Introduction to Song of Solomon

The content of the Song of Solomon takes us by surprise when we compare it to the rest of Scripture.  For some reason a romantic love story does not jive with our expectations.  Perhaps it is for this reason that many Bible interpreters view the book as a big allegory that depicts the love of God for Israel and the Church.  This approach to Bible interpretation is always dangerous because it can lead to many abuses and transfers the authority from the text to the interpreter.  It seems much safer to let the text stand as it is and simply enjoy a beautiful poem about Solomon’s love for his wife.  This is most likely the first book that Solomon wrote when he was still a very young king.  We cannot be completely sure who he was writing to because of the fact that he had so many wives but the most likely candidate is that he was writing to and about his first wife.  She is simply referred to as the Shulamite.  The most likely person to fit this description would be the young virgin that was hired to keep David warm at the end of his life but with who he never had sexual relationships.  There is no way to know this for sure but this certainly seems to be a likely scenario.  Whoever she was, Solomon had a very deep love for her and she had a very deep love for him.  The poem seems to divide into the three stages of their relationship: dating, marriage and resolving conflict.  God has created us with desires for intimacy.  God established marriage as the proper way to fulfill those desires between one man and one woman.  Our love for one another should be a source of great joy in our lives and it is a means of God reflecting Himself and His love through us.

THE PASSION OF COURTSHIP: God created us with the ability and desire for passion.  There is a great amount of joy that we experience as a result of the passion we feel when we love someone of the opposite sex.  This mutual admiration of one another and the feelings of excitement about one another are gifts that have been given to us by God.  Our passionate desires for emotional, spiritual and physical intimacy are God given and God glorifying. However, this passionate, God given, love can easily be confused with fleshly lusts or simply infatuation that are diabolical imitations of God’s gifts.  True love expresses an admiration for another person and experiences great joy in the well-being of the object of this love.  Sinful lust is focused solely on selfish satisfaction of sinful desires.  It is vital for us to differentiate between these two expressions of passion that are so common in the courtship phase of a relationship.  Solomon and his love are clearly attracted to one another and have a deep admiration for one another.  They observe and appreciate both physical and spiritual attributes in one another.  They express this admiration in the form of words where they are very affirming of one another’s beauty and character.  Too often in today’s society the courtship stage of the relationship is characterized by physical displays of affection instead of verbal expressions of admiration.  Passion can easily be ignited through physical touch that triggers lustful and sinful desires.  The loving couple warns their readers not to stir or awaken these types of feelings.  There is a proper time for physical intimacy but it is not during the courtship stage.  This stage should be all about expressing our live in words and enjoying the passion that God has implanted in our hearts for loving one another as a reflection of His love for us and our love for Him.

THE PURITY OF MARRIAGE: The long anticipated wedding day has arrived where the groom and his lovely bride commit themselves to one another in marriage.  Once again we see a beautiful picture of the couple’s admiration for one another in this passage.  They are attracted to one another, love one another and are not at all afraid to express their love.  Marriage is a life-long commitment to faithfulness and helping one another be all that they can be for the glory of God.  He is the creator of marriage and is very pleased to see His children enjoying the gift He has made for them.  Just like it brings parents great delight to see their children enjoy their birthday presents; God’s heart is thrilled when He sees a married couple relishing in their love for one another.  Certainly, one of the greatest pleasures this life can afford is entering into the marriage relationship in purity and then maintaining that purity throughout the marriage.  The couple is so thrilled with the pleasures in their marriage that they once again implore the young virgins not to awaken these sexual desires outside of marriage.  Sexual relationships outside of marriage can bring a temporary thrill but they are always followed by guilt and regret.  Sexual pleasures within marriage are some of the deepest pleasures available to us and they are not accompanied by regret and remorse.  Satan tries to destroy the gifts of God in any way he can and one of the ways he has been successful in doing so is through the sexual promiscuity that is rampant in today’s society.  This perversion of God’s gift leaves people wounded and broken as well as damaging their future relationships.  Solomon and his bride know nothing of this pain and shame.  They freely enjoy on another on every level of their relationship.  They are spiritually challenging one another to worship the Lord.  They are emotionally fulfilled with their love for one another.  They are physically satisfied as they give pleasure to one another’s bodies.  This is God’s intention for marriage and He grants His blessing to this relationship and all relationships that give priority to the purity of marriage.     

THE PRIORITY OF FORGIVENESS: All of us are married to sinners.  There are really no other choices.  If there is one thing that sinners know how to do well, it is sin.  No matter how much we love one another; our relationships are always marred by sin.  Solomon and his bride are no exception to this rule.  We don’t know exactly what the cause of the conflict is, but we know that whatever it was, it brought division between the two of them.  Unfortunately, it looks like they have allowed their disagreement to last throughout the day and into the night to the point that she goes to bed angry while he is still outside of the home attempting to “cool off.”  One biblical principle that is very helpful in resolving conflict is to “not let the sun go down on our wrath.”  Conflicts are inevitable between two sinners but we must learn to resolve them as quickly as possible.  It seems that he is ready to reconcile and comes home only to find that the door to their home has been locked.  She has gone to bed angry and when she hears him at the door she thinks more about her comfort than about her relationship and does not get up to work things out.  He likely walks away either in a huff or with a broken heart.  She comes to her senses and rushes to the door only to find that he has gone.  This realization sends her searching the streets in hopes of finding him.  She faces danger and abuse while out at an inappropriate hour.  All of this pain and heartache could have easily been avoided if the couple could have simply made forgiveness a priority.  It is inevitable that we will sin against one another in marriage.  We cannot allow these offenses to build up wall between us.  God calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven.  In marriage we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate the character of God by giving unconditional love and gracious forgiveness to our spouses.  The couple does end up reconciling and they once again make it a point to warn the unmarried to be careful not to awaken desires outside of marriage.  Sexual involvement prior to marriage will only serve to multiply the conflicts that arise in our marriages.  Unfortunately, sin is a part of our marriage experience but these conflicts give us a unique opportunity to demonstrate God’s character within our families and to a world that desperately needs to understand who God is and how God relates with mankind.