God’s Word for You

Song of Solomon 6:6-7 Teeth, baptism and pomegranates

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, June 30, 2024

6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
  coming up from the washing.
  Each has its twin,
  not one of them is left alone.
7 Your temples behind your veil
  are like the halves of a pomegranate.

This is an echo of a longer passage (4:2-3) which is likewise a description of the bride’s teeth and face. We noted then that sheep, wet from the washing and walking in pairs, might well remind a man of his bride’s pretty white smile. None of the sheep are missing, each walks with her twin, and the wife’s smile is not missing any teeth. Readers who have lost a tooth or two will of course be comforted that in the resurrection, our physical defects will all be healed, and all teeth will be restored along with everything else. For where there is perfect spiritual healing, perfect physical healing is a minor additional gift—it is merely the bow on the wrapping.

The repetition has an important purpose in the Song. He said all this about her once, and now he says it all again, and he still means it. It is like a moment that is burned into my memory from the late 1960s. I was eating lunch in my grandparent’s apartment when out of the blue, my grandfather looked across at his wife and said, “Rose, you’re as beautiful today as the day I married you.” He was not a man who was very free with compliments, and I never forgot it. I was just the little kid at the table with them, but here I am, remembering and applying those words to your marriage and to our faith. The husband’s love is unchanged as his wife grows old. If he sees a wrinkle crease her cheek, he is joyful that he has been blessed to see her pretty face ever since they were young, like a man who has seen all the phases of the moon. His wife’s face is the same face, and shared with him in all its beauty for their whole marvelous marriage together. God’s love is the same for us, unchanged and unchanging.

The washing of the flock of God cannot be read or pondered without thinking of baptism. And so why not think of baptism, and remind ourselves quickly of all its meaning and blessings?

What does baptism mean for us?

“We were buried with Christ through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). Baptism means that we will rise from the dead on the last day and live forever because we have had our sins washed away.

What does the word “baptize” mean?

It is a Greek word meaning “to wash,” by whatever means, just as we wash the dishes or the furniture when it needs cleaning. For Mark uses this word when he describes both physical and ceremonial washing, and also “the washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles, as well as dining couches” (Mark 7:3-4). Therefore “baptize” means to wash with water, but does not suggest any particular method of that washing.

What is a Christian baptism?

It is the washing of sins with water and the word, commanded first to John the Baptist by God himself. For John says that “the one who sent me to baptize with water” also told him that the Spirit would come down and remain upon the Messiah (John 1:33). Jesus commanded this same baptism, with water and the word of God, be done by the whole church for the rest of time in order to make disciples of many nations (Matthew 28:19-20).

What does baptism give?

It gives forgiveness of sins and eternal life (“Whoever is baptized shall be saved,” Mark 16:16), and it also creates faith in the heart where there once was no faith. For “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Where one is clothed in Christ, there is faith, for the one is not possible without the other. And to be baptized is to be given all of the benefits of faith.

How can baptism do this?

“Baptism,” Peter says, “saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). It is the power of God in the word of God that does this for the baptized.

What is required for a baptism?

Water of any kind, and the word of God. The word of God is the name of God, which is commanded by Jesus: “The name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). That water is also required is inherent in the word “baptize” and is shown throughout the Scriptures. “They came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’” (Acts 8:36)

Who may baptize?

Pastors have a divine call to baptize as well as to teach and preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2; Matthew 28:19). But in an emergency, anyone may baptize, provided there is water applied and the word of God (that is, the name of the triune God) is spoken. “Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him” (Acts 8:38).

Who should and who may be baptized?

Baptism should not be withheld from anyone who wishes it, nor even from our own little children after they are born. Jesus commanded baptism for “all nations” (Matthew 28:19). And Peter said at Pentecost that the blessing of baptism in particular, the forgiveness of your sins, is a promise “for you and for your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39). Therefore there is no hedge around baptism; it is for anyone and for everyone (see also Colossians 2:11-12).

Shouldn’t children make a decision to be baptized?

There is no passage that says this. Just as circumcision was done to baby boys in Israel when they were eight days old (Leviticus 12:3; Philippians 3:5), so also little babies need baptism since they are sinful and in need of baptism (Psalm 51:5). And little ones can believe Jesus: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). Anyone who withholds baptism from a little child does so at their own great peril, even when this is done in ignorance, since “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). And the prophet warns: “Why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they sinned…” (Jeremiah 5:7).

How often should we be baptized?

Once. As Paul says to Titus: “There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).

What blessings follow baptism?

Baptism gives the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), deliverance from death and the devil (Hebrews 2:14-15), and it gives eternal salvation to all who believe this (Titus 3:5-7). This is the summary of baptism.

Returning to our passage in the Song, verse 7 once again mentions the wife’s pretty face (cheeks or temples) and the halves of a pomegranate. The pomegranate is a fruit that does not have a few seeds or pips, but it is full of them. So while there is a touch of delight in her red rosy cheeks in this comparison, there is also the delight that the husband has that through his wife’s body there is also the potential for many children and descendants in the generations to come. “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (Psalm 127:4-5).

Share your faith with your children, and with their children. They are the treasure you will enjoy in eternal life. In this lifetime, the way that you share your faith is how you let your light shine before men (Matthew 5:16).

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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