The Lily of the Valleys: A Canonical Theology of Lilies

The canonical theology of the lily takes it cue, of course, from Genesis, wherein God created all things very good, from the beginning. After the fall, all the flora God created remained "good." So all the flowers originating, either as full flowers from the first, or as descendants from them (perhaps hybrids today which have been cross-bred with other flowers), yet do they show forth the goodness and glory of God.

Specifically, the Bible tells us, however, that the lilies of Israel form a unique feature of the story of special revelation. Not all flowers made it into the Bible after all. 1 kings 7:19 and 22 tell us that the tops of "crowns" of the pillars constructed to uphold the Solomon's Palace were formed in the shape of lilies. This links the holy lilies to the saints of God, whom in the resurrection unto glory, the Lord promises to make "pillars in the temple of my God," which He calls the "New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven." He then bids them "hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 3:11-13).

Moreover, 1 Tim. 2:15 refers to the Church as "the pillar and ground" of truth. The most important of pillars in the Solomonic Temple actually had names, "Jachin" and "Boaz" (Heb. "Righteousness" and "strength"). These signify the two resurrection offices - priest and king - after the priestly order of Melchizedek, who ruled from Salem - most likely the same city as later "Jerusalem." Note that the king's palace, and the priest's Temple -- that is the Lord's House -- have pillars with lilies atop them.

Interestingly, in this context of likening the people of God to white pillars, he urges them "see to it that no one takes your crown," where these pillar tops [crowns] in the royal Palace and in the Temple were lilies, or "work of lilies," suggesting a construction made of lilies -- as it were a wreath, which corresponds to a crown. The ancients often wore wreaths as crowns, sometimes called "garlands."

Thus, we find that lilies uniquely represent the holy people of Christ, in their final state, clothed with glory and honor. Specifically, the lily highlights the beauty of resurrected persons and the favor of God upon them in His great love for them. The first Testament prefigures this primarily in two persons, King Solomon and Queen Esther.

Apparently, Israel sported at least two kinds of lilies - the water lily (most probably called the "lily of the valley," since watercourses run from the hills into the valleys, and also the "lilies of the field," mentioned by both Matthew and Luke. Each plays roughly the same symbolic role in the Bible.

Some facts about these lilies we should wish to know, occasioned by a few sources, primary of which is the book on Healing Plants of the Bible mentioned in the last post, are these:

The Song of Solomon 2:1-2 names "Nymphaeus Alba" as the lily in question, commonly called today either a "water lily" or "lotus."

In ancient Egypt, the lotus was associated with rebirth and immortality in the afterlife. [The Biblical counterpart to this is, of course, resurrection unto glory].

As early as about 2000 B.C., priests and kings were buried with freshly cut water lilies.

A wreath of such flowers was, very interestingly, found about the neck of the embalmed Rameses II, quite possibly the Pharaoh of the Exodus account. Moreover, an alabaster lily-shaped lampstand was found in the tomb of the famous Pharaoh Tutankhamen ("King Tut").

The flower dwells naturally in water sources found in valleys, and when the morning sun rises upon them, they rise above the surface of the water, and open into a full blossom, and then again at night, they close again, and submerge beneath the surface of the water.

The lily of the valley is of a beautiful white hue, and may be found growing wildly, not only in Egypt, but also in the land of Palestine today, making it very likely the flower cultivated in Solomon's garden. In the Psalms [69:1], king David compares himself to a water lily -- and to it unique characteristics -- saying "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck."

The Prophet Hosea (14:5) compares Israel to this flower saying, "[Israel] shall blossom like the lily... [of Lebanon]"

Now Esther was born, "Hadassah," (around 480-490 B.C.) but had her name changed to the Persian, "Esther," upon her marriage to the king of kings of the Medo-Persian Empire, Ahaseurus (or Artaxerxes II). Hadassah means "myrtle," and the myrtle blossom notably resembles a twinkling star. The name "Esther" resembles the same idea as Hadassah, but adds a more elevated status, and dignified (royal) air; so this may have been seen as something of a Persian "improved counterpart" to her given name.

The Wikipedia article on Esther helpfully notes that "Esther's husband Ahasuerus followed the example of his maternal grandfather, Cyrus the Great, in showing mercy to the Jews of Persia: Cyrus had decreed an end to the Babylonian captivity of the Jews upon his conquest of Babylon in 527 BC." Cyrus' conquest of Babylon began the Persian Empire" [or Medo-Persian, since they shared rule with the Medes]. Remember, King Darius was a Mede, who had befriended the prophet Daniel.

