“His hands gold rings, set with the chrysolite.” His head is pure gold and so are His hands—His thoughts as well as His actions. The heavens are the work of His fingers (Ps. 8:3). His hand touched the leper and he became clean. It touched the eye of the blind and he could see. It touched the coffin of a dead young man, and when He told him to rise, he immediately sat up and spoke and was restored to his widowed mother (Lk. 7:11–17). The chrysolite adds beauty to the symbolic picture and, together with the gold, speaks of the glory and perfection of the works of this marvelous Person, our beloved Lord. Yet man in his foolishness, or rather, we in our sinfulness, pierced those golden hands with cruel nails in order to hang Him on a cross.

“His belly is bright ivory, overlaid with sapphires.” The word translated “belly” is translated “bowels” in verse 4: “And my bowels yearned for Him.” It means inner feelings and one’s deep emotions, such as in putting on “bowels of compassion and kindness” (Col. 3:12). The white color, speaking of His absolute purity, is seen again in the ivory. She began by stating that her Beloved is white, then that His eyes are like doves washed with milk and His lips white as lilies, and now His belly is as ivory. Indeed He is absolutely holy, the Holy One of God who could challenge the religious leaders of the nation, saying, “Which of you convinces Me of sin?” Holy compassion was seen throughout His life in a wonderful and glorious way, whether towards His disciples whom He loved as the Father loved Him, or towards the multitudes that followed Him, whom He saw as sheep without a shepherd, or even towards the enemies who nailed Him to the cross, for whom He asked forgiveness.

Truly, there is none like You, Lord Jesus. Teach us to follow Your example.