“Until the day breathes and the shadows flee…”
(Song of Songs 2:17; Song of Songs 4:6 ESV)
This Bible verse is a line repeated twice in the book of the Bible called Song of Songs. Song of Songs belongs to the wisdom literature of the Bible and is a poem about two lovers. Romantic love, the Bible teaches, is one of the most powerful images God has given us of his own love (Ephesians 5:31-32).
A Few Words from a Love Poem
This beautiful poetic line is uttered by both lovers: once by the man and once by the woman. They are longing for the day when they can enjoy one another fully in marriage without any “shadow.” What is that shadow?
Well, the song speaks poetically of strife, suffering, and sorrows through language like, “winter,” “rain,” “foxes that spoil the vineyards,” “the den of lions,” and it generally describes the trial of their separation (Song of Songs 4:8; Song of Songs 2:11, 15). Yet both lovers say, “one day, these shadows will flee.” On that day, “the day breathes.” What a beautiful image.
A Poetic Expression of Our Own Experience
Have you ever endured a season that felt like constant night, and you longed for the “day to breathe”?
These lovers longed for their wedding day and were tired of waiting for it. What shadow are you living under? What sorrow has turned day to night in your soul? Does this poetic line awaken longing in your heart? Does your heart also groan, “Until the day breathes and the shadows flee” (Song of Songs 2:17; 4:6 ESV)?
A Window into the Greater Story of God’s Love
Song of Songs isn’t just a love poem—it’s a window into the greater story of God’s love for his people. There is a day coming when the day will breathe and the shadows will flee. You may experience relief from your present trials while on this earth. But if not, this love poem sings a lullaby of hope for our souls. It whispers of a greater day when true Day will breathe, and all our shadows will flee.
The Bible holds out this hope to us through what Jesus has done for us. God sent his Son Jesus to deliver us from the ultimate shadow—the curse of sin and death, its presence and power in our lives, and the punishment we deserve on account of it—through his own sacrificial death on the cross. Jesus was not overcome by death; he rose from the dead, breaking the power of sin, proving his authority over all the shadows of this world, including death itself (Acts 2:24).
This hope that in the twinkling of an eye, day will breathe, and shadows flee can only become ours by trusting in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:52). We must acknowledge that he is the only Savior from the shadow of sin that lies over our souls and separates us from God, and we must ask him for deliverance from it (Romans 10:9, Acts 4:12, Matthew 10:32-33).
When Day Will Breathe and Shadows Flee
Everyone who puts their trust in Jesus is invited to the great and final wedding feast. The book of Revelation prophesies about a day when Jesus, the lover of our souls, will himself make true Day break in the New Heavens and New Earth, and all shadows will flee for those who have trusted in him:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4 ESV)
Until that day, we live in a world overshadowed by sin, sorrow, and suffering. But one day, when we are fully and finally united to Jesus in eternity, day will breathe, and that shadow flee once and for all.
Has Jesus saved you from the shadow of sin that lies over your soul? Day can breathe for you today, if you ask him to deliver you from it. His light will flood your soul (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Have you already trusted in Jesus, yet you feel heaviness because of the shadows of sorrow and suffering you are presently enduring? Trust him; cling to him until the day breathes and the shadows flee.