WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.180 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we're looking 00:00:03.180 --> 00:00:06.160 into some excerpts from Lost Love and Marriage. 00:00:07.219 --> 00:00:09.380 And our mission really is to sort of unpack the 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:11.380 themes running through them, searching, finding 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:14.359 love, and, well, celebrating it. Right. And we've 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:17.570 got these two... quite different sections to 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:19.870 work with. Exactly. One feels very personal, 00:00:20.050 --> 00:00:22.210 this nighttime search for someone, and the other 00:00:22.210 --> 00:00:25.530 is, you know, much more public, a big royal wedding 00:00:25.530 --> 00:00:27.929 procession. So quite a contrast. Definitely. 00:00:28.350 --> 00:00:30.929 It's that jump from the private internal feeling 00:00:30.929 --> 00:00:34.729 to this very external communal event that's interesting. 00:00:34.950 --> 00:00:36.609 Okay, so let's dive into that first part then, 00:00:36.729 --> 00:00:38.990 the personal search. Right. The speaker seems 00:00:38.990 --> 00:00:42.710 really agitated, searching at night for him whom 00:00:42.710 --> 00:00:45.799 my soul loves. And that phrase repeats, doesn't 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.280 it? I saw him, but I did not find him. It does. 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:51.320 That repetition really hammers home the intensity 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:54.020 of the feeling, the longing. It's not casual. 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:56.000 No, not at all. And then there's this decision 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:57.880 right. I will rise now and go about the city, 00:00:58.020 --> 00:01:00.380 searching the streets, the squares. It's active. 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:03.939 Very determined. Not just waiting around, but 00:01:03.939 --> 00:01:06.340 actively going out to find this person. There's 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:08.579 a real drive there. And then the encounter with 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:12.439 the watchman, it feels a bit vulnerable, asking 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:15.390 them... Him whom my soul loves, have you seen 00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:17.489 Him? Yeah, like putting that deep feeling out 00:01:17.489 --> 00:01:19.909 there, asking for help in the darkness, it's 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:22.950 quite poignant. And what happens next is so quick. 00:01:23.170 --> 00:01:26.409 Right. Hardly had I left them. When I found Him 00:01:26.409 --> 00:01:29.430 whom my soul loves, it's almost immediate. Like 00:01:29.430 --> 00:01:31.829 the act of asking, of searching so intently, 00:01:32.049 --> 00:01:34.680 just... Boom, leaves to the result. Exactly. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.680 It's like maybe vocalizing the need or just that 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:40.099 final push of effort tipped the scales. And the 00:01:40.099 --> 00:01:42.719 response is just pure possession, isn't it? I 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:44.980 held him and would not let him go. Total relief 00:01:44.980 --> 00:01:46.900 and, yeah, possessiveness. Yeah. They're wanting 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:49.879 to pay him back somewhere safe, secure the mother's 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:52.920 house, the chamber of her who conceived me. That 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:55.799 feels significant, that specific location, like 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.140 bringing the found love into the family fold, 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:00.260 maybe. Could be. Seving that foundational security 00:02:00.260 --> 00:02:02.560 or perhaps, yeah, a blessing or acceptance from 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:04.819 the origin of the mother figure. Which then leads 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:07.319 into this slightly mysterious bit, the adoration 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:10.860 to the daughters of Jerusalem. Ah, yes. Do not 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:14.460 awaken or stir up love until it is ready, using 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:16.860 the gazelles and dust as imagery. So what's that 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:19.539 really saying, like a warning? Maybe less a warning 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:24.159 and more advice. A plea perhaps? Yeah. Like, 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:26.340 look, love is powerful, it's wonderful, but it's 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:28.560 also delicate. Like those animals, you can't 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:31.580 force it. Let it happen in its own time. Don't 00:02:31.580 --> 00:02:33.759 rush it. Precisely. Let it wake up when it's 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.460 ready. It has its own rhythm. Okay. So holding 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:39.759 that thought, then we get this massive shift 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:43.300 in scene and tone. Oh yeah, total change. Suddenly 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:45.520 we're outside in the desert and something grand 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:47.979 is approaching. Solomon's wedding procession. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:50.280 Coming up from the desert, like columns of smoke, 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:52.300 that's some entrance. And it's very dramatic. 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:55.080 Yeah. Perfumed with myrrh, frankincense, all 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:57.159 the expensive scents it's designed to impress, 00:02:57.580 --> 00:02:59.919 sensory overload almost. Definitely. And the 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:02.280 focus goes to Solomon's litter, his carriage. 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:03.960 It's not just him, it's this whole protective 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:07.719 detail. 60 men. 60 valiant men, skilled with 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:10.919 swords, ready for nighttime terrors. It speaks 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:14.099 to the value of who's inside, the need for protection. 00:03:15.079 --> 00:03:18.199 This is royalty. And the description of the litter 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:21.620 itself would from Lebanon. Silver columns, gold 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:25.180 roof, purple seat. Uh -huh. All the best materials. 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.520 Meticulously crafted. The inside lovingly fitted. 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:31.659 It's pure opulence. A statement of status and 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:33.840 wealth. It's a public spectacle. And then there's 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:36.039 another address to the daughters of Jerusalem. 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:37.919 Right. But this time it's an invitation. Come 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.629 out. And look upon King Solomon. Witness him 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:42.870 wearing his crown, the one his mother gave him 00:03:42.870 --> 00:03:44.810 for his wedding day, the day of the joy of his 00:03:44.810 --> 00:03:47.250 heart. So from the private warning about not 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:49.930 rushing love, now it's a public call to come 00:03:49.930 --> 00:03:51.889 and celebrate this love, this union, this joy. 00:03:52.289 --> 00:03:54.569 It's the culmination presented for everyone to 00:03:54.569 --> 00:03:56.469 see. This isn't a hidden feeling anymore. It's 00:03:56.469 --> 00:03:58.969 being proclaimed. Exactly. It's the public affirmation 00:03:58.969 --> 00:04:01.349 of the private bond. a community celebration. 00:04:02.009 --> 00:04:04.930 So looking back, we've journeyed from that intense, 00:04:05.210 --> 00:04:07.229 quite lonely search in the dark. Mm -hmm, that 00:04:07.229 --> 00:04:10.590 deep personal quest. All the way to this dazzling 00:04:10.590 --> 00:04:13.449 public display of union and royal celebration. 00:04:14.090 --> 00:04:16.970 It really covers two fundamental aspects of love, 00:04:16.970 --> 00:04:18.889 doesn't it? Yeah. The inner world of longing 00:04:18.889 --> 00:04:21.189 and finding, and the outer world of commitment 00:04:21.189 --> 00:04:24.129 and, well, showing up together. But private heart 00:04:24.129 --> 00:04:25.990 and the public statement, it's quite a powerful 00:04:25.990 --> 00:04:27.889 pairing. It really is, which kind of leaves you 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:30.300 with something to think about. Go on. Well, just 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:32.779 consider how these ancient ways of talking about 00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:35.639 love, the desperate search, the joy of finding, 00:04:36.180 --> 00:04:39.199 the big public celebration, how do they echo 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:41.939 or maybe even contrast with how you experience 00:04:41.939 --> 00:04:44.600 or think about love and commitment today? Are 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:46.660 these fundamental human things still expressed 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:49.060 in similar or maybe totally different ways now?