“If you do not know, O you fairest among women, Go your way forth by the footsteps of the flock, And feed your kids beside the shepherds' tents.”
Their reply is probably ironic. They are saying that she may be the fairest among women, but, if she is so naive and insensitive that she cannot immediately identify the king's tent, perhaps it would be better if she spent her time following the sheep tracks and feeding her young kids besides the other shepherd's tents, for she does not deserve him. It may be that there is here a hint of jealousy here, and also a suggestion that if the king really had summoned her he would have ensured that she would know the way. The reference to kids rather than full grown goats may indicate a suggestion on their part that she is not yet old enough for what is in store for her. She is only fitted to feeding kids. Or the kids might have been seen as a symbol of love's virility. But either way their words are an indication of her naivety.
In a similar way we can see here a reminder of how often Israel failed to find God because its people spent their time following sheep tracks and hanging around with false shepherds (Isaiah 56:11; Jeremiah 50:6; Ezekiel 34:2; Ezekiel 34:10), and soon could not find their way to Him because their hearts had been hardened. Had they been keeping close to the good Shepherd described in Psalms 23; compare Isaiah 40:11, it would not have happened. But they too were naive, although in a different way.
It is, however, a reminder to us as Christians that we also must keep Him central in our lives. We should not be following strange tracks or wandering around ‘strange tents', for if we are truly His we should be able to recognize the genuine Shepherd immediately and keep our eyes on Him. Indeed that is the test of who are His true people. They hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:3-4; John 10:27). They know where the true Shepherd is to be found. And they keep to His tent. They do not want to be wandering around the tents of the world, wasting their time among those who might dim their love.
An alternative is to take their words as not being ironic and meaning, ‘start looking where the sheep tracks are, and where the sheep are being tended, and you will find him'. He is ever to be found as the Shepherd out with His sheep. But that would be to put her in precisely the position that she was trying to avoid, beside the flocks of his companions.
‘O fairest among women.' None other was good enough for Solomon than the very fairest. This title will be applied to her all through the songs (Song of Solomon 5:9; Song of Solomon 6:1). It is a reminder to us of what Christ has done for us in removing our blemishes from His sight by covering us in His righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and of what the Christian should be in the world, one whose life is of outstanding beauty. Nothing else is good enough for their Lord.
These women who speak to her might be seen to represent the surrounding nations who sought to constantly lead Israel in the wrong tracks and to the wrong shepherds, something which Moses warned them against (Numbers 33:55), and was constantly spoken of by the prophets. They sought to allure her away from her true King.
From a New Testament point of view they might be seen as unbelieving Israel, who never responded to their God, or to their Messiah and seek to mislead others; or as representing any who serve the King outwardly, but have not committed themselves to Him personally. They are satisfied with the outward trappings of religion. They do not seek the face of the King. And they are upset that we do not see things their way. That is why later they are revealed as a little jealous.
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