The LILY

(kathy c)
T.W. Tramm

In the Bible’s epic love poem, Song of Songs, the bride is compared to a lily:
“I am the … lily of the valleys. Like a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters” (Song 2:1, 2).

A few verses later, the bride-in-waiting is called upon by her beloved, a shepherd–king, to “rise up and come away” (vv.8, 10). Seeing that the lily is a symbol of the ‘raptured’ bride, it is fascinating to consider additional layers of symbolism:

• The phrase “lily among thorns” (Song 2:2) describes how the bride dwells among the wicked and ungodly in the world, like the Church (Matt. 13:24–30).
• The phrase “lily of the valleys” (Song 2:1) describes the place where the Church grows, in low places, where plants are in danger of being plucked or trodden upon (John 15:18, 19).
• The lily’s transformation each spring, from a buried bulb to a beautiful flower, is a picture of resurrection (Matt. 12:40).
• The lily’s trumpet-shape reminds us of the “trumpet of God” sounded at the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:16).
• The lily’s radiant white color symbolizes the purity and righteousness of the Bride, arrayed in fine linen, at the Wedding of Messiah (Rev. 19:8, 9; 1 Cor. 11:12).
• “The Lilies” is the title of the background music played at the Wedding of Messiah (Psalm 45).
• Lilies and other flowers traditionally adorn synagogues at Pentecost, as a reminder of Israel’s ‘wedding’ to God at Sinai (Ex. 19). For the same reason, Jewish wedding canopies, or chuppahs, are similarly adorned.
• Solomon’s Temple, an architectural representation of the ultimate “temple of God”—the Church—was decorated with lily motifs: the tops of the pillars were shaped liked lilies, and the huge bronze basin used for the ceremonial purification of the priests had a brim shaped like a lily blossom (1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Kings 7:21; 2 Chron. 4:5).

To sum up, the lily is a symbol of, or is associated with:
• Purity and righteousness.
• God’s trumpet.
• Resurrection.
• The Bride–Church.
• The Wedding of Messiah.

...No one knows the day of the Rapture (Matt. 24:35–51). However, with the lily-symbolism in view, it is conceivable that it could occur during the season of blossoming lilies. When do lilies blossom in Israel?

The lily mentioned in Song of Songs, thought to be the Lilium candidum, or Madonna Lily, puts forth flowers in May–June.