Song of Solomon: My Dove with Dove's Eyes

The first place in Song of Solomon we hear the expression "doves' eyes" is in Songs 1:15.  The theme of the dove is prevalent throughout this book: 

"Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold thou art fair, thou hast dove's eyes."

I did some general study on doves, and it would seem the accepted explanation of this verse is that doves have binocular vision.  This means they can only focus on one thing at a time.  Usually, it is their mate.  Because of this, they have the nickname "love birds."  If you've ever seen a mated pair of doves, what one does, the other does.  They are always watching each other.  It's amazing to witness.  I had the privilege to have a pair of mourning doves in my backyard for a few days.  They sat on the fence together.  They alighted on the ground together.  And they took wing together.  It was as if they were coordinated to synchronize their movements.  

Given that the Beloved (Yeshua) speaks of His love's eyes being like doves' eyes seems to allude to the fact that she only has eyes for Him.  She moves when He moves.  She does what she sees Him doing.  She does not turn or get distracted.  He is the only One she sees.  She does not waver nor turn from her purpose - to follow her Beloved wherever He might lead.

Surely this is a part of the meaning of the "doves' eyes" in Songs.  However, the Beloved also calls His love "My dove", which has a different meaning than having only "doves' eyes."  

Consider Songs 2:14.  In this verse, He calls her "My dove", which means He sees not only her eyes, but HERSELF as the dove:

"O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely."

If we skip a few chapters, we come to Songs 5:12.  In this verse, the woman is explaining why her Beloved is the "chiefest among ten thousand."  She describes HIM as having "doves' eyes":

"His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set."

 

In the context of the woman having doves' eyes, here, we see the Beloved has them too!  He sees only her.  He loves her individually.  She is His everything.  The one He longs after.  We see this idea take root in Songs 6:9:

"My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her." 

The Beloved is saying here that she is the ONLY one of her mother, the choice one of her that bare her.  This woman, in other words, is like the only daughter of her mother.  The choice of her mother, her favorite.  The one she doted upon and lavished all her love.  There is no other woman like this daughter.  We learned from the previous study about lilies, that the Beloved's love is as a lily among thorns.  She is the choice flower in the garden.  Therefore, Yeshua has eyes for only her.  

This is a marvelous truth to realize.  Most folks believe Christ died "for the world."  And while that's true, the narrow gate into Heaven is single-file.  Our atonement to God is a life for a life.  Our life for the life of the Son of God.  Therefore, we each come to Him one at a time.  We are each one-of-a-kind.  And because we are unique, we can EACH say with confidence, "I am Yeshua's favorite."  

 

Now, there is another way of thinking about "doves' eyes."  As stated in my previous study, the Song of Solomon is generally seen as allegory between Christ and His Church.  We know the true Bride of Christ is born again and indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  And what is the symbol of the Holy Spirit?  A dove.  

With the eyes as the "window to the soul", when the Beloved looks into the eyes of the one He loves, He sees His Spirit gazing back at Him.  She "ravishes His heart with just one glance of her eye" (Songs 4:9).  The Beauty of the Spirit is clearly evident within her, and her purity is without question.  At the beginning of the book, she tells the Beloved not to look upon her because she is black (Songs 1:5-6).  This is because at the beginning of Songs, she isn't yet covered by the righteousness of Yeshua.  Later in the book, however, the Beloved describes her as having a belly "set about by lilies" and a "neck as a tower of ivory" (Songs 7:2-4).  Therefore, being "black" has nothing to do with skin tone and everything to do with being dead in sin -- UNTIL the Beloved makes her "AS the Lily" in (Songs 2:1-2).

Therefore, not only would she be outwardly righteous (neck as ivory) but inwardly righteous as well (doves' eyes).  

There is one more verse I want to share about the dove that I believe God gave me some insight on.  It is Songs 5:2:

"I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night."

Here, we have the Beloved knocking to wake His love.  I firmly believe no one can love God in the way outlined in Song of Solomon until Love so desires (Songs 8:4).  Until you ask God to draw you into a deeper, more intimate love with Him, this level of communion with Him will be foreign to you.  Therefore, in this verse, Christ is knocking on the door of her heart...  Much like He knocks in Revelation 3:20.  

