In our present social climate, a new word has emerged: Misgendering. This is what happens when we call someone by a pronoun they feel is not applicable to themselves, and they wish to be identified by a different gender.
We can save that topic for another time and place, but in the context of today’s devotional study, what if what was once a popular Evangelical hymn — which may still be sung in some places — gives Jesus a name which, although it’s based on a phrase in Bible verse, doesn’t apply to him?
Today we’re back for a second time with Jason L. Yearick who writes at Four-Calendar Café. We could have gone with a more simple topic, like this one, but if you’re up for it, I thought we’d get everybody thinking a little deeper. Click the link in the title which follows to read this where it first appeared earlier in the week.
Who Is the Lily of the Valley?
In 1881, Charles William Fry’s hymn, The Lily of the Valley, was printed in the Salvation Army’s The War Cry. The first stanza of Fry’s hymn gives us this insight.
I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.
The opening line of the refrain gives us this encouragement about Jesus Christ.
He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
How incredible it is to know that we have a friend in Jesus, and I’m thankful for the hope and comfort found in knowing that Jesus is my friend! You can listen to this hymn here if you’re unfamiliar with it.
Mr. Fry’s inspiration for this hymn came from Song of Solomon 2:1.
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 2:1 (NIV)
However, there’s just one problem with applying this verse to Jesus Christ. It’s not Jesus who is speaking here. Let’s examine the context.
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women.
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love.
Song of Solomon 2:1-4 (NIV)
The speaker of verse 1 is the same in verses 3-13. Then, in verses 14-15, we have the second speaker, and finally, the last two verses (16-17) end with the first speaker. That is the person who said in verse 1, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys” (NIV).
When we read the text, the first speaker is the bride, and the second is the groom. Regardless of how we read the text, the person who spoke in verse 1 cannot be the same person who spoke in verse 2. Indeed, the point behind verse 2 is that the bride is “like a lily among thorns.” The thorns represent all other young women.
Therefore, when Mr. Fry wrote this beautiful hymn, said Jesus was our friend and called him “The Lily of the Valley,” he was in error. While we have a friend in Jesus, he is not the lily of the valley. Indeed, within the entirety of Scripture, there’s no other reference to Jesus being the lily. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Ça n’existe pas.
Why does this matter? It matters because hundreds (thousands?) of people incorrectly declare Jesus as the Lily of the Valley and misapply Song of Solomon 2:1. Even worse, people have twisted the verse to mean what they think it means based on a song from “popular” culture. “These people” include pastors, preachers, teachers, and other well-meaning authorities on the Bible.
Instead, if we apply a more “spiritual” slant to Song of Solomon 2:1, Christians are “a lily of the valley” because we are the bride of Christ. Indeed, considering this application, we are the “lily among thorns” and called Christ’s “darling.” However, no interpretation fits where Jesus is the lily. Still, I question the integrity of applying such an interpretation to the Song of Solomon.
When I read the Song of Solomon, I see it as a loving piece between a husband and a wife (Solomon and the Shulammite). Therefore, within this context, the Shulammite is the rose of Sharon and a lily of the valley.
As a find word, I spent some time researching this issue. I discovered that not one commentator or Biblical authority before 1881 cites Jesus as the lily of the valley in Song of Solomon 2:1. This lack of evidence further suggests that Jesus cannot be the speaker in Song of Solomon 2:1.
Christianity 201 
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