 Yeah, thank you so much Nina for that. Yeah Yes As I was saying We are now starting off with Ecclesiastes and we will also try to quickly look at song of Solomon before our class is done Ecclesiastes as we You know is generally believed Was written by Solomon But then we also have evidence which seems to indicate that maybe it was somebody else who wrote Because the author does not identify himself by his name. He just simply calls himself In Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 1 he describes himself as teacher son of David King in Jerusalem so he talks about himself as a Son or a descendant of David and he also says that he is a king in Jerusalem But it may not be Solomon simply because In Ecclesiastes 1 16 and in a few other places he sounds as if he has Many many kings before his time came on the other hand. We know that before Solomon came There was only one single king who was his father David So maybe we could actually read Ecclesiastes 1 16 if one of us could please read out that verse Here he said I Have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me. He sounds as if there are multiple Kings who were there before him and he uses this kind of a phrase even in other portions of this Book of Ecclesiastes and other very strong Indicator is that here in the book of Ecclesiastes You have many Aramaic words and phrases But as far as we know in 10th century BC when Solomon was ruling at that time Aramaic was not being used in the land of Israel at all It was only later in the third century BC that Aramaic begins to make you know its entrance it becomes popular Popular to such an extent that people start using Aramaic phrases even in the Hebrew Scrolls and so It appears that maybe this person who was writing this book is a descendant of David He is a son of David and he is a king, but it may not be Solomon himself Okay So let's just hold on to that in our minds even as we go through this book Now the main word which is used in this book is that Hebrew word Hevel okay, Hevel is the Hebrew word which is used again and again by the author and In Ecclesiastes 1 verses 1 to 2 This is what the author says The words of the teacher son of David king in Jerusalem You know if we were to use the actual Hebrew word he says Hevel Hevel says the teacher utterly Hevel is Hevel Everything is Hevel what on earth is this Hebrew word Hevel and we have this very ancient English word vanity, which is used in our KJV and the word vanity has Now lost its original meaning and it's probably not a very good translation to be used anymore Which is why NIV tries to use the word meaningless Okay, so the word Hevel can be better translated as something that is meaningless It doesn't seem to make sense. It doesn't seem to have any good meaning or purpose because actually the word Thanks, the word Hevel a literally means vapor or Mist or breath, you know when on a very cold day when you're speaking or you're breathing You can really see them vapor come out of your nose right up out of your nostrils. So it's talking about that kind of a vapor and Vapor just lasts for a few seconds. You just see it and then it disappears the morning mist It's just there till the Sun comes out and then the mist disappears So it's a very Temporary thing and that is the word which is being used over here and the teacher says Hevel Hevel says the teacher everything is a well everything is so Temporary everything is so short in time That was the point. What's the meaning of all of this? Okay? That's the main theme which comes out in this book of Ecclesiastes because this author seems to be very very bothered by by the Shortness of everything that happens over here and because everything is so temporary over here on this on this earth He thinks what are we achieving through all of this and he goes on to look at different aspects of life under the Sun He looks at wisdom. He looks at work. He looks at wealth and riches. He looks at power He looks at the achievements which humans make he looks at the whole Area of pleasure and enjoyment. He looks at religion. He looks at philosophy He looks at all of these things and he you know gives his comments on each of these things and he says You know people do all of these things, but it's just there for a little while and then it's over So what is the meaning of all of this? So throughout this book this man is trying to understand the meaning of life All of these things that people are you know are Engaged in day by day the work they do the wisdom they try to seek The things that they try to achieve the wealth which they try to accumulate All of it is so temporary. It's so heavy. It's like a breath It's there for a moment and then it's gone So what is the meaning of all of this is what he continues to ask throughout the book So we'll just look at a few verses Maybe we can actually look at no because after all this is supposed to be these are supposed to be the wisdom books So let's look at what he says about wisdom and it's something very interesting that he says very Valid point you could say which he makes over here So if someone could read out Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verses 15 and 16 Mmm verse 16 Okay, so he's saying okay. Let us say that I you know first you wisdom. I really want to be wise I really want to understand things. Let me say that I say