THE SONG OF SONGS MEMORY CHALLENGE THEME: Union and Communion OUTLINE: I. COURTSHIP (LEAVE) II. CONSUMMATION (CLEAVE) III. CELEBRATION (WEAVE)

(SONG OF SOLOMON 1-3) (SONG OF SOLOMON 4-5) (SONG OF SOLOMON 6-8)

KEY CHAPTERS: The Wedding The Wedding Night The Honeymoon is Over

(Song of Solomon 3) (Song of Solomon 4) (Song of Solomon 5)

KEY PASSAGES: Song of Solomon 2:7 “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you do not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases.” Song of Solomon 2:16 “My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies.” Song of Solomon 5:1 “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” Song of Solomon 6:4-7 “You are as beautiful as Tirzah (pleasantness), my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners… Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes which have come up from their washing… Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate behind your veil.” Song of Solomon 8:6-7 “Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised.” KEY PEOPLE: Solomon – 3rd king of Israel (1 Kgs. 1:32-37); son of David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:24); writer of some 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs (1 Kgs. 4:32) Shulammite Woman – The name “Shulamite” appears only at 6:13. It is probably derived from the place called Shunem, located a short distance north of Jezreel near the plain of Megiddo (cf. Josh 19:18; 1Sam 28:4, 1 Kings 1:3; 2 Kings 4:8) ‘Daughters of Jerusalem’ – The identity of these women is not disclosed. They may have been companions of the bride, or more likely, were attendants at the king’s palace (e.g. Solomon’s harem – ref. 6:8).

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I.

INTRODUCTION: I.

OVERVIEW: Why is the Song of Songs in the Bible? More importantly, how are we to understand and interpret it? To properly answer these questions, I would submit that we first must understand the Bible’s overarching story, that it is bigger and grander and higher and deeper and longer than any other narrative human tongue can tell. One this is sure, in this song, the greatest of all songs at that, we have the Bible’s depiction of love, a love though depicted in poetic form but is nevertheless more real to life than any version this world has to offer. To be sure, the people of God desperately needs the Song of Songs today. Simply consider the state of our modern culture, there is a captivation and confusion with sex. Sex is the most profitable marketing strategy in our society, and the perversion of sex has entranced large segments of our world population from homosexuality, adultery, bestiality, polygamy, and other wicked abominations. In this, the unbelieving world desperately wants to separate passion from responsibility. They want to extract the divine glory of intimacy from its singular context of a monogamous relationship between one man and one woman. Tragically, the world knows that the human heart is magnetized and drawn toward selfishness and lustful passions. So, whether it is telling you that you need a certain car, house, watch, cell phone, golf club, etc., it all is catering to your lusts, the desires of your heart. This same tactic is used to ensnare the hearts of men and women into sexual temptations as well. Proverbs speaks clearly about the adulterous woman who draws a man in first by his availability, then by his curiosity, then by his lusts. In short, we look around the world, and we behold an untold number of sins, evils as it relates to sex. As a result of the Fall, we experience deeply distorted and even destructive attitudes concerning human sexuality. So how are we to right these wrong instincts? How can our minds be renewed when it comes to marriage and sexual intimacy? I am confident that God has given the Song of Songs so that we can think properly concerning love. According to God’s design, there is nothing inherently evil about sexuality. This is the error that Gnosticism makes by saying that everything connected to the flesh is evil. The truth is this, God created intimacy. He designed it to be a normal part of one relationship that is united in covenant bond through marriage. Thus, sex within marriage is honorable, yet sexual activity outside of the marriage bed is sin. God has given us the Song of Songs so that His glory in Christ will radiate in our marriages and in our sexuality. This book restores the purity to the subject of intimacy and explicitly shows us that there is no shame in the passion that erupts from attraction and love. Obviously this can be an awkward book to survey, but we should not shy away in proclaiming the biblical truth of intimacy in marriage any more so than we would the truth of God’s electing love. In other words, we find in these pages of inspired text words that spur us on to greater love and intimacy with our spouse that is punctuated with the very blessing and benediction of God (Sgs. 5:1b). There are some who look at this book and cannot understand why God would place this book in the Bible. But let

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me assure each of us that what is here, is here by God’s providential guidance, and is therefore, 100% pure and profitable for us today, that is, in its biblical context. II.

