"Not so are the wicked. The verse said (Song of Songs 2:1) "I am the rose of Sharon." The Assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "I am beloved because You loved me more than any other nation. I am the rose that was made for You as a shadow by Bezalel.
The Sharon I spoke of was sung by Moses. Another interpretation: The Sharon I spoke of is that I was beloved when I was hidden in the shadow of Egypt, and for a brief moment the Holy One, blessed be He, brought me before Pharaoh and I softened him with good deeds, like a lily, and I sang a song before Him, as it is said (Isaiah 30:29) "You shall have a song as in the night when a holy festival is kept."
Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak that this verse comes to teach us about Pharaoh and Sennacherib. Another interpretation: I am the rose of Sharon. I am beloved because I was hidden like a precious gem in the Sinai, which the mountain covered like an eggshell. And for a brief moment I softened Him with good deeds, like a lily, and I said (Exodus 24:7), "All that the Lord has spoken we will do and obey."
Another interpretation: I am the rose of Sharon. I am beloved because I was hidden in the palaces of kings, and when the Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed me, I softened Him with good deeds and sang a song before Him, as it is said (Psalm 98:1) "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous things." Rabbi Berachiah said, "The generation of the desert said, 'I am the rose of Sharon, and beloved, for all the good things in the world are hidden in me.'"
This is what is written (Isaiah 41:19), "I will plant in the wilderness cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees." And when the Holy One, blessed be He, sought me out, I returned His deposit to Him, and I softened Him with good deeds, like a lily, and I sang a song before Him, as it is said (Isaiah 35:1-2) "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose."
And the Sages say: The land says, "I am beloved because all the dead of the world are hidden in me. And when the Holy One, blessed be He, sought me out, I returned His deposit to Him and softened Him with good deeds like a lily, and I sang a song before Him, as it is said (Psalm 98:4), "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises." "And when King David said (Psalms 23:4), 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,' the 'rod' referred to in this verse represents suffering, as it is stated (Psalms 89:33), 'I will visit their transgression with the rod.'
And the 'staff' mentioned in the same verse represents the Torah, as it is stated (Numbers 21:18), 'What is recited in the book of the Wars of the Lord, "Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon, and the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar, and lie along the border of Moab"'. These two objects provide comfort for me. It is possible that I could learn without suffering, but it is said (Pirkei Avot 6:6), 'According to the pain is the reward.'
It is also possible to receive rewards in this world, as it is said (Psalms 23:6), 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.' And why did David say, 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord'? Rabbi Tanchum said, 'Why are the righteous compared in this world to a floating log? Just as a log is covered in mud, pebbles, and sand, and yet everything that is poured over it sinks to the bottom and it emerges with its worth apparent, so too, the wicked are swallowed up from the world like grass, as it is said (Isaiah 40:7), 'The grass withers, the flower fades,' but the righteous are visible to the world, as it is said (Psalms 12:8), 'The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.' These are the righteous who fulfill the words of the Lord."