no spend my entire life trying to gain wisdom But the fate of the fool will overtake me also, you know, he says so what then do I gain by being wise and So I he says I said to myself this who is well just to think temporary thing. It's here now gone and So he says in verse 16 like the fool the wise two must die So where's the point in even trying to pursue wisdom? Where's the point in even trying to be wise? Okay, it's a point which he makes and now let's look at what he says Of course, you know, we will look at this and try to you know, come to a good conclusion a biblical Conclusion, but first let's look at the observations that this person is making Let's move on into Ecclesiastes chapter 2 Verses 18 to 21 here is talking about you know, the hard work Sincere hard work which people put in and all the riches which they gather and this is what he says about that Ecclesiastes 2 18 to 21 if someone could bring out Then I'll spend and Okay, so he says let us say that I work very hard with wisdom and knowledge and skill And I achieve all of these things and then what happens? I have to die and then when I after I die all this things with all these things which I have so You know painstakingly gathered It will go to another person and he says who knows whether that person will be wiser or fool If it's a fool, he will know mismanage everything but I wish I have worked hard for he will waste away everything that have so Carefully put together. So he says where is the point and So in verse 21 he says they must leave all their own to another who has not toiled for it That man has not even worked put in any hard work And he's just going to gain everything which I have worked for What is the meaning of this? Where's the point in all of this? You know, it's what he asks So we see here a man who sincerely wants to know He's not a person who's just satisfied with making money and you know Going about having a comfortable life and just being satisfied at that level He his longings are higher. He truly wants to understand why he is here on this planet What he is here for what is going to happen in the future and is there any Purpose a greater purpose something wonderful to look forward to at the end of all of this effort and toil and hard work and So he says in Ecclesiastes 8 17. This is what he says, you know, uh, he's been Dwelling upon this verse after verse Carefully, he's been thinking out the different aspects of this life And this is what he says in Ecclesiastes 8 17. He says then I saw all that God has done No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun Despite all their efforts to search it out No one can discover its meaning Even if the wise claim they know they cannot really comprehend it So he says I have tried other people have tried. We have tried to understand But really it's not Actually possible to really understand what uh, you know, God is doing on this earth Okay, is the cry of frustration which he lets out over here And we see something similar that he says in Ecclesiastes 3 versus 10 and 11 There he says I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart Yet No one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. So what God has done is beautiful He makes everything beautiful in its time. He has even put eternity in our hearts but No one can really dig fathom dig deep and Find out what is the meaning of all this that's going on from beginning to end And so this is the cry of his heart and then at the end of Ecclesiastes He says in chapter 12 at the very end in verses 13 and 14 He says now all has been heard, you know, because he has he has finished talking about all the aspects of life So he says now all has been heard Here is the conclusion of the matter and he says Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the duty of all mankind For God Will bring every deed into judgment Including every hidden thing whether it is good or evil So after having tried to understand and having failed to understand What exactly is this life all about he finally says there are things which we really cannot understand Now just because we do not understand It doesn't mean that you can rebel against God and go do whatever you want You can't just throw up your hands and say oh this life is meaningless So I think I'll just go and do whatever I randomly feel like doing no Even though you may not understand even though I may not understand what is happening in this life We still have a duty towards our creator And so he says we must fear God and keep his commandments for this is the duty of all mankind Why because God will be judging everything that we do even the hidden things that we do He will be judging and so we need to Honour him even though we have not fully understood all that has been all that God is doing on this earth from beginning to end Okay, and the book closes at that point And for us who are living in New Testament times, this seems like a very incomplete ending It's almost like as if you know the episode ended without giving the end of the story And so you're thinking oh there has to be a follow-up This should be one more episode to explain what exactly this is about because we have we have been kind of left with a half answer The half answer which we find in Ecclesiastes is that um It's true that we are not able to understand the true meaning of this life But