Now obviously stars shine with glory, and Esther was chosen for wife to Ahaseurus because she outshone the rest of the women in a beauty contest. She was a Persian Jewess, of extraordinary beauty (like the Shulamitess) and of obedience to God's authority -- obedience unto death as far as risk goes. The Targum containing the Book of Esther says that she got her name for the reason that she was as beautiful as the Evening Star (Venus), which is "Astara" in Greek. By her obedience unto death, she rescued the Jewish people from destruction, retained her crown (adding a great deal of fame to it), and brought upon them a cause for great celebration (called "Purim").

Most of the events transpiring in the narrative occured in Shushan (or "Susa" for the shortened English version), the administrative capital of the Medo-Persian Empire. "Shushan," it turns out, is Persian for -- you guessed it -- "lily." The palace where she lives in fact is named "the Palace of the Lily" -- similar today to what we call the "whitehouse," but much more glamorous sounding. So Esther's story, a picture of the Lord Jesus, in his death, resurrection and ascension, is also the story of the water lily - the Lily of the Valley, which falls below the water surface at night, and rises and blossoms in the morning under the light of the sun. She was in the end, crowned with glory and honor, and was covenanted to the king of kings. This is the end of all true believers in Jesus Christ the Lord.

Esther's name "morning star" - the evening star and morning star are both names for Venus -- shows up in the book of Revelation, where her typology is made plain. The introduction of Psalm chapter 22 calls it a "song for the morning star." And Revelation 22: 16-17 reads:

"I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come [Aramaic: "Marana Tha" -- cf. 1 Cor. 16].

The morning star, also called the "evening star," in the ancient world -- refers to Venus or Ishtar [Esther] in ancient mythologies. The point of the Lord referring to Himself this way is to highlight his glory, beauty and power in the resurrection. The morning star is particularly bright in its glory -- it outshines the others in the night sky. Moreover, Jesus does not call -- but could have called -- Himself, the "evening star." He has highlighted that "what goes away" the previous night comes back even brighter the next morning, signfying his resurrection from the dead by the picture, and his ascension to power at the Father's right hand. This is also pictured - as noted - by the water lily.

Revelation 2:25-29 records the words of the Priest-King Jesus thus:

"But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star [resurrection unto glory] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

While those in Christ receive the morning star, being raised up in power and glory to reign on earth -- as a delegate of Christ - He, Himself remains the "bright" morning star -- like Esther whose beauty surpassed that of all the other beautiful women -- He outshines the others, as supreme among the stars ["Esthers"]. Esther was adopted. But the Lord Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. The rest of the sons of God are adopted.

Psalms 45, 69 and 80, each carries the directive "to the Chief Musician" for singing them according to a melody then known as "the Lilies," which very likely shortened the actual popular song title. The first of these is "a love song," "concerning the king," and features lyrics showing a royal wedding, in which the Psalm describes the king as "fairer [whiter, like a lily] than all men," and whose speech is "full of grace."

The second, a Psalm of David, shows him in trouble pictured as though he were a water lily (common both to Egypt and Palestine) in a rising tide, saying in verse one, "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck."

This psalm, a prayer for deliverance from the wicked, foreshadows the crucifixion of Christ, ending in the promise of deliverance and inheritance for God's people, which in the case of the Lord Jesus (so also with his people after him) this meant resurrection. So this psalm ends in resurrection, which is implied in the two-fold salvation -- deliverance from the trouble of this life, and inheritance as priests and kings in the next. The wicked -- probably men sent by Saul to pursue David -- pictured here are like a rising tide, and David like a water lily -- where the tide threatens to overrun him, but in the end does not (because God hears his prayer).

Recall that "Purim" was a celebration of just such a deliverance, from the Palace of the Lily, from where Esther issued the decree (with Mordecai's blessing).

The third, a testimony of Asaph, portrays the repentance of a man who seeks God's face, His favorable countenance, after a prolonged period of divine judgment for disobedience, and it prefigures the deliverance of God's people found in the vindication of Christ, his rising from the dead on the third day according to the law and the prophets, in pleading with Him to "shine forth" in deliverance for His people from between the Cherubim. Here, God's "shining forth" [from the Temple where the Cherubim dwell on the ark of the covenant -- the mercy seat or bema seat of divine Judgment] is their deliverance. Asaph names that place where God's throne is, from which He reigns as King of Israel in Glory (the most holy place).