BACKGROUND: King Solomon owned vineyards all across the country, one of which was in the country of the Shulammite girl (6:13; 8:11-12). In one particular vineyard, which is in the hill country of Ephraim (50 miles N of Jerusalem) and serves as the likely setting for the Song of Songs, Solomon finds a Shulammite girl working in her family’s vineyard with her brothers, toiling under the hot sun (1:6). This Shulammite girl, in modern terms, would be the ‘cinderella’ of the family, naturally beautiful but unnoticed because she was expected to work hard in the vineyard, which left little to no time to care for her personal appearance. At work, we are told that she pruned the vines and set traps for the little foxes (2:15) as well as kept the flocks (1:8). As a result of her hard work and being outside, she became extremely tanned, even sunburned (1:5). One day a handsome stranger, Solomon in disguise, visited the vineyard in which the Shulammite girl was tending and showed an interest in her, at which time she becomes conscientious and embarrassed at her appearance (1:6). She took Solomon for a shepherd and inquired of his flock (1:7), though Solomon answered her evasively and began speaking loving words to her (1:8-10). Ultimately, Solomon won her heart with a promise that someday he would return. Infatuated with the promise of his soon return, she dreams of him at night and sometimes thinks that he is near (3:1). Finally, Solomon does return as promised, but this time he appears in all of his kingly splendor to make her his bride (3:6-7) and experience the joys of marriage.

III.

TITLE: In our English Bibles the Song of Solomon is the fifth of the poetical books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. In the Hebrew Bible it is the first of the “Five Rolls” (Megilloth): Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther. Portions of it were sung on the eighth day of the Passover feast, which was the Jews’ first and greatest of all annual feasts. With this in mind, in ancient times, the Jews revered these canticles as uniquely sublime. In this, they likened the book of Proverbs to the outer court of the Temple (how to live with God and others); Ecclesiastes to the holy place (how to enjoy God); and Song of Solomon to the most holy place (how to love God intimately). The opening verse provides the title, “The Song of Songs.” This is the Hebrew way of expressing the superlative degree nature of this song, meaning this is the best of the best. In other words, of Solomon’s 1,005 songs (ref. 1 Kgs. 4:32), this song stands out as his best, or at the least, his most important. As a result, the more common English title assigned to this book is “Song of Solomon”, which is also based on Sgs. 1:1 and designates Solomon as author. In addition, the book is sometimes referenced as Canticles, or “series of songs,” derived from the Latin.

IV.

AUTHOR: The traditional view is that Solomon is the author. This is strongly supported by internal characteristics of the book. On several occasions, the name Solomon appears within the book: 1:1, 5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11, 12, and as previously noted, verse one

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can be translated to read that Solomon is the author of this book. However, the verse may also be translated, “The Song of Songs, which is of, or about, Solomon.” Regardless, the contents of this book agree with all that we know about the abilities and wisdom of Solomon. In fact, evidence strongly points to Solomonic authorship of the books Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. With this said, there is no compelling reason for us to doubt Solomon’s authorship of this book as well. V.

DATE: With Solomon as the probable author of the book while he was still young, and prior to his being drawn away from God by his seven hundred wives and concubines (1 Kings 11:3-4), a suggested date of composition is around 965 B.C. This dating would have been early in Solomon’s reign as king (970-931), whereas the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes would have been later.

VI.

