Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Your channel is 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 chief spices—
a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, February 4, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
And now for something completely different—from Jeremiah’s harangue of Israel’s abandonment of the fountain of living water to the Song of Solomon’s ascribing the metaphor of living water to a bride. There’s disagreement as to whether this is simply a love poem or an allegory for the relationship between God and humanity, but either way, it strikes me as odd to ascribe such a divine image—a well of living water—to a person, rather than God.
But then, this is all a metaphor. The lover is comparing the beloved to all the best that God’s creation has to offer, including God’s living water, the source of life. Sure, it’s over the top, but I don’t think the lover is equating the beloved with God, only acknowledging that the beloved is a sign of God’s love.
What things in my life do I see as signs of God’s abundant love?