Song of Solomon, esp. 2:16
Introduction: Normally, I’d like to start out with some humorous story or something, but I’ll just say this. I’m going to do something today I’ve never done in 26 years of preaching. I’m going to preach from the Song of Songs.
I’m going to suggest that the book we’re looking at today is probably one of the least understood and least read of the whole Bible. First, because it contains some pretty graphic language, which, if I read it out loud this morning, would raise some eyebrows. One commentator said that Jewish men weren’t even to read the book SOS until they reached age 30. This is pretty steamy stuff. You’ve been given fair warning. Second, the structure and nature of this book makes it one of the hardest to understand. You can read the whole book, carefully, and basically end up saying, “Huh?” Which makes applying it to life pretty challenging. So, I feel challenged, but I’m also excited because I think we’ll get through this!
Imagine being asked to be in a play. You’re handed a script. First, it has the title, author, synopsis, setting, stage notes, and cast of characters. It’s typically written in multiple acts and scenes, with stage notes, production notes, and with every character’s lines labeled with their name. But this particular play is from a different culture, a different era, and in a different language. Now, take away the notes – no more setting, no cast of characters. There are no acts, no scenes, no stage notes, no production notes. There are no labels about whose lines are whose. In fact, since it’s in Hebrew, there are no line breaks, no sentence breaks, no space between words, no punctuation, and no vowels! Begin there, and you have the book titled Song of Songs.
A lot of brilliant minds have put a lot of work into trying to guide us here. This may shock you: They don’t all agree with each other!
What is this book?
Some say it’s just a collection of disconnected songs. Some have suggested is just a collection of erotic pagan fertility cult liturgies – pornography from 1000 BC! Others have suggested it’s a collection of Syrian wedding songs, still others, that it’s a drama, like “Romeo and Juliette” or “Annie, Get Your Gun.” Many have approached it as an allegory – not a literal story, but one where everything is symbolic. Martin Luther said it is actually all about praising the virtues of a peaceful monarchy. Theodore Beza said it is an allegory of the history of the Church. I think the most reasonable and accurate view is that SOS is a story of real events that has been set into a poetic song of wisdom. I Kg 4:32 says his songs numbered 1005. This is the only one we have saved. To help start making heads or tails of this book, we’ll start there.
So, it’s a true story, adapted as some kind of drama starring 2 main characters: Solomon, and a woman from Shunem (we’ll call her “The Shulamite”). There’s also some group of observers, maybe servants or part of Solomon’s harem. There may be another character too – the Shulamite’s true love back home.
Here’s where it gets challenging. If you have the NIV or NAS Bible, you’ll notice in the text that they have tried to label for you who is speaking and when. They’ve approached it with 2 main characters: Solomon and the Shulamite. Solomon’s lines are labeled “Lover” and the Shulamite’s “Beloved.” Then people commenting on the side are labeled “Friends.”
So, the short version is this: Solomon, visiting the vineyards of Mt. Lebanon, comes across this attractive girl, she runs away. Solomon visits her, disguised as a shepherd, and woos her. Then, he comes without the disguise and invites her to marry him. Chapter 1 is their marriage in the palace, and the rest of the book is a kind of flashback. That’s the called the “2-person theory” of the book.
The 3-person theory is the one we’re going to use this morning. It’s one I think makes more sense, because it recognizes a deeper purpose of the book. So we’ll camp out there. Here’s the story:
The opening scene is Solomon’s palace. The palace women are singing the praises of Solomon – “Who wouldn’t love Solomon?” There’s this surprising answer: a Shulamite woman, who’s not so enamored by Solomon, is thinking of her true love – a shepherd back home. Near the end of ch 6, we find out what happened. She was taken from her hometown to be in Solomon’s harem, although her heart belongs to another. From there, we have some attempts by Solomon to woo her, but she remembers and remains faithful to her true love. She tells the palace women:
Song of Songs 2:7
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
In other words, wait. Love has a right person and place, and this wasn’t it. It’s 2:16 where we read the key verse to the whole book: 2:16 (NIV) My lover is mine and I am his…
She dreams about him, and you can hear her with a sigh saying again in 3:5,
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
Act 2 is in Solomon’s summer pavilion at Mt. Lebanon. Once again, there’s a group of palace women all impressed by Solomon. Once again, Solomon is trying to win the love of the Shulamite, but her heart belongs to her true love. She recalls him, dreams about him, and talks about him to the point that the palace women are asking:
5:9 (NIV)
How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you charge us so?
