Love Strong as Death
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”
THE POEM'S CLIMAX
After chapters of desire, longing, and celebration, the Song of Songs arrives here at its densest theological statement about the nature of love.
LIKE AN ENGRAVED SEAL
A seal marked ownership and authenticity — asking to be sealed on the heart and arm is asking to be permanently identified with the one you love.
STRONG AS DEATH
Nothing in human experience is more relentless than death — placing love on the same level affirms that it, too, refuses to back down from anything.
THE VERY FLAME OF THE LORD
The poem, almost entirely human in its language, names the divine source here — the fire of true love ultimately comes from God himself.
WATERS CANNOT QUENCH IT
Many waters and floods represent any force capable of destroying — but the love described here withstands everything that tries to extinguish or sweep it away.
NO PRICE THAT BUYS IT
Act: Write down the name of someone you love and write beside it "no wealth could buy this" — then pray, thanking God for a love beyond any price.