final stage the overcomer overcomes the flesh, the natural man, the old man, by living within the veil. Eventually, when we enter into the Holy of Holies, God’s sanctuary, God’s dwelling place, there is nothing there but the Triune God. It is here that all the seekers of Christ enjoy the hidden Christ as the hidden manna (the hidden life supply), the budding rod (the resurrection life), and the tablets of the covenant (the inner law of life), hidden in the ark within the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:4), to the fullest extent. These hidden things are Christ’s attributes, which are the attributes of God. In the process of transformation, we are transformed with the Triune God’s attributes. God’s attributes are whatever God is. Transformation is to transform God’s attributes into our human virtues. The hidden manna in the golden pot is the Christ hidden in God’s divine nature; the budding rod is no longer manifested but hidden within the ark; and the tablets of the law are the hidden inner law, which is of life. These items refer to the highest, deepest, and most intrinsic experiences of Christ revealed in the holy Word. We must admit that we are short in our experience of these things.