8 “[j]We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts;
What shall we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for?
9 “If she is a wall,
We will build on her a battlement of silver;
But if she is a door,
We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”10 “[k]I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers;
Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.
11 “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers.
Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
12 “My very own vineyard is [l]at my disposal;
The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”13 “[m]O you who sit in the gardens,
My companions are listening for your voice—
Let me hear it!”14 “[n][o]Hurry, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle or a young [p]stag
On the mountains of spices.”
We hear now, for the first time, from the brothers of the bride. The story goes back to the marriage proposal (or earlier), with the brothers involved, and Solomon offering a vineyard to his bride. At any rate, the brothers are nearly offensive with, “We have a little sister, and she has no breasts…” It doesn’t seem a very nice thing to say, but they are all likely older, and still see her as just a little kid. Or, because it is a flashback, she may have been a mere child at the time.
Any any rate, it may surprise them that someone is “speaking for” their sister, but they are prepared to protect her honor. “If she is a wall”, which I think speaks to her being difficult to win over, then they will adorn her with silver. In this way, her suitor will not be scared away. “But if she is a door”, that is, too eager and reckless, then they will barricade said door. Yet, they will do it with cedar planks, so that the value within will be obvious.
Indeed she was a wall (v. 10), and it seems she had some trepidation at the thought of marriage. However, when she met Solomon, she found peace. I could be wrong about this next part, as some commentaries think the bride’s vineyard represented the bride herself. But then why speak of Solomon’s vineyards being worth a thousand shekels?
Instead, I think this vineyard was given to the bride as her dowry, and thus she saw the high value he placed upon her, a thousand shekels of silver. This was many times the normal amount, and so she gladly gives herself in return, knowing that Solomon treasures her immensely.
On both sides then, this woman is of great value, and worth protecting. Despite what some might say, the Bible does not demean women. Yes, some in that culture would have done so, no different than today. And probably less, since God’s law penalized rape with death, and required a man to pay 5 years’ wages if he got things out of order (consensual sex before marriage). Note, that was still 20x less than the value Solomon placed on his bride.
Ultimately, there is no amount of money that can fix the price of any individual, but they had a system back then, and it’s how things were done–and are still done today in some cultures. God paid the ultimate price for his bride, the death of his one and only Son, because he values us much like (and more than) the bride of Solomon. Do we see others with that kind of value? How about our spouses, and family?
We should, and it is a challenge to us all to remember the price God paid to redeem us, and our neighbor, and the politician we don’t like, or those we disagree with. Instead of degrading each other, we should build each other up, like the noble brothers in this passage, and with the care and attention that Solomon showed. Anything less is to deny what God has done for us, to deny the cross that cost our Savior everything. That is how much he loves us, and the love that he calls each of us to have for each other.
Jesus said it best, “by this all men will know you are my disciples, that you love one another.” Not an easy task, but His command nonetheless.