Introduction to the Bible -- Song of Solomon
In the Hebrew Bible, the Song of Solomon is called the “Song of Songs” or, “The best of songs.” This book “celebrates the dignity and purity of human love . . . It came to us in this world of sin, where lust and passion are on every hand, where fierce temptations assail us and try to turn us aside from the God-given standard of marriage. And it reminds us, in particularly beautiful fashion, how pure and noble love is.”
The great love expressed in the Song of Solomon is between a man and his bride, in this case, Solomon, and a woman from the town of Shulam in northern Palestine. The book is presented very much like a play, divided into scenes.
Scene I - The bride is brought to the chambers of the King’s banqueting house. A chorus is sung by the “damsels of Jerusalem” and Solomon and the woman praise each other’s beauty (1:1 - 2:8).
Scene 2 - The bride’s dream of her husband to be (2:9 - 3:5).
Scene 3 - The marriage (3:6 - 5:10).
Scene 4 - The marriage festival (5:2 - 8:4).
Scene 5 - The couple visit the former home of the bride (8:5-14).
Historically, Christians have been somewhat reluctant to discuss the role of intimacy between men and women, but the Song of Solomon is a very intimate book. In an effort to avoid the issue, the book has been misinterpreted as referring to the love Jesus has for the Church – this despite the fact that the book is not cited anywhere in the New Testament. Some of our hymns are based on this interpretation (eg. “Jesus Rose of Sharon” and “I have Found a Friend in Jesus”).
Four points are worth noting here from this book:
First, when it comes to couple relationships, sex is an important aspect. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the way God intended for things to work. But God has placed certain boundaries on the sexual. It is foolish for people to believe that couples forming and nurturing their relationships will not have sexual thoughts and feelings. The Song of Solomon reminds us that God has known this, planned it that way and has spoken to the issue. Faithful people will pay attention to what God has said and keep within the boundaries of what God has said is proper.
Second, you will notice in the Song of Solomon that “looks” play an important role in the attraction between the sexes – both to men and women. It is important that after marriage, both husband and wife understand that, and seek remain attractive to their spouse.
Third, though looks are important, husbands and wives see one another differently from the way they see others. The woman of Shulam did not think she was as pretty or as cultured compared to the queens of Solomon’s harem (1:5-6). But Solomon saw her with different eyes. In every successful marriage, the wife must know from her husband that he sees her differently from the way he sees other women – different even from the way she sees herself – and that he loves what he sees in her. The wife views her husband differently from the way she views other men – and she loves what she sees in him.
Finally, notice that Solomon and his bride communicate to each other their appreciation for one another. In modern relationships, pride often gets in the way of doing this, but successful marriages as God intended are relationships where husbands and wives continually communicate how they value how they feel about each another to each other, and they do so in positive ways.
The great love expressed in the Song of Solomon is between a man and his bride, in this case, Solomon, and a woman from the town of Shulam in northern Palestine. The book is presented very much like a play, divided into scenes.
Scene I - The bride is brought to the chambers of the King’s banqueting house. A chorus is sung by the “damsels of Jerusalem” and Solomon and the woman praise each other’s beauty (1:1 - 2:8).
Scene 2 - The bride’s dream of her husband to be (2:9 - 3:5).
Scene 3 - The marriage (3:6 - 5:10).
Scene 4 - The marriage festival (5:2 - 8:4).
Scene 5 - The couple visit the former home of the bride (8:5-14).
Historically, Christians have been somewhat reluctant to discuss the role of intimacy between men and women, but the Song of Solomon is a very intimate book. In an effort to avoid the issue, the book has been misinterpreted as referring to the love Jesus has for the Church – this despite the fact that the book is not cited anywhere in the New Testament. Some of our hymns are based on this interpretation (eg. “Jesus Rose of Sharon” and “I have Found a Friend in Jesus”).
Four points are worth noting here from this book:
First, when it comes to couple relationships, sex is an important aspect. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the way God intended for things to work. But God has placed certain boundaries on the sexual. It is foolish for people to believe that couples forming and nurturing their relationships will not have sexual thoughts and feelings. The Song of Solomon reminds us that God has known this, planned it that way and has spoken to the issue. Faithful people will pay attention to what God has said and keep within the boundaries of what God has said is proper.
Second, you will notice in the Song of Solomon that “looks” play an important role in the attraction between the sexes – both to men and women. It is important that after marriage, both husband and wife understand that, and seek remain attractive to their spouse.
Third, though looks are important, husbands and wives see one another differently from the way they see others. The woman of Shulam did not think she was as pretty or as cultured compared to the queens of Solomon’s harem (1:5-6). But Solomon saw her with different eyes. In every successful marriage, the wife must know from her husband that he sees her differently from the way he sees other women – different even from the way she sees herself – and that he loves what he sees in her. The wife views her husband differently from the way she views other men – and she loves what she sees in him.
Finally, notice that Solomon and his bride communicate to each other their appreciation for one another. In modern relationships, pride often gets in the way of doing this, but successful marriages as God intended are relationships where husbands and wives continually communicate how they value how they feel about each another to each other, and they do so in positive ways.