The Song of Solomon uses lilies particularly to stand for the beauty of a new bride (the Shulamitess), and her profound desire for her husband. It also portrays in overtly graphic language -- if the Hebrew (or even English of a good translation) does not burn your socks off, you are either stone cold dead or illiterate -- the physical desire and most intimate contact between husband and wife one might expect from an inscripturated honeymoon. This shows, since she is "dark yet lovely," that the lily portrays the beauty of holiness, rather than just the outward beauty of a very pretty woman - which the Shulamitess doubtless was.

Interestingly, the writer makes a clearly Christological reference from the comparative use of two flowers, at the first, "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. [And] As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters."

As the famous recitation says, "Roses are red." The second flower, the lily, is white. The two possible theological significations begin with Isaiah (1:18), "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Second, Christ Himself, saying that all the Law, Prophets and Psalms speak of Him, taught their substance in the words, "Did not the Christ first have to suffer, and only then enter His glory?" Now the suffering of Christ flowed with red blood, and the glory of Christ with white radiance. Surely, his brow was pierced with the rose thorns of Israel, and He rose as a Lily of the valley, to those he described as "O ye of little faith" (for even upon seeing him and handling Him in the resurrection, still they did not believe for joy). Then his Church blossomed (cf. Acts).

In 2:16, of the Song of Solomon [appropriately abbreviated S.O.S., since pastors have to preach it], she refers to her husband, Solomon, by his name as "Jedidiah," saying, My "beloved" is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies," to describe his ravishing her (cf. 6:2-3); and he speaks also of her private beauty in 4:5, as "lilies"; and 5:13 (cf. 7:2) again underscores the use of lilies as a metaphor or picture of covenanted beauty and grace.

In this book, "lilies" refers to the beauty of the beloved, enjoyed between herself and her husband in the most intimate places. This highlights (by way of counterpart) the most intimate prayers offered to God by the saints, shared with no one else. The Bible calls this "the beauty of holiness," for covenanted love sanctified by the Word of God is holy to the Lord -- whether it be in marriage, according to the marital vow, (husband and wife) or by way of the covenant of grace in the prayerful intimacy, shared between God and the saints.

Now the lilies of Israel were holy, and as we learn from the Song of Solomon and from the Lord's own comments, likewise from the gospels that these lilies -- unlike thorny roses - are quite harmless to the touch. And they stand for the marriage bed (covenanted intimacy) which is undefiled. Thus, the saints in the resurrection will be like Christ -- holy, harmless and undefiled -- priests and kings of the New Jerusalem.

The Psalms of the canon clearly show forth this kind of personal intimacy, in the longings of God's people, and their diligently seeking after God's favor and love. This seeking by the Church compares to the love of a wife who seeks after her new husband, and longs for him when she cannot find him. It is not surprising then that precisely this occasion is described in the Song of Solomon. So also in many of the Psalms, by way of analogy.

In the Newer Testament (Matt. 6:28; Luke 12:27), we find the Lord Jesus using the "lilies of the field" as teachers of men, to show them not to worry about what they shall wear, or how they will provide for tomorrow. Here, the Lord Jesus follows precisely the pattern of the Song of Solomon in comparing Solomon to lilies.

This king of Israel in all his glory, just what took the Queen of Sheba's breath away, could not compare to the clothing from above with which God had clothed these. This portrays the future clothing of the people of God [Christ's audience], which will exceed Solomon's glory and wisdom, just as the "Pillar promise" of the book of Revelation plainly declares. Solomon's clothing was made by men. But in the resurrection, the saints are a Temples, for glory and for beauty, "made without hands."

This shows that the Bible thinks of all lilies of Israel (for the land was holy at the time the text was written ) -- whether of the water or of the field -- as having similar theological significance. The Lord holds that their glory remains their most stunning feature. But the clothing which comes from above, displayed by the lilies, will far exceed Solomon's when each believer in Jesus shines forth, after rising from the grave.

Each of the seven promises of the early chapters of Revelation (i.e. 1-3) promises exactly the same thing, but in different pictures -- resurrection unto to glory to rule over the earth (as a delegate of Christ) as priests and kings. This is actually a seven-fold promise, implying that all the promises of God in the holy Scripture simply highlight different aspects of this one promise of God -- called in the Word "the hope of the gospel."

It is also called the word of Christ, who is the Lord of Glory, One greater than Solomon, the bright Morning Star, and the Lily of the Valley.