THEME: The purposes of the Song of Solomon are: (1) Literal: to honor pure human love and marriage; to show the joys of love in courtship and marriage; and to show that physical beauty and sexuality in marriage should not be despised as base or unspiritual, but seen as good and wholesome. (2) Figurative: to show the Lord’s love for Israel (Ps. 45; Ezek. 16; Hosea 1-3), and Christ’s love for His Church (Eph. 5:26-27). By this, the Song of Solomon exists as a means to arouse within God’s people a greater love for Him, and in so doing, a deeper gratitude for His love for us. In short, the book is a love story, describing Solomon’s romantic love, courtship, and marriage with a Shulammite girl. Still, this literal purpose of the book has often been twisted by those not prepared to read frank and intimate expressions of love. In this book, any perversions of the holiness of marriage are slain by its central message of love that honors God. With this said, a warning must be issued that if a reader is licentiously excited when he reads the Song of Solomon, then he is out of tune with its central purpose. The book’s literal message is of the purity and true beauty of all of God’s creative acts, specifically those that God has designed exclusively for the marriage bed.

VII.

LESSON: This book was especially written to stir up the feelings of God’s people. Whereas Ecclesiastes stresses profound thinking; the Song of Solomon stresses deep feeling. Consider the wide array of aspects concerning love that are referred to in this book: physical-beauty, purity, body, sexual instincts, desire, attraction, satisfaction, giving and receiving, presence and separation, physical wedlock; as well as nonphysical aspects such as social, mental, and spiritual, attraction, companionship, union and communion, hope, pleasure, giving and receiving , presence and separation, tenderness, sacrifice, faithfulness, praise, beauty, love, purity, wholesomeness, humility. No other book of the Bible gives such an extended description of the beauties of a love relationship between a man and a woman. The inclusion of this human love story in God’s Word demonstrates the sacred honor, which He has given to the union of husband and wife, the kind of human love that exclusively honors God.

VIII.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: The Song of Solomon is unique among the books of the Bible in many ways. Some of these are described below. (1) It is one of the most

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misunderstood books of the Bible. Its Oriental expressions of intimate love partly account for this. Simply remember that this is a love song. (2) It is the only book of the Bible where love between humans is the main plot and theme. Other similar passages of love are to be found in Psalm 45 and the book of Ruth. (3) There is only one direct reference to God, “the Lord,” in the book (8:6). (4) There is no specific or direct reference to sin, righteousness, or holiness. (5) No other Old Testament book is quoted or alluded in this book. (6) The book is not alluded to by Christ, nor is it quoted elsewhere is the New Testament. Moreover, there is huge debate over how one should interpret this portion of biblical text. Over the centuries, three prominent interpretive views have arose: 

Naturalistic: This view says that the Song of Solomon is a human love story, of literary merit and worth only, with no typical or figurative meaning intended. By this, these proponents state that this book is simply love poetry that is not designed to tell any one person’s specific story. Rather, they argue, that the book exists to carry forward the ideal of romance. The assumption is that this book would have been given to a man and his bride on their wedding day. Astoundingly, this view has emerged as one of the most accepted views in the 20th century.



Allegorical: This view says that the Song of Solomon is purely figurative, and not based on any historical facts. This may be an overestimation, but many proponents of this view say that the book is a ‘wee bit racy.’ Why would God want a book about sex in the Bible, some argue. Therefore, they say that the book is to be interpreted metaphorically for God’s love for Israel and Christ’s love for the Church. In this, they assert that the message of the book has nothing to do with human love, but pertains exclusively to idealist love—God’s love.