let us not become rebels. Let us not dishonour God. Let us fear him. Let us obey him It is trust and obey him and leave things in his hands And one day he will judge us for what we have done and what we have not done And he just leaves it like that But there's still that big question What is the meaning of this life and that continues? I know that's a question which continues to haunt the reader And it's when we come to the New Testament that the curtain is drawn back And suddenly now we are given a lot of additional details which were not given in the Old Testament So in Old Testament times a lot of things were hidden, which is why I don't know whether you have you have come across this term in any of your courses You know what they talk about When they say progressive revelation In the very beginning when Abraham, you know and Isaac and Jacob and all were there They were given very few details. In fact, they were not even told the details of the name Yahweh at that time Very limited revelation was given and then when when we come into the time of moses There's some more progressive revelation where they get to know many more things about what's happening And then when you come to the time of the prophets the prophets start talking about all the things Which will happen in the future and the revelation the level of revelation increases So throughout the scriptures, we see that there's a progressive revelation going on and here in Ecclesiastes This man this writer still does not have a very clear picture of what exactly God is planning And so he mainly goes on talking about things which are under the sun And you know, if you look in the commentaries, it would say that this particular phrase under the sun is used About 27 times in the book of Ecclesiastes So under the sun, he's looking at science, human achievement, philosophy, religion Is looking at all of these things which are under the sun and it just seems to be very incomplete It doesn't seem to be Doesn't seem to completely make sense and it's not giving him the full picture And that is why he longs to know what is going on because he observes right very very correctly He observes in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. He says God has put eternity in our hearts So inside the human being there is a longing to know what is this bigger picture? What exactly are we moving towards? What is actually going to happen? Is there an outcome? Or is what we see over here under the sun? Is that it? Is there something more? We have a longing for it You know, you go to a cat or a dog and you ask it What is the meaning of life? If that cat or dog could talk It would say what does it matter what the meaning of life is if you get if you can get your food on time If you can roam around and you know, you know, just enjoy your freedom enough But you see the dog and cats do not have eternity put in their hearts But we humans who have been created in the image of God, we can't be satisfied at that level We want more We want to know more we long for more automatically because of the way we have been Made and so in the New Testament we get to see that there's a lot happening above the sun Where God is sitting on his throne and he has an eternal plan for mankind And we are all part of that eternal plan. So the work that we are doing here on this earth The wisdom which we are trying to acquire over here All the achievements that we are putting in our effort into all of these things don't just end at death You know, like, you know the writer of Ecclesiastes, he says, what's the point in the end? The fool will die the wise man also will die both are having the same ending But you see this is not the end because above the sun is something else going on People will continue to exist. They will either enjoy the rewards of the way they have lived in God's presence You know, they will enjoy his presence for the rest of their lives Or they will just be cast into hell where there's no future at all for them throughout eternity So there's something bigger going on, which is why, you know, we Work the way we do we put in the effort which we put in We don't live like the fool but we, you know, we go after God's wisdom and we try to live in, you know, in fear of God All of these things. Why are we doing it? Not because anything under the sun has got, you know, answers for us It's because we are looking above the sun to see the greater Eternal plan awaiting us. And so, you know, we can't really get into all of the new testament scriptures But maybe we can just very quickly look at Romans 8 28 to 30 Which kind of gives us an idea of what God has in his mind for us So it's a very familiar passage if we could have someone read out for us here in the class Romans 8 28 to 30 so God's plan is to invite all of this fallen humanity To himself through his son if they will just place their faith in his son And if they are willing to submit to him and follow him then he can bring them into his fold And he can start working out his plans in their life He will start making them into the image of his son because along with his son They are meant to enjoy a new chapter of life in eternity Okay, so in old testament times there was a screen covering the new testament times They could not really see many of the things which we know today They could not see those things and