“Also they shall … spread a purple cloth over it.” (Num. 4:13, NKJV)
In the previous teaching we saw that Carmel was clearly not a random choice for Elijah – it is a strategic and typological space. Song of Solomon 7:5, which is the central Scripture we are currently working from, likens the Head to Carmel, which is clearly not Jesus, but rather the Bride of Christ. It is undeniably clear that it is the Bride’s Head which is positioned as being like Carmel.
The question is – can the Bride have another head/Head that is not Jesus? We then looked at four Scriptures that also speak of the Head, but each one explicitly spells out – the Head is Christ.
If we return to Song of Solomon 7:5 the entire verse is very significant: “Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple; a king is held captive by your tresses.” From a couple of other translations the rather murky image is elucidated. What this says of Carmel, Elijah and the Bride’s mantle of authority, we will only get to in the next teaching.
The image that is used in this verse, is quite complex and multi-layered: “the hair of your head is like purple; a king is held captive by your tresses”.
In most translations the description “flowing locks” is used. The reason for this is that the Hebrew word for hair implies this adjective, according to Strong: “properly something dangling, that is, a loose thread or hair”. The Apostolic Bible Polyglot presents it from the Greek as: “the braid of your head”, which in its root meaning points to: “plunging through the water like a ship”. This image attempts to capture the transient nature of movement, but it is important that you notice how it functions within the overarching metaphor of oceans and ships – the king, for instance, is caught up within it as if in a fishnet (“in whose net the king is prisoner”). It also links to the colour purple that is mentioned. In his book Prophetic Revelations of Colour, Van der Merwe mentions that the colour refers to “the source of the dye, namely, a shell-fish found on the shores of the Mediterranean” (p. 152).
Throughout Scripture the ocean is likened to the world, or then, “humanity”. Four Scriptures that explicitly mention this include:
- “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” (Isa. 57:20)
- “the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you” (Isa. 60:5)
- “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” (Rev. 17:1b-2)
- “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” (Rev. 17:15)
The head of the Bride is clearly situated in the world, in “humanity”, but it is also clear that it is covered in the attributes of the true Head, Jesus. This is indicated by hair, and the colour purple.
Firstly, the symbol of hair. In her book Body Symbolism in the Bible, Silvia Schroer states that in the Scripture hair is linked to the notion of a crown (p. 97). Added to this, in the light of 1 Cor. 11:15, hair is also explicitly linked to glory and covering: “If a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” Have a look at how these core symbolic meanings are woven into Isa. 35:1-2: “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God.”
One of the most prominent references to hair in the Old Testament is Samson, the Nazarite who was not allowed to cut his hair. His power was in fact nestled in it (Judg. 1:17). As typology we know that Christ is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:24). When we then read all of this in an integrated manner, hair is clearly a Biblical symbol of glory, power and covering.
The word covering is specifically used here as it links to the Scripture which places the Song of Solomon reference about Carmel in perspective: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab. 2:14). This core Scripture of the third dimension and God’s blueprint for the earth is implied by the Song of Solomon text. See how clearly the two “Heads”, that of Jesus and that of Christ, flow into another. As the Bride is integrated into the “sea of humanity”, along with her Bridegroom, she is increasingly covered by Him, He becomes the crown on her Head, the glory that clothes her. With this the Bridegroom-king is “captured” by the “sons of God” (see the teaching of Day 133), in their glory. This becomes the situation in which Jesus’ words in John 17:22 is fulfilled: “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” When this happens, the Bride gains “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16, KJV).
The second word in the Song of Solomon verse we would like to focus on, is purple. The colour has a very rich historical resonance and symbolism within Biblical terms. Apart from the fact that it points to honour, status and position (Dan. 5:7, 16 & 29), wealth (Luke 16:19; Rev. 18:16) and kingship (Judg. 8:26; 1 Kings 22:10; Isa. 22:21; Jon. 3:6), it was used in great measure in the tabernacle (Ex. 25-28, 35-36, 38-39), and also in the clothing of the high priest (Ex. 28:5-6).
In Isa. 61:10 the typological meaning of this clothing is beautifully spelled out: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” This righteousness of course includes honour, status, position, wealth and kingship.
The colour purple thus becomes an indication of “the garments of salvation”, “the robe of righteousness”. It is thus also very important that the Roman soldiers clothed Jesus in a purple robe during the crucifixion (John 19:2), a playing-out of the typological prophecy in Num. 4:13, which serves as our opening Scripture.
The strange analogy of hair that looks like purple is very clear within this context.
In the following teaching we will look at the last aspects of this rich verse in Song of Solomon.
- Selah: Why would Jesus wear a purple robe? Also see Num. 4:13.
- Read: John 20-21; Luke 24; Acts 1-3.
- Memorise: John 21:11 (what Godly synchronicity!)