So she tells them with words so full of love and devotion that they ask (6:1), “Where is he?!” By ch 7, Solomon is trying to woo her again and she interrupts:
Song of Songs 7:9b-8:4 (NIV)
May the wine go straight to my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth. I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me. Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages. Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom-- there I will give you my love. The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover. If only you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother's breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me. I would lead you and bring you to my mother's house--she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates. His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me. Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
Act 3, the last act, is in the Shulamite’s home village. Solomon has given up. The Shulamite’s true love speaks, and their faithfulness to each other is confirmed. Her brothers remember how they were waiting to see if she would be a cheap and easy date or someone true to her love. She has passed the test.
She turns to her true love,
Song of Songs 8:14 (NIV)
Come away, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the spice-laden mountains.
And they live happily ever after. The end.
Maybe that helps you appreciate SOS more than ever for the first time. Maybe, like my wife when she first heard the 3-person theory, it ruins the whole thing for you! Either way, what on earth is it doing in the middle of my Bible?!
How did Bernard of Clairvaux write 86 sermons from the 1st 2 chapters? How did Origen write 10 volumes of commentaries on the whole book? And what am I supposed to do with this story?
Joke - Maybe you’re like the 85 yr old guy who was out fishing one day when he heard a voice from the water. “Hey! Hey! Down here!” He looked around. “Down here!” Of all things, there was a frog in the water, talking to him. “Hey, I’m not really a frog, and if you’ll give me a kiss, I’ll turn into a beautiful princess!” He reached down, picked up the frog, and shoved it into his pocket. The frog pushed around and got its head out. “Hey, didn’t you hear me? I said that if you give me a kiss, I’ll turn into a beautiful princess!” He said, “At my age, I’d rather have a talking frog.”
There are some encouragements for all of us to receive from this book – ALL of us, no matter where you’re at in life.
We’ve been looking at King Solomon. This book gives us one more glimpse into his life that may help us understand him a little better. Lord willing, next week, we’ll take one more look at Solomon through the book of Ecclesiastes. But, there’s much more than just an interesting look into Solomon here. This is a Bible book about love and sexuality. Love is unquenchable – that’s the conclusion near the end. We need to learn about it, or the Lord wouldn’t have included it. SOS is helps us to…
I. Have a Right View of Sexuality
SOS is a retrospective book. It invites us to look back to Eden, where God created sexuality and said, along with the rest of His creation, “It is good.” SOS helps us get this. And we could use the help, because sometimes we just don’t get it.
Joke – One evening, a farmer was surprised to see light coming from the barn. He went out and found the door slightly ajar. He looked in, and there was his neighbor facing the John Deere tractor, with 2 candles set out and lit, soft music playing in the background, reading poetry from a book. He went on in. “Zed, what on earth are you doing?” He said, “Well, things has kinda cooled off between Thelma and I, so I asked my doctor about it all, and he said I should do somethin’ romantic to a tractor.”
Here are a few views of sexuality that SOS helps us get right:
1. It’s God-created, and therefore not “dirty”
Remember how God made Adam, and then brought all the animals to him to be named? So he named them, but at the end of all that naming, there wasn’t found one animal on earth to be a suitable companion for Adam. “Oh, sure, Lord, that dog is great. I suppose he could be a man’s best friend. I like him…like him.” Then God did some surgery – put Adam under, took a piece of his side, closed up the wound, and with that piece formed a woman. So, Adam is waking, and the Lord brings her to Adam, and he bursts into song: “Woohoo! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”
Recall a scene in a perfect world that God had just created. There are a lot of details we’re not given. Interestingly, though, the record is careful to point out to us that the man and the woman were both naked, and not ashamed.