there was a like I said, there were there were curtains covering the new testament times In the same way we who are living now in the new testament We don't know what's going to happen in heaven After the new earth and the new you know the new heaven and the new earth are established the curtains are drawn We can't see but there's something spectacular Awaiting no imagine the people in the old testament times. They were doing the Sacrifices in the temple and all that they never understood the glory of what all of these things meant They never understood that this little lamb that they are sacrificing is one day going to represent God himself The God himself is going to come down. He's going to express his love for humanity You know and he's going to sacrifice himself on the cross They never even understood the grander the bigness of what was awaiting in the new testament Until the curtain was drawn back and they could see in the same way We who are here We do not know what is awaiting us in the next chapter and there's something very Spectacular awaiting us over there and we are under the sun Preparing ourselves for this grand event which is going to happen because it says in romans 8 was 30 You know, he's justifying us because one day we are going to be glorified We will be in the image of his son and there are things awaiting us plans and Future events and things for us to do and enjoy and take pleasure in there's a whole life Awaiting us in eternity and we still do not know it, but that is what we are working towards So Ecclesiastes very clearly puts its finger on that that What we are seeing under the sun is so limited Only when we bring what is above the sun into the picture and god and all of his glorious plans Then everything opens up and there's so much more beyond awaiting us. Okay, so This is just the main crux of what is there in the book of Ecclesiastes Very quickly. We'll move into song of solemn And here it's most probably solemn himself himself who wrote it because One of the main heroes of the story You know is solemn himself because he's described and Named by name he's given You know, if if we were to look at song of solemn chapter 3 Versus 6 and 7 where it talks about solemn and his grandeur You know, he's coming in a bit in his chariot You know, someone could just read out that song of solemn chapter 3 versus 6 and 7 Where there's a description of solemn and his grand and his grandeur. Yeah Yeah escorted So, uh, it specifically talks about who the hero of the story is the hero of the story is Solemn the king who is being talked about so they say that because it is his story most probably he's the man who wrote it Now the problem with song of solemn is that There's no chronological order followed. Okay event number 23 which happened on day 47 will be mentioned first and You know the event number one which took place at the very beginning of the story Will probably be mentioned somewhere down the line at the end of the book It's just no chronology followed over here because this is supposed to be a poem in poetry They're not thinking in the way, you know historians think, you know Where you'll have day one events and then day two events day three events poetry is all about uh, just um Bringing out the essence of what happened and so they don't follow chronological order over here So for someone who enjoys organized, you know detailed timelines, this book can drive you nuts because you have no clue What's going on over here? What you actually have is a story happening But this story has got a whole bunch of flashbacks and the flashbacks are not arranged in order So one event may have happened first and another event might have happened second But they're not mentioned in that particular order So song of Solomon basically is this lady sitting over here in the palace and she's recollecting She's remembering all the events which took place before and the uh, they all the events are not arranged in a Proper timeline So when the story begins, she has already come as the as a bride to the palace of Jerusalem And she's already has become queen You know the the wedding ceremony is already finished and now she's already established on the throne But now she's recollecting the story of how the whole thing began What and all happened? How did she actually first meet Solomon and that is the story Which so if we were to arrange this whole thing in a kind of chronological order We would get to know a little bit about her background and we see that in Chapter six Even chapter one, you know it where it talks a little bit about her background Again, you have to search the verses to find out about her background It's not just given neatly like a write up, you know, like you would have in one of the historical books But what we get to know about this lady is that she seems to be from a very very poor family Uh, you know, this would be your chapter six verse 13 Where we get to know that she belongs to a very poor family from the tribe of Ephraim And she was living at a place called shulam Which is in the region of Baal Harmony that is basically where this lady was living and That is why she's called the shulamite because she belonged to this area Of shulam that is basically where she was and we get to know that she was in such a poor Condition that her family members they force her to work