This is one of the unusual books of the Bible. There is no mention of Almighty God, its spiritual content appears to be non-existent, and its language is highly sensuous. How could such a book have a welcome place in the the Word of God?
This book is part of the Bible’s wisdom literature. Though Christian theologians have mixed opinions – some say it is figurative and allegorical, others question its place in the canon – apparently the Jewish sages have a high opinion of it. While the Greeks deemed physical things as bad and invisible spiritual things as good, the Hebrews had a different, more practical perspective. The Hebrews said that God made both physical and spiritual realms and everything He creates is good. This includes male and female, falling in love, marriage, and becoming husband and wife. What’s more, sex is God’s idea and it is good, too. But like electricity, divinely-ordained sexuality is most powerful and must be handled with care. When left in the context of a committed, monogamous heterosexual marriage, it is declared ‘good.’ When done outside or in-between marriage, it is can have devastating consequences. Sex outside God’s design has a price-tag: unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and divine condemnation (Revelation 21:8; 22:15).
While some want to find spiritual meaning within the sensuous imagery, it is best to take it at face value: this book is about marital love. It is good to take it on your honeymoon!
So why should we read the Song of Solomon? God is love (I John 4:8), and Christianity is based on God’s love towards us and our reciprocating his love in return. We also understand how God feels when love is not returned. The story of Hosea and his adulterous wife Gomer – and the frustration the prophet feels at his wife’s infidelity, mirrors what God feels when His people become lukewarm and two-timing. It also helps us gain the Godly perspective that human sexuality is the Lord’s idea and that He heartily endorses it under the divinely-designed boundaries. Finally, Song of Solomon is Scripture, meaning it is divinely inspired and profitable for doctrine, correction, reproof, and instruction in righteousness.
HEBREW NAME
Hebrew: Shir-HaShirim, ‘Song of Songs. In the Greek Septuagint (LXX), it is Asthma Asmaton. In the Latin Vulgate, it is Canticum Canticorum, where we get the alternate name called ‘Canticles.’
AUTHORS OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON
Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs (I Kings 4:32) and he is the author of the Song of Solomon. He also wrote Ecclesiastes.
PORTRAIT OF CHRIST IN SONG OF SOLOMON
Jesus Christ is the ‘leaping, skipping voice of the beloved’ (2:8), ’the bridegroom’ (the word is used 24 times in Scripture and 16 times in the New Testament, of which 15 of the 16 are in the words of Jesus).
THEME OF SONG OF SOLOMON
This book is God and love: God is love, God’s love for His people; God’s solid endorsement of marital love. It is also about marital love from a human perspective with a strong Middle Eastern flavour.
KEY VERSES IN SONG OF SOLOMON
I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me — Song of Solomon 7:10
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned — Song of Solomon 8:7
SUMMARY OF SONG OF SOLOMON
The main personalities are Solomon, the Shulamite, and the daughters of Jerusalem. The king has a country estate in Ephraim, Samaria, called Baalhamon. The Shulamite is a Cinderella type character where she, the daughter of the tenant farmer, works so much in the vineyard that she turns ‘black’ in the hot sun. There she meets a man in the vineyard, they talk regularly, and then fall in love. He proposes to her and they plan to marry.
However, her fiancé has to go back south for business and will be gone for awhile. The Shulamite has nightmares because she is afraid he will never return.
Finally, her man does return to get her. He is not just any man … he is Solomon himself. She is engaged to marry the king. One small detail: he already has 60 wives and eventually will have 700, plus 300 concubines. He takes her south to Jerusalem to live in the palace. A banquet is given in her honour. She feels strange in the presence of the other 60 wives. In fact, she is only the ‘rose of Sharon’ and the ‘lily of the valley.’ Really? Solomon sees her as the ’lily among the thorns. It says in Song of Solomon 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
OUTLINE OF SONG OF SOLOMON
I. Love commences (1-2)
II. Pain of Separation (3)
III. The beloved described from the North (4)
IV. Love grows (5-8)