The lily of the valley is mentioned in Song of Solomon 2:1 which says, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” This verse is part of a love poem describing the loving relationship between a bride and bridegroom. In this verse, the bride is speaking and referring to herself as “a lily of the valleys.” Let’s explore what this means.
The Setting of Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon is a book of the Bible that depicts the love and sexual intimacy between a husband and wife. It takes the form of a poetic dialogue between the two lovers. The song extols the beauty of romantic and marital love. Many interpret Song of Solomon as an allegory for God’s love for Israel or Christ’s love for the Church. However, the plain meaning of the text depicts romantic intimacy in marriage.
Song of Solomon provides a biblical perspective on the joys of physical love between husband and wife. Some key themes in the book include the exclusivity of marital love, waiting until the wedding to consummate the marriage, and the joy and pleasure of sexual intimacy in marriage. Overall, the Song of Solomon provides a beautiful picture of God’s design for love, romance, and marriage.
Meaning of “Lily of the Valley”
In Song of Solomon 2:1, the poetic imagery and loving words communicate the bride’s beauty. By calling herself a “lily of the valleys,” the bride is using poetic metaphor to describe her loveliness. What exactly does this phrase mean?
Lily
The lily was known in ancient Israel as a beautiful flower that grows in the wilderness or valley regions. The word “lily” evokes imagery of delicate beauty, purity, and loveliness. As a flower that grows in the valleys, the lily may also represent the humility of the bride.
Valley
The “valley” represents a low, humble place as opposed to a mountain height. The bride comparing herself to a valley lily communicates her modesty and humility. As a lily growing in the valley, she does not exalt herself but takes a lowly position.
Overall Meaning
By connecting herself to the lily growing humbly in the valley, the bride communicates that though she knows she is beautiful, she is not prideful about it. Her beauty is natural and effortless like the lily. She is lovely to behold but does not flaunt her beauty like a showy flower. She is willing to take a humble position like a lily in the valley.
The bride’s likening of herself to a lily of the valley communicates her natural beauty, purity, humility, and willingness to take a low position – all qualities that make her a beautiful bride ready for marriage.
Features of the Lily Flower
To further understand why the bride would compare herself to a lily of the valley, let’s explore some key features of the actual lily flower:
Beautiful appearance
Lily flowers have a gorgeous appearance with delicate petals, vibrant colors, and a pleasing fragrance. They are prized for their beauty. As the bride calls herself a lily, she signals she has a natural beauty pleasing to the eye.
Purity and innocence
The white color of many lily varieties symbolizes purity and innocence. As a lily, the bride possesses virtuous character.
Feminine qualities
The lily evokes feminine qualities of grace, tenderness, and gentleness. As a lily, the bride exemplifies admirable femininity.
Growing in valleys
As mentioned, the lily grows in valleys rather than lofty heights. This denotes the bride’s humility and low position.
Temporary glory
A lily flower’s bloom is short-lived – it arrives for a season and then withers. Calling herself a lily symbolizes the bride does not exalt in her own glory but holds a temporary role as the beauty in blossom.
In summary, the lily of the valley represents the bride’s pure inner and outer beauty, feminine virtues, lowliness in position, and temporary exalted state for her wedding season. All perfectly pictures why she refers to herself this way on her wedding day.
How the Bridegroom Views the Bride
While the bride humbly compares herself to a valley lily, the bridegroom elevates his view of her. Throughout Song of Solomon, he showers her with praise, admiring her beauty from head to toe. Here’s how the bridegroom describes the bride:
“You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” (Song of Solomon 4:7)
“Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.” (Song of Solomon 1:10)
“Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit.” (Song of Solomon 7:7-8)
“You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes.” (Song of Solomon 4:9)
The bridegroom makes clear that to him, she is the most beautiful woman in the world. He admires every part of her and sings praises of her loveliness. Though the bride considers herself a humble valley lily, to her beloved groom she is a queen, a paradise, a jewel without flaw, and the only one who has captured his heart.
New Testament Connection
The symbolic language in Song of Solomon finds its ultimate meaning in Christ, the heavenly bridegroom, and the Church, his pure bride.
The Church is portrayed in Scripture as the pure, spotless bride of Christ:
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)
Though imperfect, the Church is cleansed, purified, and presented by Christ as a radiant, beautiful bride. Like the lily of the valley, the Church is humble, lovely, and set apart for her groom in purity.
One day the marriage of the Lamb will come and his bride will dwell with him forever:
“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7)
The lily of the valley ultimately points to the great wedding day when Christ will be united fully to his pure and beautiful bride, the Church! What a glorious day that will be.
The Prominence of Flowers in the Song of Solomon
Besides the lily of the valleys, Song of Solomon contains many references to flowers and plants. The floral imagery emphasizes beauty, delight, and intimacy. Consider these examples:
“My beloved has gone down to his garden to the beds of spices, to graze in the gardens and to gather lilies. I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies.” (Song of Solomon 6:2-3)
“My sister, my bride, is a garden locked up, a garden locked up, a fountain locked up. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all choice spices—a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon.” (Song of Solomon 4:12-15)
“Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits.” (Song of Solomon 4:16)
The garden and flower metaphors convey the romantic intimacy the couple will enjoy. They can delight in each other’s beauty and partake of the joys of love. The floral images communicate beauty, joy, and reciprocal delight.
