God’s Love; God’s Power

The Song of Songs is the story, told through dialogue like a play in the theatre, of the love relationship between a young woman and a shepherd. It is a picture of the relationship that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, longs to have with each and every believer. In today’s verse, the woman asks the shepherd to place her over his heart and on his arm ‘like a seal’.

If the heart represents a person’s inner being and emotions, then the arm represents physical strength and active power.

The seal was, in ancient Israel, a mark of ownership. In Exodus 28 we read about the ‘seals’, one for each of the tribes of Israel, that the High Priest carried on the shoulder pieces of the ephod: ‘Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breast-piece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord’ (Exodus 28:29). He was declaring that the people he represented, as he interceded for them, belonged to God. As believers, we belong to God, and Jesus, our Great High Priest, bears our names on His heart of love and arm of power as He intercedes for us before the throne of God.

In the world today we often see two things that are the root cause of much harm: loveless power and powerless love. The great thing about God’s love is that it is unbreakably linked to His power.

In biblical times, someone’s seal was very precious, so was always carried on their person as a signet ring, or on a chain round the neck. Wherever the owner went, the seal went too. Jesus, our Great High Priest, carries our names ‘like a seal over His heart and on His arm’. They never leave Him. He declares that we belong to God, His precious possession. His love is infinitely powerful. His power is infinitely loving.