in the vineyards Generally women were not asked to do physical labor Yes, they had a lot of hard work, you know in the house, which needed to be done But they were generally not expected to go out in the fields and work Unless they really belong to the poorer strata of society You know where you can where the family would not be able to afford laborers So the family members would literally have to go and work over there in the field So, um in chapter one verse six we get to know that her two brothers Were forcing her to work in the vineyards and so she was in that poor condition and In chapter eight verse 11 We kind of get the idea that the owner who owned all of these vineyards was the king king Solomon was the owner of a whole bunch of vineyards, you know, which he would Give it out to the different people and then they would work the land and then he would make a payment to them So it looks like she was working in one of the vineyards, which was owned by King Solomon So one day when he has come to examine his vineyards, she accidentally meets him and he's uh Probably dressed up as an ordinary person and she does not realize who he is Because in uh worse one in chapter one verse seven she asks him She says, you know, where are you keeping your flocks? Where do you graze them? um Maybe someone could read out chapter one verse seven Okay, so she says stop treating me like a stranger Uh, you know, uh, you know a wailed woman whom you do not know now that we are getting to know each other Tell me where exactly do you graze your flocks? So in the afternoon when you need when you take your sheep to to rest Where do you take them and there is no answer the king does not answer because she's under the impression that he's just an ordinary shepherd She has no idea that he's the king and so they get to know each other And then we get we get the impression from the from the song that uh at some point of time He leaves and he says, you know, he leaves her with the promise that he will come back He will return back for her and he goes away He goes away for a very long time and she has no idea where he is Where he has gone and in fact, she starts wondering whether he'll ever come back Or whether he's just forgotten her and he's just gone And then one day she gets the news that would be in chapter three versus six to seven She hears that king Solomon is coming and is coming with all of his warriors He's coming in his chariot And that is when she discovers that oh my goodness this person whom I got to know is the king himself He's not just a shepherd. He is the king and so the king comes in all of his glory And he takes this poor woman who has no status nothing He takes her to his palace and there, you know, she becomes the queen So this is basically the storyline of this particular book and So it talks about the love between them where they actually valued and treasured each other It's very easy to value and treasure a king because after all a king is a king But then when you look at it, when you look at her side of it, there's nothing of Value in human eyes. It's just somebody from a very poor background Someone, you know, she says my skin has become dark because I've been working the entire day out in the Field. I'm not like the other women who are fair and beautiful because you know, I've been whole day I've been slogging in the sun So she has nothing from her side and yet this king he values her and he chooses to make her Is queen. Okay. So the structure of the book Basically from chapter one up to the middle of chapter three Chapter one up to the middle of chapter three is basically Mainly them getting to know each other and talking about each other then the middle of chapter three Up to chapter five would be the wedding and then Chapter five onwards is there Married life as a couple. So we could roughly say that this is the structure of the book Okay, so coming to how People have seen this book how they have interpreted and understood this book over the ages. Okay, so More than anything first thing, of course, we would see is that this is the story of a couple And we talk and the book talks about how they love each other and are committed to each other Which is why some wise people they say how on earth could Solomon have written this book because the man hadn't had Absolutely no idea what it is to be faithful to one woman So, how could he have even written such a book because in this book the emphasis is you know He says you are my beloved Means my eyes are only for you. I'm not busy checking to see all the other women lined up over there Who know whom I'm going to marry. No, he's talking about faithfulness to one single person So they say okay fine if Solomon wrote this book Maybe this was his very first wife, you know when he still had Some idea of what faithfulness is because later on he forgets about Genesis chapters one and two and You know how what God originally intended where one man would marry one woman and continue to stay faithful to her So Solomon forgets all of that later on in his life So if he's the one who has written this book, this must be his very first wife that he is talking about over here in this book and so This book presents a picture of commitment. This is what commitment would look like This is what love and adoration would look like where you really value that person