Song of Solomon 8:6, commentary and pictures

God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, but His love for the sinner is stronger than death, a love declared in giving Christ and revealed in His life and death to ransom the world. That love stronger than death was shown when Christ suffered and died to purchase salvation, win human hearts, and bind believers to Himself forever, a tender love that never changes and never turns unkind or cruel. It was revealed at the cross in the united work of the Father, Christ, angels, and the Spirit for sinners, where amid agony of mind and body He thought only of others, pleading for His destroyers and forgiving the penitent who called upon Him. Jealousy is as cruel and destructive as the grave, and when indulged with envy and prejudice it estranges friends, brethren, and fellow believers and works in secret to oppose, accuse, and crush those who labor self-sacrificingly. Between husband and wife jealousy and false suspicion are a spot to be overcome at once, for they wear down the one who suffers them, cause estrangement, and spread unhappiness through the family against the harmony God requires.

Love Stronger Than Death

God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, but His love for the sinner is stronger than death. That love is declared by the gift of Christ and revealed through His life and death. In that life and death He took the penalty of sin and died to ransom the world, showing God to be self-denying, light, and love. It is shown in the giving of His Son and in the united work of the Father, Christ, angels, and the Spirit to redeem humanity. The cross is the revelation of that love for sinners.

Christ's love is tender and stronger than death because He died to purchase salvation, to win human love, to draw people to rely fully on Him, and to unite them to Himself mystically and eternally. It surpasses even a mother's love, which may change, for His love never changes and never becomes unkind or cruel. It governs all His powers and directs all His affections and heaven's vast resources toward His people's good. Though sin has long tried to hinder it, it continues to flow richly to those for whom He died. His love for the lost and perishing world was stronger than death on the cross, where it grew stronger even through His conflict with the powers of darkness and the hiding of His Father's countenance. That immeasurable love was shown in suffering and dying for guilty people, and His death paid the price of their redemption.

At Calvary His infinite love, beheld with amazement by angels, was stronger than death. While suffering excruciating agony of mind and body and pouring out His life in death, He thought only of others and encouraged the penitent to believe. He exercised that love in humiliation as prophet in addressing the daughters of Jerusalem, as priest and Advocate in pleading with the Father to forgive His destroyers, and as loving Saviour in forgiving the penitent thief who called upon Him. That love stronger than death continues with constancy for His church after His ascension, leading Him to identify His interests with theirs and to advocate before the Father the rights and titles purchased by His blood. He refuses honor until His church is justified and accepted, pleading that where He is His people may be and share His glory, so that those who suffer with Him on earth will reign with Him in His kingdom.

That strong and unyielding love was shown in action in His continued pleading and gifts of love to Judas despite knowing he would betray Him. He withheld no possible saving influence, even while bearing the pain of close contact with a stubborn and antagonistic spirit. The comparison with death also illustrates a craving for strong drink, which is almost as powerful as death and very hard to overcome.

Jealousy Cruel as Grave

Jealousy is as cruel and destructive as the grave. Indulged jealousy has power to estrange not only friends but brethren, and indulged prejudice and envy can estrange even friends and fellow believers. That grave-like cruelty includes contention among God's people, which is offensive to Him. Pride, selfishness, envy and jealousy began with Satan and cost him his Eden home, and he now urges them upon followers of Christ so that even the most frivolous pretense stirs prejudice and jealousy. In union and harmony alone is there strength, while Jesus, though in unapproachable light and righteous in judgment, sees every action, with no secret wrong unnoticed and no righteous deed forgotten, all recorded in heaven.

Its cruelty works underhanded, oppressive and in secret, showing severe cruelty. It stirs suspicion and envy, turns brethren who should defend and sympathize into opposers, accuses self-sacrificing laborers of seeking gain, withholds due help and support, and presses them down with a tide of oppression that crushes strength and spirit. Jealousy between spouses, including jealousy of one's husband, is a spot and blemish in Christian character that must be overcome. Jealousy includes feeling that others do not value you, imagining they speak wrongly about you, and believing others are favored while you are not. These jealous thoughts and feelings are a harmful character defect to be overcome at once.

Jealousy and false suspicions create discord between husband and wife, wear down the spouse who suffers them, cause estrangement between husband and wife, and spread unhappiness through a family. That discord opposes the harmony God requires in His work. Jealousy harms more than the one who feels it, for it harms those who associate with the jealous person, and harms the person suspected, who may be cruelly misjudged. Evil suspicions and jealousies cause grave harm through false reports that spread disunion, tear down the work, and leave impressions that may lead souls to be lost.

The phrase applies to jealousy stirred when a former friend separated from someone, a jealousy directed even against a blind man who deserved kindness and sympathy. It also shows the severity of the jealousy that Brother Cornell must put away.