SOS gives us an inside glance to human intimacy. It’s a bold book, without apology. That’s because God created that feature of our being “good,” not something to be treated like it’s dirty.
Yes, it’s private. It’s exclusive. It’s also God’s invention, God’s idea, or else we wouldn’t be reading about it in the Bible.
2. It’s Powerful, and therefore to be handled appropriately
Why does every form of media seem to use sex to sell things? Simple: because it does. Because it’s powerful. Because, unlike other ways, it gets out attention, directs out thinking, charges our emotions, and gets us to do things that we otherwise wouldn’t do.
Wrongly handled, I’ve watched it convince men to leave their families, to throw away their commitments, to jeopardize their jobs, to compromise their witness, to act completely against their beliefs and convictions. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, but he was led into idolatry by his 700 wives. That should tell us something. Paul says in I Co 6 that the sin of fornication – that’s sex outside of marriage – is unlike any other sin, because the person who commits it sins against his very own body. That’s just how big an impact it has on a person.
Ill - One morning, a couple in our church family in OH came into my office. They hadn’t slept the night before. Instead, the husband had admitted to his wife that he had been unfaithful to her. Slowly, he came clean with more and more things he had done while she continued to ask questions. Then, she blew. She yelled at him, cried at him, called him names – and he deserved all of it. She was just suffering and so hurt by her husband, and she was letting him have it – and I let her go ahead with it. And I can remember thinking to myself, “I’m so glad I’m not this guy, I’m so glad I’m not this guy!” I’m happy to say that they were able to salvage their marriage and last I knew were doing well. But there was nothing that could have hurt that lady worse than her husband’s unfaithfulness.
God gave us the sexual relationship to be something that strengthens and deepens the intimacy in our marriages. It’s powerful for good too, not just the exploited way Hollywood and Madison Ave. present it.
3. It’s Sacred, and therefore to be respected
SOS is an introspective book. It invites us to a relationship in our marriages that rises above the Fall. It’s the story of a woman who is keeping herself pure for her true love, and the physical aspect of their love is spoken of in respectful terms.
Hebrews 13:4 (NIV)
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
The idea of being sexually pure isn’t some old, outdated idea. It comes from the mind of God, Who created us and Who knows us and what we need more than any other. He understands the implications it has on us spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally. He knows we need help in this area of our lives. He also warns us that failure in this area leads to judgment. That ought to get our attention.
I understand that opinions are going to vary about how much we should study and talk about this. But, it’s not an opinion that this book is here. And I know it’s a bit of a toss-up about exactly when to teach our kids about sexuality. OK, but know this: someone will teach them. Someone will shape their worldview and their view of these matters. Shouldn’t it be coming from Godly parents and from a biblical starting point? Or did you really want to leave that up to Lady Gaga?
We’re at a point where confusion over all things related to sexuality is at a high. What’s the big deal about living together before getting married? In fact, what’s the big deal about marriage period? 2 weeks ago today hundreds of same-sex couples were legally united in NY, one of those couples were cabinet members of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who officiated over their ceremony. Our little girls are growing up and faced with some image of beauty that they’re supposed to be the target and the playthings of men. Our whole nation was told by the media that when our President has a failure in this area of his life, we shouldn’t make that an issue. Parents get their sons and daughters contraceptives, thinking that somehow preventing disease or an unwanted pregnancy is more important than teaching them to protect their souls and their future marriage relationship.
The world has so distorted a proper view of sexuality. Dare we say nothing? God hasn’t remained silent on the subject.
II. Deepen Our Appreciation for Our Relationship With Jesus Christ
The Bible uses several ways to describe the way we relate to Jesus:
Jesus is the Head, and we are His Body – it’s a living union
Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Foundation, and we are the building – it’s a lasting union
Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches – it’s a fruit-producing union
Jesus is the Firstborn, and we are brothers – it’s a union of joint inheritance
Jesus is also the Groom, and we are His Bride, because it’s a union of love.
The Bible is full of the Bride and Groom description of the way that the Lord relates to His people. (powerpoint only:)
Isaiah 54:5
For your Maker is your husband-- the LORD Almighty is his name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.
