"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The kingdom of heaven is the subject of our desire.  Its great beauty and treasure is sometimes discovered suddenly, sometimes after great searching.  In both cases the discoverer abandons everything to obtain it.

The kingdom of heaven is the human heart.  The treasure and the pearl are Christ.  The heart is like a vast field, with Christ's seeds scattered throughout and sometimes buried deep.  Therefore the explorer can find Christ through self-knowledge.  In the heart are found countless objects of desire.  But only one is a pearl, only one is of countless value.

This back and forth searching, of sudden discovery of Christ and finding him only after much searching, is nowhere described with greater beauty and clarity than in the Song of Songs.  "You have ravished my heart with one jewel of your necklace." (Song of Songs 4.9)

Sudden discovery of the beloved is seen in 2.8: "The voice of my beloved!  Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills."  But then in 3.1-3 the beloved is looked for but not found.  He is sought "upon one's bed," in the easy, familiarity which we thought had been ours after once finding Christ.  But it now takes "rising and searching about the city" to find him once more. (v 4)

This back and forth of sudden discovery and lengthy searching is repeated throughout the Song of Solomon.  Where then is that human heart that has stumbled upon a great treasure, that has finally found the object of its desire?  This heart will be anxious to abandon all former affections to give itself entirely to the pearl.  The treasure is the Word, and it is not possible to exhaust its riches.  He is "the mystery hidden throughout the ages but now revealed." (Colossians 1.26)  "In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2.3)