Even though she's she's somebody who's dark skinned and who has come from the fields and who has no status This is how I know the king looks on her This is how he respects her and adores her and loves her So it's a it's a picture of what marriage should actually be like So that would be the first interpretation And then when we look at the jewish people themselves They began to use this book to talk about the love which Yahweh has for His people is rael Because if you see, you know, if you think about it the story of israel is very similar to the story of this shulamite woman The shulamite woman was from a very poor background. She had nothing She had no value in human eyes But the king chose her to be the queen and if you look at the nation of israel, what was their great grand status They were just a bunch of slaves in egypt. They had no value They had nothing to you know, commend them But the king of kings and lord of lords chooses to accept them Choose them as his special chosen nation And he in fact goes to the extent of saying i am a husband to you So you see there's a covenant that he enters into and so the jewish people start using this particular book you know in in Using it with that interpretation and they read it out during the Passover feast because During the Passover Yahweh chooses to come to them who are in a very downtrodden state the same way the shulamite was being enslaved by her brothers who were making her work in the fields Israelites too were enslaved by the egyptians, but god comes to them He reaches out to them and he takes them to be you know his bride in that sense so If we look at if someone could read out isaiah 54 verse 5 And look at the relationship it talks about between Yahweh and the people of israel isaiah 54 verse 5 Okay, so you have passages where it very clearly talks about Yahweh as being the husband of israel So that is the interpretation Which they started to give to this particular book and they would read it out during the Passover feast every year And then when it came to the you know new testament church um The early church fathers, you know, um if you're doing church history, you would you would have heard these names Origin and jerome and ethanaceas. These are the very early church fathers They said, you know, if the jewish people could take this book and think of it as the relationship between Yahweh and the people of israel Why don't we use the same imagery? Because after all, uh, christ is supposed to be the bride groom and the church is supposed to be the bride So if they could you know, take this book and interpret it as Yahweh's relationship with israel Why can't we use this book in the same way and look look upon it as the relationship between christ and his church So that is basically how the idea the current idea which we hold today about uh, you know, seeing this book in this light That is when it originated during the early church Period when they decided that they should start interpreting this book in this particular way And of course we have, uh, you know new testament scriptures also which talk about Jesus christ as the husband of the church So, uh, you have for second Corinthians 11 verse two Which is actually a very good verse. Um, if someone could read out second Corinthians 11 Yes, so over here Jesus christ is described as the husband in the same way in the old testament We saw Yahweh being described as the husband of israel here very clearly christ is being described as the husband of the church So, uh, what origin and Jerome and ethenesias and all the others they did it is valid It is a valid interpretation to take the book of you know the song of Solomon and see it in this light A fourth interpretation which we can bring to this book is We can think of it as the relationship between Jesus christ and each individual believer Because the bigger picture is christ and the church as a whole the corporate church as a whole But we can also take it as, uh, the individual personal relationship which each believer has with christ Maybe one, uh, verse that we can fell upon one passage which we can look at could be Ephesians chapter five Versus 23 and 24. So if someone could read out Ephesians chapter five 23 and 24 Okay, so here it talks about how the church must live in submission to christ um, and in the same way every wife in her marriage relationship, uh, should submit to her husband and uh, So when you break it down to the individual level the same way a wife submits to her husband Each individual believer would need to submit to christ. Okay, not a very direct, um, um, you know, um The right direct connection that you can draw but it can also be applied in the song of Solomon can also be applied as a um As a relationship between christ and each individual believer Now what One thing that you know generally is overlooked when people are you know talking about the song of Solomon Uh, they don't touch upon this great similarity which is there between Psalm 45 and song of Solomon and it's very very interesting if you were to look at Psalm 45 Over there. It's also talking about a wedding feast. You know, very similar to song of Solomon and over there Um, who are the couple who are being discussed? You know, it talks about the anointed one of god the the one whom Yahweh has appointed the one that uh, Yahweh has anointed as his