The neck speaks symbolically of the will; the neck is what turns the head as it chooses which way to go. The Lord sees every movement of our heart and our desire to pursue Him in intimacy. He acknowledges the acts of our will that move us toward Him and calls us lovely. We should not dismiss even the smallest of willful choices we make to pursue God, for He not only sees and acknowledges our choices but His heart is moved and ravished by the "yes" in our spirit. Remember what the Lord said to Samuel when he was sent to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel; Samuel was ready to anoint Eliab as king because of his outward appearance but God said, "do not look at his appearance... because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." God selected David as king over His chosen people because David was a man after God's heart. God saw every movement of David’s heart when as a young Sheppard boy he worshiped the Lord with all his heart while out in the pasture and no one else was around. David set his will to obey the Lord and waited on God to establish him. He would not violate God's ways to promote himself. David said in Psalm 40:8, "I delight to do Your will, O my God." God took note of his steadfast devotion and rewarded David beyond measure
The neck also conjoins the head with the body. Jesus is the head of the Church, His body, and it is our surrendered will to His leadership that allows us to be united to Him. In Song of Solomon 7:4 the Bridegroom likens the Bride's neck, her will, to a tower of Ivory. Ivory is rare and costly, and therefore a tower of beauty to the Lord. Often our obedience and our resolve to walk according to God's Word are costly. Even setting time aside everyday to read the Word and spend intimate time face-to-face with the Lord can be costly. Life is filled with demands for our time surrounding us with a barrage of things that compete for our attention and affections. Entertainment can strangle our devotion to the Lord if we are not careful to guard our time. With the increase of social media it is incredibly easy to spend countless hours on the internet, or our phones for that matter! But every act of the will that moves us toward God is a victory over the flesh and remembered before God.
The Bridegroom gives high praises to his beloved as He calls her lovely. The spiritual gifts and graces which He bestows on every true believer are described by “ornaments” or “chains of gold.” Some translations interpret the verse as “chains of gold” which was rare and costly in those days. Few could afford a chain of gold, therefore it speaks of royalty. The gifts Jesus has given us were costly for Him; and through His death and life we are now royalty to rule and reign with Him.
Devotional Prayer
Lord, I thank You that you see the “Yes” in my heart, and even when I fall short at times You still see the “yes” and call me lovely. Holy Spirit, I ask You for greater revelation to believe that You acknowledge even the smallest acts of my will to walk in obedience to Your Word and to give myself to You. Help me to guard my devotional time with You, to give You first place in all things, to honor You with the hours of my day. I know You see every movement of my heart toward You and You view these acts of my will as costly, like a tower of ivory. The very fact that You call me Your bride demonstrates You don’t evaluate with the same measures I use; to ponder being joined to You as Your Bride for all eternity is almost inconceivable to the human reason!
