Chapter 1

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. What verses in Chapter 1 stand out or are significant to you?

2. In the first 4 verses, the woman/bride is confessing her love. Do you remember feeling that way about your significant other? About Christ? Do you still feel that way? If not, why? What could help you return to your first love?

3. “Draw me after you [Take me with you] and let us run together.” When was the last time your love for your significant other and/or Christ felt like an adventure?

4. Who do the daughters/women of Jerusalem (1:4) represent?

5. In verse 5, what else may she have been referring to as “dark” other than her complexion. What makes her (you) lovely? How do we balance confidence and insecurities? How do we maintain a positive self-image with an awareness of what we deem as flaws? 

6. Below are three different translations of verse 6. What does this verse mean to you. In what ways, if any, can you relate? Who do “my brothers” represent in your life? What is your “vineyard”? How do shame, rejection, and burnout show up in this verse? What is the effect?

   1. Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I had to neglect.

   2. Please don’t stare in scorn because of my dark and sinful ways. My angry brothers quarreled with me and appointed me guardian of their ministry vineyards, yet I’ve not tended my vineyard within. MSG

   3. Don’t look down on me because I’m dark, darkened by the sun’s harsh rays. My brothers ridiculed me and sent me to work in the fields. They made me care for the face of the earth, but I had no time to care for my own face. TPT

7. In verse 7, the woman is trying to locate her lover. In verse 8, he’s telling her where to find him. If we interpret this as dialogue between us (the bride/beloved) and Christ (the bridegroom/lover), what do the metaphors reveal? What is the relevance of the lover’s (Christ’s) “job” in this poem? What other scriptures come to mind? Where can He be found?

8. Compare how the beloved sees herself in verse 6 with how her lover sees her in verses 9, 10, and 15. Compare how you see yourself and how Jesus sees you. What does this reveal to you? 

9. What other instances are myrrh and En Gedi mentioned in the Bible?

10. What image comes to mind when reading verses 16 and 17? What's the setting of this scene?