you know As his successor you could say Technically, basically it's talking about the messiah. Okay, so Psalm 45 is talking about the mighty one who will come one day And so basically it's talking about the messiah And the messiah's bride. So in Psalm 45, you literally have a psalm which is talking about messiah Who is jesus christ and his bride who is the church? Now, uh, isn't that interesting? So it's not just in song of Solomon where you have this kind of imagery Where you have the church being identified with christ even in Psalm 45 you have A very clear reference to the coming messiah who will one day come as the anointed one of god He will come as the mighty one who will fight Uh, you know on behalf of god and his bride, which is obviously the church So, um, if we were to look at song of Solomon and Psalm 45, there's a lot of similarity In Psalm 45 the bride is Not from a poor background, but she is an outsider. She's a gentile. She is not Uh, doesn't have this honorable status of being a jewish person But this is how uh in Psalm 45, uh, I know the The God speaks to her. Yeah, you can maybe just say that god speaks to her in this way Psalm 45 versus 10 and 11 if someone could read out that Psalm 45 10 and 11 Okay, so uh here, um, you know, the lord is addressing this Foreign bride and he says to her, you know, forget your people Don't have to go on longing for what you had before because now, you know, the the king is Uh, is greatly desiring your beauty. He values you. He treasures you So you don't have to go on thinking. Oh, I lost my family. I lost my background Now the king is there for you He cares about you and so he say, you know, it says over here because he is your lord Worship him So in the same way the shulamite was given importance By the king in that story here in Psalm 45, even though this person is an outsider This person is also being given importance and the lord says, you know, the king desires your beauty He values you he treasures you so in both these places We see that they are addressed as royalty Okay, the shulamite is not a royal From the royal lineage in any sense of the word She's in fact from a very poor background from the tribe of Ephraim But she is addressed as um as a princess That is that would actually be in Song of Solomon chapter seven verse one where she is called a princess daughter Okay, so she's referred to as a princess in song of Solomon seven one and here even in Psalm 45 Verse 13 This lady this foreigner is addressed as the royal daughter And look at the significance of this it's talking about a Gentile bride Which actually you know is so significant when we are thinking in terms of the church Because a large part of the church is in fact Gentile There are there are Jewish believers, but they're only a small portion So in the in Psalm 45 already when god is talking about the bride of the anointed one the bride of the messiah He's talking about Gentile people who will be the bride And the Gentiles can proudly say oh, we don't have to long for our culture and what we have left behind The king of kings is desiring us He values us he treasures us so we see the beauty of that coming out um In both the song of Solomon and in Psalm 45 All right, we only have two minutes left. So maybe we can just stop over here Yeah, anyone wants to ask any questions. Otherwise we'll close with the word of prayer No, all right, so we'll just close with the word of prayer Lord, we just thank you so much for Uh, the things that we could learn from your scripture today We thank you a lot that our lives really do hold meaning in you Sometimes we go through hard times Sometimes we work very hard for something and nothing seems to come out of it But we know now lord that you have an eternal plan and because you have an eternal plan for us You will work out everything the good things the things which did not work out Everything you or lord will bring it together Uh, because you have an eternal plan for us. So we thank you a lot that Even though life doesn't always make sense under the sun Because you are seated above the sun and your eyes are upon us And you care about us so we can indeed have meaning in our lives So we thank you a lot for this also lord We thank you that you treasure us that you value us Even though we are not You know, we were not born royal nor were we born divine But lord we were just humans But you chose to love us to the extent where you were willing to sacrifice your son for us So it's an amazing Boost in status which we have received a lord We who were living in our sin and dying in our sin Have now been elevated to the status of being the very bride of the king of kings It's amazing what a high status you have given us a lot So we pray that we would live in a way which Is honorable in a way where we appreciate what you have actually done for us Maybe we would recognize that we who are nothing Have been made the the the the bride of the king himself And we would value that and we would appreciate the great sacrifice Which you have gone through to give us that status of lord and I pray that we would live lives that will Please you and honor you and maybe show our gratitude for what you have done for us lord Thank you lord in jesus name amen Yeah, thank you so much for you know paying attention and listening and uh, yeah, thanks to all of you online