Song of Solomon

1. Song of Solomon A Book That Doesn’t Mention God

2. 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles • Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs

3. “Solomon loved the LORD and followed the instructions of his father David...” • “That night the LORD appeared to him in a dream and asked him, ‘What would you like me to give you?’

4. “Solomon answered, ‘You always showed great love for my father David, your servant, and he was good, loyal, and honest in his relation with you. And you have continued to show him your great and constant love by giving him a son who today rules in his place. O LORD God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don’t know how to rule.’”

5. Here I am among the people you have chosen to be your own, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted. So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?’ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this, and so he said to him, ‘Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself or riches or the death of your enemies, I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had before or will ever have again.’” (1 Kings 3:3,5-14)

6. “God gave Solomon unusual wisdom and insight, and knowledge too great to be measured. Solomon was wiser than the wise men of the East or the wise men of Egypt. He was the wisest of all men…and his fame spread throughout all the neighboring countries. He composed three thousand proverbs and more than a thousand songs. He spoke of trees and plants, from the Lebanon cedars to the hyssop that grows on walls; he talked about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. Kings all over the world heard of his wisdom and sent people to listen to him.” (1 Kings 4:29-34)

7. Song of Songs • Allegory? • Literal? • Drama? • A love poem? • Does it belong in the canon?

8. Consistent pattern of the lovers: • (1) apart from one another, • (2) yearning for one another, • (3) united with one another. • This threefold pattern is a motif found in each of the seven chiastic units of the book: • A - 1:2-2:7; B - 2:8-17; C - 3:1-5; D - 3:6-5:1; • C' - 5:2-7:10; B' - 7:11-8:4; A' - 8:5-14

9. “Solomon’s Most Excellent Love Song. Oh, how I wish you would kiss me passionately! For your lovemaking is more delightful than wine. The fragrance of your colognes is delightful; your name is like the finest perfumes. No wonder the young women adore you! Draw me after you; let us hurry! May the king bring me into his bed chambers!” (Song of Songs,1:1-4)

10. “How beautiful you are, my love! How your eyes shine with love behind your veil. Your hair dances like a flock of goats bounding down the hills of Gilead. Your teeth are as white as sheep that have just been shorn and washed. Not one of them is missing; they are all perfectly matched. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; how lovely they are when you speak. Your cheeks glow behind your veil. Your neck is like the tower of David, round and smooth, with a necklace like a thousand shields hung around it.” (Song of Songs 4:1-4)

11. “How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O nobleman’s daughter! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a master craftsman. You navel is a round mixing bowl – may it never lack mixed wine! Your belly is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies…Your neck is like a tower made of ivory. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon…Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus…” (Song of Songs 7:1-5 NET)

12. “The literal interpretation has been rejected many times by both Jewish and Christian interpreters. The reason given for not considering the book a love song is the feeling that a sacred book should not be about the passion and joys of love between a man and a woman.” • “…because of its explicit language, ancient and modern Jewish sages forbade men to read the book before they were thirty (and presumably kept women from reading it at all).” – Nelson study Bible

13. “The whole world is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the Scriptures are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.” • Rabbi Akiba

14. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

17. “Love is not self-seeking…” (1 Corinthians 13:5) • “Honor your father and your mother…” (Exodus 20:12)

18. “Instead, let love make you serve one another. For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’” (Galatians 5:13-14) • “Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own.” (Philippians 2:3)

20. Literal view: • There really was a relationship between Solomon and this Shunamite woman • God gave us love, and the ability to fall in love and the freedom to create. It’s a positive thing. • Love, marriage, and sexuality are wonderful things given by God.

21. Father • Son • Holy Spirit

22. Allegory • “How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!” (Matthew 23:37)

23. “The Lord is my Shepherd” (Psalm 23) • If you are the only one out of 100 that leave, I will drop everything to find you • “I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

24. “I will sing to my love – a song to my lover* about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill…” (Isaiah 5:1) • *The word “lover” is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover (NET Bible)

25. “Could a mother forget a child who nurses at her breast? Could she fail to love an infant who came from her own body? Even if a mother could forget, I will never forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15 – CEV)

26. “He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him” (Luke 15:15)

27. “I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends.” (John 15:15)

28. “Nor does the Father himself judge anyone. He has given his Son the full right to judge.” (John 5:22)…“If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them…Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!” (John 12:47-48)

29. The relationship you can have with me is no less intense than that of a young couple in love (Song of Songs) • “The passion of love bursting into flame is more powerful than death, stronger than the grave. Love cannot be drowned by oceans or floods; it cannot be bought, no matter what is offered.” (Song of Songs 8:6, 7)

30. “For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven's Armies is His name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. For the LORD has called you back from your grief—as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,’ says your God.” (Isaiah 54:5-6)

31. “The LORD told me to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem. ‘I remember how faithful you were when you were young, how you loved me when we were first married; you followed me through the desert, through a land that had not been planted.’” (Jeremiah 2:1-2)

32. “When you were born, no one cut your umbilical cord or washed you or rubbed you with salt or wrapped you in cloths. No one took enough pity on you to do any of these things for you. When you were born, no one loved you. You were thrown out in an open field. Then I passed by and saw you squirming in your own blood. You were covered with blood, but I wouldn’t let you die. I made you grow like a healthy plant. You grew strong and tall and became a young woman. Your breasts were well-formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked. As I passed by again, I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love. I covered your naked body with my coat and promised to love you. Yes, I made a marriage covenant with you, and you became mine.” (Ezekiel 16:4-8)

33. “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him. The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs.” (John 3:28-29) • “Jesus answered, ‘Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to be sad as long as the bridegroom is with them?’” (Matthew 9:15)

34. “For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God Himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. “ (2 Corinthians 11:2)

35. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and earth had disappeared, and the sea was gone. Then I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, dressed like a bride ready for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne say, ‘God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.’” (Revelation 21:1-3)

36. “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived…” (Genesis 4:1)

37. “This is eternal life, to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. On earth I have given you glory by finishing the work you gave me to do…I made your name known to the people you gave me.” (John 17:3-6)

38. 2nd Coming • “When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God’s message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!’ Then I will say to them, ‘I never knew you…’”(Matthew 7:22-23)

39. Prostitution - Idolatry • “For long ago you broke your yoke and burst your bonds, and you said, ‘I will not serve!’ On every high hill and under every green tree you sprawled and played the whore.” (Jeremiah 2:20)

43. “Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8)