Typical (Biblical Theological): This view says that the Song of Solomon should be interpreted as a teaching by example based on historical facts; as well as type, by also viewing these historical facts as figurative representations. In other words, this position blends a literal and figurative interpretive model into one. This is to say that when one reads the Song of Solomon, one believes in the historical accuracy of both individuals and geographical locations. G. Campbell Morgan, the famed preacher of Westminster Chapel in London, describes this methodology of interpretation writing, “The songs should be treated first as simple and yet sublime songs of human affection. When they are thus understood, reverently the thoughts may be lifted into the higher value of setting forth the joys of the communion between the spirit of man and the Spirit of God, and ultimately between the Church and Christ.” Though a literal approach to a biblical text is most often the desired method of interpretation, there is biblical truth that can be gleaned from this book through a figurative (biblical theological, typological) lens. With this said, two applications can be drawn from other portions of Scripture to aid in this typical interpretation where: (1) Israel is seen as the bride, and God the Bridegroom (Isa. 54:5-6; Jer 2:2; Eze

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16:8-14; Hosea 2:16, 18-20). Jewish believers of Old Testament times clearly saw this typical intent of the book, which helped to impress them regarding the book’s canonicity. (2) The Church can be seen as the Bride, and Christ the Bridegroom (Eph 5:23-25; 2 Cor 11:1-2; Rev 19:7-9; 21:9). By this, one can conclude that one of the interpretive perspectives of the biblical authors was to speak of God’s covenant love to His people in terms of a marriage covenant (e.g. Exodus; Hosea, Ephesians 5). This in no way denies or negates that this Song is about human love. It is. But corresponding to this literal understanding is the typical reality that Solomon intended his audience to detect a correspondence between the King’s marriage to His Bride with that of Yahweh’s covenant marriage with Israel, which they did. This method of interpretation, one that places primary emphasis on the literal interpretation while seeing comparisons with this book in relation to God’s and Christ’s love for the Church, is a suitable model for our use, I would contend. As one OT commentator notes, “The abiding value of the Song of Solomon is clear when this view (typical) is taken. As human life finds its highest fulfillment in the love of man and woman (literal), so spiritual life finds its highest fulfillment in the love of Christ and His Church (figurative).” With this in mind, an interesting comparison has been made between Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon involving their pointing to Christ. In Ecclesiastes we learn that without Christ we cannot be satisfied, even if we possess the entire world. In the Song of Solomon we learn that if we turn from the world and set our affections on Christ, we cannot fathom the infinite preciousness of His love. A Christological purpose can be seen in the Song of Songs as it further serves to inspire Christians to take time to mediate on Jesus Christ and His love for us, for no one can surpass the love of Christ: “Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me” (Gal 2:20). Similarly, it is His person that we desperately long to see as “His mouth is full of sweetness. And He is wholly desirable.” (Sgs. 5:16). And like the Shulammite woman, we too long for the day of his promised return, when He shall return as King to gather His Bride (Sgs. 3). By this, the reader is overwhelmed by the evocative beautiful and reassuring truth of our union and communion with such a Savior, the greater Solomon and Son of David, found figuratively represented and anticipated in this glorious book. II. OUTLINE: I.

THE COURTSHIP (SONG OF SOLOMON 1-3A)

The Song of Solomon is a unified lyrical poem. It is a series of stanzas or songs of varied lengths; a love story in the form of a dramatic, lyric poem built upon a dialogue between the king (Solomon), the bride (Shulammite), and a chorus (the daughters of Jerusalem and God). As a