We know it is Christ speaking in this verse for a few reasons.  First, He calls His love His "sister."  This isn't some thumbs-up for incest, no.  Christ is our "Brother in the flesh."  Therefore, when you call Christ your "Brother", it is because God condescended to be born in this world as a baby and live a pure life.  Yeshua, therefore, is our Brother.  He is also our "Love."  He left the Throne of Heaven just to prove it.  Again, He calls His love "My dove", but then goes on to talk about... dew?  Huh?

The last part of this verse didn't make sense to me.  So I asked the Lord about it.  I didn't get an immediate answer.  I've been reading through the book of Proverbs and I came across Proverbs 19:12 which states: 

"The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass."

That stood out at me because I'd remembered the weird dew in Songs.  I know there's no "idle word" in Scripture.  So I sat up and took notice.  Suddenly I was piqued to find out what was so special about "dew."  In Proverbs, it would seem God's favor is like the dew.  Okay.  Does that mean the Beloved has God's favor?  Yes.  It does.  But it goes deeper.

Doing a search for "dew" in Scripture I came across a remarkable verse in Exodus 16:13-15:

And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

 

And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

WHAT?!  MANNA came with the dew!  (I knew that, but I didn't put it together until God opened my understanding.)  After it was pointed out to me that manna came with the dew, it wasn't too hard for me to connect the dots back to Christ.  Manna is the bread from Heaven, and yet Yeshua says that HE is the TRUE Bread from Heaven in John 6:32-33.  

Therefore, was the Beloved taking ME on a rabbit trail that led back... to HIM?  I think so!  Because the Beloved in Songs speaks of His head being full of dew, that means a few things -- first, He has the "fullness" of God's favor.  Not only is He full, but it is His HEAD that is full, and Christ is the Head of the Church.  We know, obviously, that the Son of God has the Father's full favor.  

However, my digging wasn't finished.  "Dew" is also compared to resurrection!  In Isaiah 26:19, it states: 

"Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light,
    and the earth will give birth to the dead."

Now, going back to Songs, Christ is clearly alluding to HIMSELF with the very dew in and on His head!  No word is idle in the Word of God.  Not only does the Beloved have the full favor of God, but He comes with the dew, as manna - the Bread from Heaven.  And also, with Him, comes the resurrection.  It makes one wonder, when His love answers in the next verse (Songs 5:3) and says:

"I had put off my garment;
    how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet;
    how could I soil them?"

Is the "garment" she put off her flesh?  Would "soiling her feet" be her confusion as to how her now-pure soul can be returned into her "sleeping" (ie. dead) flesh?  Is Songs talking about the dead being glorified at the Resurrection?  It's no surprise to me if it is.  The language of "Arise, my Love, and come away..." (Songs 2:10) is Rapture verbiage if I ever heard it.  

I just love how PACKED this little book is with gems!  There are many more themes - the spices - the garden - the wine - the apple tree - the young stag... it's a very deep well of treasure.  Keep digging in this gold mine and see what you can find with the themes I've suggested.  

And yet there's even more!  Rapture.  Sealing of the Holy Spirit.  The Second Coming.  Seeking God.  Seeing Yeshua as Altogether Lovely.  Intimacy with Him as the Lover of your soul.  

Charles Spurgeon once called the Song of Solomon the "Holy of Holies" of the Bible.  I daresay he was right.  Songs is sacred ground.  Most Christians don't understand it.  Even more don't want to touch it.  Many think it's blasphemous to view Christ in this light.  Some wonder if we're reading too much into it.  Some think it's a manual for intimacy between an earthly husband and wife.  One thing's for sure.  It is intriguing, and absolutely fascinating.  

May my love for my God forever be this deep and this pure.  May I yearn for Him, have a passion for Him, adore Him and stand in awe of Him for the rest of my days.  Yeshua, You are My Beloved ... and I am Yours.  

~~Becka