Allow me to first make some general comments about Song of Solomon 3:6–11. At Song of Solomon 3:6 a new section begins in the book. In the previous section we have seen that in the marriage in which love is received from Christ, the husband and wife are constantly seeking each other out. Their love and care for each other make the husband and wife involved in each other, in a way that they are not connected with any other creature.

The daughters of Jerusalem, the youth of the church, are once again warned not to arouse love in others by worldly methods—not to seek love or to act in a sexually provoking way. The new section now joins the warning that was given in Song of Solomon 3:5.

The daughters of Jerusalem, who in verse 11 are called the daughters of Zion, now need to listen very carefully. The Spirit says, “Young people, prick up your ears!

The time when the Song of Songs was written is the time when Solomon was king over Israel. The Holy Spirit now reminds us of the day when Solomon got married. When you read this book carefully, you will see here also that the husband in the Song of Songs cannot be identified as Solomon. This section talks about Solomon and what happened to him on a particular day. After that section the husband in the Song of Songs takes the floor and then he does not speak about himself, but he says very personally:

“Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are [like] doves behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead” (Song of Solomon 4:1).

That this person and Solomon are not the same can also be seen when we read close to the end of the book of Song of Songs that Solomon owns a vineyard at Baal-hamon. In Song of Solomon 8:11–12 we read:

“Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he let out the vineyard to keepers; each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.

My vineyard, my very own, is before me;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.”

This is about the many women that Solomon has in his harem. It may seem as if Solomon has a very rich life, in part because he is surrounded by so many beautiful women. In contrast, the husband in the Song of Songs says of his wife, his only one, "My vineyard, my very own, is before me.” The thousand pieces of silver are for you, Solomon, and two hundred for the guardians of its fruit. We see here that the Holy Spirit points to Solomon as a warning example for us and for the youth of Christ’s church.

The Holy Spirit now presents an image to the daughters of Jerusalem. He reminds them of a particular event. He tells them of someone who is coming to the city from outside, from the wilderness. This is not just anybody. The focus is on the person who is coming.

Various translations give the wrong impression here by translating, Who is she? It then seems as if Song of Solomon 3:6 is about a woman. But it is about someone else—a very important person is coming. The person who is approaching is mentioned in verse 11. It is Solomon! It is therefore better to translate in such a way that the answer, Solomon, also remains possible: “Who is this coming up from the wilderness?”

We are now going to zoom in on the person who is coming and what kind of procession is pictured here. The columns of smoke and the special fragrances that surround him show that we are dealing with a special person here. These columns of smoke point to fire as well as to scented spices that are sprinkled on coals. These then begin to smoke and spread a wonderful fragrance. All of this is in honour of this special person. This is similar to how people may light bonfires on special occasions.