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whole, the book contains a series of ‘snapshots’ picturing scenes in the progression of the relationship, and is abounding with literary features and figures of speech that are common to poetry, such as simile, metaphor, as well as oriental imagery and phraseology (Sgs. 4). One particular commentator has even identified six scenes/acts to this melodrama: 1) the mutual affection of the lovers (1:2-2:7), 2) the mutual seeking and finding of the lovers (2:8-3:5), 3) the home-bringing of the bride, and the marriage (3:6-5:1), 4) love disdained, but won again (5:2-6:9), 5) the Shulammite, the attractively fair but humble Princess (6:10-8:4), 6) the ratification of the covenant of love in Shulammite’s native home (8:5-14). a. SCENE ONE: THE ANTICIPATION OF LOVE (Sgs. 1:2-8) – Setting: The King’s Chambers (alone) i. She Desires His Love (1:2-4a) 1. Chorus (1:4b) ii. She Worries About Her Appearance (1:5-6) iii. She Waits For His Lead (1:7) 1. Chorus (1:8) b. SCENE TWO: THE COMMUNICATION OF LOVE (Sgs. 1:9-14) – Setting: The King’s Palace: His Royal Dining Hall (together) i. He Communicates His Love to Her (1:9-10) 1. Chorus (1:11) ii. She Carries His Love Within Her (1:12-14) c. SCENE THREE: THE AFFIRMATION OF LOVE (Sgs. 1:15-2:3) – Setting: Countryside Outside of Jerusalem (together) i. He Praises Her Beauty (1:15) ii. She Praises His Handsomeness (1:16-2:1) iii. He Portrays Her Beauty (2:2) iv. She Praises His Uniqueness (2:3) d. SCENE FOUR: THE CELEBRATION OF LOVE (Sgs. 2:4-7) – Setting: Banquet Hall (together) i. He Declares His Love (2:4) ii. She Desires His Love (2:5-6) 1. Chorus (2:7) e. SCENE FIVE: THE COMMUNION OF LOVE (Sgs. 2:8) – Setting: Countryside of Lebanon (together) i. She Describes His Coming to Call Upon Her (2:8-13) ii. He Calls to Her to Come Join Him (2:14) 1. Chorus (2:15) iii. She Rests in Their Mutual Commitment (2:16-17) f. SCENE SIX: THE APPREHENSION OF LOVE (Sgs. 3:1-5) – Setting: On Her Bed (alone) i. She Dreams of Their Separation (3:1-3) ii. She Dreams of Their Reunion (3:4)

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1. Chorus (3:5) II.

THE WEDDING (SONG OF SOLOMON 3B) a. THE WEDDING PROCESSION (Sgs. 3:6-10) i. Before the Procession: Smoke (3:6) ii. Around the Procession: Soldiers (3:7-8) iii. Atop the Procession: Solomon (3:7a, 9-10) b. THE WEDDING CEREMONY (Sgs. 3:11) i. The Public Invitation (11a) ii. The Parental Approval (11b) iii. Their Personal Happiness (11c)

III.

THE HONEYMOON (SONG OF SOLOMON 4-5A) a. THE EXALTATION OF THE BRIDE (Sgs. 4:1-15) i. He Praises Her Beauty (4:1-7) 1. Her eyes, hair, teeth, lips, mouth, temples, neck, breasts ii. He Praises Her Femininity (4:8-11) iii. He Praises Her Virginity (4:12-15) b. THE INVITATION OF THE BRIDE (Sgs. 4:16) c. THE EXHILARATION OVER THE BRIDE (Sgs. 5:1a) i. Chorus (5:1b) – God’s Benediction and Blessing of this Holy Union

IV.

THE MARRIAGE (SONG OF SOLOMON 5B-8A) a. THEIR FIRST CONFLICT (Sgs. 5:2-8) b. THEIR CONFLICT RESOLUTION (Sgs. 5:9-6:3) i. Step One (5:9-16) 1. A challenging question (5:9) 2. A confirming answer (5:10-16) ii. Step Two (6:1-3) 1. A challenging question (6:1) 2. A confirming answer (6:2-3) c. THEIR SINCERE APOLOGY (Sgs. 6:4-13) i. He Affirms Her With Praise (6:4-10) ii. She Responds Within Herself (6:11-12) 1. Chorus (6:13) d. THEIR MARRIAGE DEEPENS (Sgs. 7:1-8:4) i. His Love For Her Has Grown (7:1-10)

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ii. Her Love For Him Grows (7:11-8:4) e. THEIR JOURNEY HOME (Sgs8:5-14) i. He Recalls His First Love For Her (8:5-7, 13) ii. She Recalls Her First Love For Him (8:8-12, 14)

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