The Botanical Identity of the Lily of the Valley
The phrase “lily of the valley” occurs only once in Scripture, in Song of Solomon 2:1. Trying to determine the exact botanical identity of this flower involves speculation since Scripture provides no details. Here are the top contenders:
Lilium convallium
This flower in the lily family sports a bell shape, potent fragrance, and white petals emerging from two heart-shaped leaves. It grows in valleys and ravines. Many believe the bride’s poetic reference matches this blooming plant.
Fritillaria
Also known as fritillary, several species grow wild in the Middle East and feature nodding, bell-shaped flowers. This flower fits the humble valley description.
Crocus
Various crocus species produce blossoms in vivid colors like purple, yellow, and white. They grow low to the ground and commonly blanket valleys and meadows. The bright yet delicate crocus could represent the beautiful yet humble bride.
While the exact species remains unknown, clearly the lily of the valley refers to a flower of stunning beauty growing modestly in a low valley. Its humble location does not diminish its admiring magnificence.
Symbolic Meaning of Lilies in General
Though the Bible mentions lilies in several places, the single reference in Song of Solomon provides the most detail. However, we can draw symbolic meaning about lilies in general from other scriptural references:
Beauty and glory
In Matthew 6:28, Jesus spoke of the lilies’ glory surpassing Solomon’s splendor. The exquisite beauty of lilies is emphasized.
Life’s brevity
In Matthew 6:28, Jesus also mentioned how quickly lilies in the field perish. The short-lived nature of lilies symbolizes the fleeting transience of earthly life and glory.
Faith over anxiety
In Luke 12:27, Jesus pointed to lilies to illustrate how God cares even for transient flowers, so we do not need to be filled with worry and anxiety. Lilies model dependence on God’s provision.
Purity and innocence
Their white color, delicate form, and gentle face present lilies as symbols of stainless purity and innocence.
Medicinal use
Lilies were used in ancient regimes to treat various ailments. They became known as having healing properties.
In summary, lilies in the Bible generally represent beauty, purity, medicinal value, and the transient nature of life. We can apply such symbolism to better understand the lily of the valley reference in Song of Solomon.
Application of the Lily of the Valley for Believers
In light of the biblical meaning of the lily of the valley, what can Christians learn from this phrase and apply to life?
Value inner beauty
The humble valley lily’s stunning appearance reminds us that inner beauty matters more than outward display. A pure heart is precious to God (1 Peter 3:3-4).
Cultivate modesty and humility
Positioning itself low in the valley, the lily displayed modesty. It did not proudly elevate itself. Let us similarly take on humility, considering others above ourselves (Philippians 2:3).
Appreciate the beauty of intimacy in marriage
The loving intimacy between the bride and groom in Song of Solomon models God’s good design for marital relations. The beauty of conjugal love is to be celebrated in its proper place.
Remember the brevity of life
As flowers quickly fade, our life on earth is but a vapor (James 4:14). May this lead us to number our days rightly and make the most of our fleeting time here.
Trust God’s provision and care
Jesus pointed to transient lilies to exemplify total dependence on God. We can set aside worry and trust God cares for us even more than flowers (Luke 12:27-28).
May the lily of the valley enrich our understanding of biblical intimacy, inner beauty, humility, the value of marriage, life’s brevity, and trusting God’s provision. May the truths buried in this poetic reference blossom in our lives.
The Beauty of Biblical Imagery
The Song of Solomon contains some of the most captivating imagery in Scripture. The lily of the valley stands out as one prominent example. Though a short poetic verse, it encapsulates rich truths about intimacy, beauty, virtue, and the brevity of life when properly understood.
The Bible brims with visual imagery because the God who inspired Scripture also created our eyes. Jesus taught in parables packed with word pictures from everyday life. God knows we comprehend truth better when it appeals to our senses. Poetic descriptions like the lily of the valley beautifully convey biblical truth in tangible ways.
When we encounter imagery in the Bible, may we pause to ponder, visualize, and ask God to open our eyes to grasp the multi-layered meanings conveyed through creative metaphors. For embedded in poetic phrases lies wisdom for living. The lily of the valley in Song of Solomon represents just one example of the kind of spiritual treasure God has hidden in imagery throughout Scripture. May we diligently search it out!
The Enduring Appeal of Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon’s depiction of romantic, marital love has inspired readers for centuries. Beyond just poetry exalting human intimacy, generations have uncovered spiritual meanings in the book that point to divine love.
For Jewish readers, the Song of Solomon became associated with God’s love for Israel. The bond between Yahweh and his chosen people could be seen mirrored in the loving couple Solomon portrayed.
Later, Christians identified the bride and bridegroom as representations of Christ and the Church. The intimate love relationship between Jesus and his people gets artsically illustrated in this Old Testament book.
Beyond Jewish and Christian applications, the Song of Solomon has endured as one of the most cherished books of the Bible because it affirms the goodness of love, romance, and sexuality within marriage. In a book brimming with metaphors, readers have delighted to find their closest human relationships infused with new meaning.
At its core, the Song of Solomon is a ballad glorifying marital intimacy. But woven throughout its verses lie gems of wisdom, beauty, and godly living. Like the memorable lily of the valleys, each phrase invites us to pause, ponder, and ask Spirit of God to instruct our hearts. For in the pages of God’s word lie treasures waiting to be discovered. May we perpetually study the Scriptures – even its most poetic parts – sensing there is always more for us to unearth, just like the enduring riches we find in the lily of the valley.