Isaiah 62:5
As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
Jeremiah 3:14
"Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you--one from a town and two from a clan--and bring you to Zion.
Jeremiah 31:32
It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.
Hosea 1:2
When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD."
Hosea 2:19
I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.
Romans 7:1-4 (Paul compares our relationship with Jesus to marriage)
2 Corinthians 11:2
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
Ephesians 5:32
This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Revelation 19:7-9
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
This past week, I got to spend a few days with my brothers at the Northmen, sleeping in the woods in MI, getting rained on, and going without shaving. I really enjoy being around my brothers. Brad Berg went with us. He’ll never look at me the same! That’s a great relationship, brothers and sisters. There’s a wonderful relationship between parents and children. It’s different for moms and dads, but it’s a wonderful bond that the Lord has designed to develop there. And grandparents, isn’t it great? There’s a special relationship that kids develop with grandmas and grandpas. But when it comes to the closest of human bonds, the connection between a husband and wife is described like no other: 2 become 1. Marriage most closely describes our intimacy to Christ.
SOS is a prospective book. It invites us to consider how close the relationship between ourselves and Jesus should be now, and it invites us to consider an approaching relationship with Jesus that one day will be completely untainted and perfect. My lover is mine, and I am His.
We’re called to have a close relationship with Jesus.
He doesn’t want us to be His fans. We’re not supposed to be just clinically educated about Him. He doesn’t desire for us to show up just when we want something or need something fixed. He isn’t interested in being just our coach or cheerleader. He died so that we would be His pure and spotless Bride.
Think of all that implies when it comes to the time we spend with Him, what we’re willing to give up for Him, what it means to wear His name, our concern for what He cares about.
I’m convinced that God wants all of us to learn from His design for committed marriage just how close our relationship with Him should be now, and to imagine how it will be even better one day when all things are made new. SOS can help us better appreciate that relationship.
III. Encourage Us to Faithfulness in Human Relationships
If the 3-person approach to SOS is accurate, and I think it is, then this book has some strong features:
1. It’s an endorsement of committed monogamy and faithfulness in the face of promiscuity.
We’ll learn next week how Solomon fell away from the Lord by going to ridiculous extremes to satisfy his sensual appetites. In SOS, we have an out-of-control king, trying to get a woman to give in to him. Instead she remains faithful to her true love.
Song of Songs 8:12 (NIV)
But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.
In other words, “You can keep your fancy stuff, Solomon. I’m not giving in!”
Wow! How I wish every person within my hearing today could have that kind of hardened commitment to purity and right relationships.
2. It’s an urging to remain pure, to wait
3X we find this same phrase from the Shulamite woman: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. In other words, there’s a point in a relationship when the physical part of love begins. According to God, it’s marriage.
This woman’s success at remaining pure is the source of her joy. Giving in, compromise, leads only to loss. Many people have been plagued with the lifelong consequences of a moment of weakness when they let their guard down and gave in to their appetites, but there has never been a couple who, on their wedding night, regretted that they waited and kept themselves pure for each other.
3. It’s a reminder that true, committed love, is powerful for good
Song of Songs 8:6b-7a
for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.
In other words, true love doesn’t just sit quietly in the background. It doesn’t just fade away.
Getting this large area of our lives in line with God’s commands will stop us from things we shouldn’t do and enable us to do things we should.
Romans 13:10
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
4. It’s instruction that love isn’t to be bought or sold
8:7b If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. It didn’t matter that Solomon could have offered to her any material thing she could have wanted.
Later on, the Shulamite reminds us, “My own vineyard is mine to give.” Isn’t that good news that you have the ability to choose to love, and to choose whom you will love?
Conclusion:
I think that’s a good place to end, because the love that God extends to us is very much like that – you can’t buy it. You can’t earn it. God offers it to the whole world, ahead of anyone’s ability to deserve it.
If you’ve never responded to God’s love, you need to know that for your whole life He has been pursuing you, wooing you, with a very real and steadfast love. How will that story end?
