Series/Class Objective
The Song of Solomon is a passionate love song between Solomon and the Shulamite woman- representing Jesus and His Bride – Us!
Christians serve the Beautiful God who is “altogether lovely” (V.5:16 KJV) and who desires to ravish them with passionate love. God is calling forth His Church to a holy passion for Him.
The objective of this course is to edify and inspire those who would like:
- To have a deeper and more intimate relationship with God.
- Greater insight and understanding of what it really means to be complete in Christ.
- Greater insight and understanding of what it really means to be loved by God.
Benefits
The student will:
- Gain fresh revelation of God’s character and nature as well as His love and beauty.
- Grow in understanding the purpose of God's difficult dealings.
- Experience spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.
The course will be taught in sessions over an 8 to 10-week period, allowing +- 45 minutes for instruction and +- 30 minutes for worship and personal ministry.
Series/Class Goals
To Educate And Sharpen The Understanding Of What It Means To Be A Christian
“If the ax is dull and its edge is unsharpened, more strength is needed. But skill will bring success.” (Ecclesiastes 10:10)
To Stimulate Growth As A Disciple
“Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.” (Proverbs 18:15 NLT)
To Procreate Future Christians And Encourage Fulfilling The First Commandment And Great Commission
“Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up." (Galatians 6:9 LB)
TABLE OF SERIES CONTENTS
PREFACE
NOTABLE QUOTES
INTRODUCTION
THE BRIDAL PARADIGM
CHAPTERS
1. The Bride Confesses Her Love
2. The Rose of Sharon
3. The Bride's Dream
4. The Beloved Admires His Bride’s Beauty
5. The Bride Searches for Her Beloved
6. Together In the Garden of Love
7. The Passion of God Revealed
8. Longing for Her Beloved
CONCLUSION
PREFACE
God’s very essence is love (1 John 4:7-10). He has always been love, even before He created humanity. He has always sought to have a close relationship with us. Human Beings were made for this love. The entire story of humanity is wrapped up within it. Love is why humans were created, and love is their eternal destiny. This truth is taught throughout Scripture, beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden.
When God created Adam, He said to him, "I will make a partner suitable to you" (Genesis 2:18). God was declaring the hidden purpose of His heart from eternity past, the mystery of the ages. The Holy Spirit reveals that this promise ultimately speaks of Jesus and the Church (See Ephesians 5:25-6:1).
The Triune God proved He is love by sending Jesus to walk among us and die in our place (John 3:16). He now reaches out in tender affection with nail-pierced hands both purely and intimately.
Sadly, many are not yet able to experience the fundamental reality that God loves and enjoys them. Some would argue that He could not possibly be in love with them. What a person believes about God is the most important thing contained in their mind. It affects everything about them.
For too many people, God seems remote, impersonal, and unknowable. Because of that, many suffer from an inability to feel forgiven, nagged by doubt and mistrust of Him. A dysfunctional picture of God results in a dysfunctional way of praying. Jesus revealed this truth; "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?" asked Jesus. "Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (Luke 11:11-13).
Those who had an Earthly father who was never around when they needed him or have experienced trauma, abuse, or extreme discipline will have a very difficult time pursuing an intimate relationship with the heavenly Father.
Love Defined
The Bible speaks of "agape" and "phileo" love. "Agape" has been defined as a self-sacrificial love committed to the highest good. It is a love that is not dependent on emotions. Without it, no one could be saved (John 3:16). With "Agape" love, God set aside His wrath against humanity and received the sacrifice of Jesus' blood as the propitiation for our sin.
"Phileo" love is best defined as tender affection, love from the emotions in a person’s soul. It is that kind of love that responds to love from another. It is the love of true friends, the love of a child for his parents or another child, and the love between a husband and wife.
This kind of love can be casual or intense. “Phileo” love can’t be relegated to just human emotion. Jesus used this word to describe the Father’s love for Him (John 5:20). "Phileo" is used to describe the Father’s feelings toward the Son’s disciples (John 16:27).
The Bridal Paradigm
The Bible unveils the ultimate purpose of mankind’s creation at the very end. It reveals the day when the Bride of Christ meets her heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus, and the marriage covenant is established.
“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.” (Revelation 19:7 NIV)
Some say that the Bride of Christ is the universal Church and not each member of the church. However, there can be no difference in God’s love, even if there is only one person left on the planet, which is the most profound mystery of God’s love! The King of the Universe, the Beautiful God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the supreme Lord of all creation, is so passionately in love with each person on this planet that the Bible describes it as the love of a groom for his bride! Every Born-Again Christian ravishes His heart, for He takes great “delight” in them “as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride” (Isaiah 62:4-5).
The Bridal Paradigm is a biblical teaching that emphasizes the Church as the Bride of Christ and the Kingdom of God as a love affair between Jesus and His Bride because God’s heart is ravished with enjoyment and delight over His people. He pursues every one of us with a personal and relentless, infinite love. God is not some mystical, nebulous force whose love is only focused on a vast population.
A paradigm is a perspective or framework; the bridal paradigm is an eschatological framework that stresses loyal love for the Savior in the end times, soul-winning, a special anointing of the Spirit, and an emotional, “intimate” attachment to Christ.
It has been taught throughout church history that the Bible is the story of God’s passionate love for His People, like that of a husband for His wife, and is waiting for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb to be eternally united with His bride.
Jesus loves His Church (Ephesians 5:25), and the Church is His Bride (Revelation 19:7). Jesus has indescribable desire and delight in us, and we are liked, enjoyed, wanted, pursued, and delighted in like a Bride. God wants us to have a burning desire for Him as He has for us. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand His passionate love and imparts it to our hearts so that we might respond wholeheartedly to the Father as His children and to Jesus as would a bride.
John the Baptist introduced himself and his ministry in context to the Bridal Paradigm (John 3:29). Jesus was the first to introduce the Bridal Paradigm to the corporate church in His last sermon before the Cross (Matthew 22:1-13). The Apostle John points to the universal prominence of the Bridal Paradigm in the generation the Lord returns (Revelation 22:17; Hosea 2:16). The Bible clearly reveals how important to God this Bride-Bridegroom relationship is (See 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:9; Isaiah 54:5; 61:10; Jer. 31:32)
The Song of Solomon is a breathtaking eight-chapter SONG of divine love when the prophetic nature of its words are illuminated. Life change will take place as the student begins to comprehend and realize the Beloved is speaking over them, affirming and drawing forth qualities not yet fully developed in their life. They symbolically will see God’s people married to the Beloved (Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 31:32).
On the surface, this book seems to be just a love SONG written by King Solomon to a young foreign lady. However, if that were its only meaning, the Holy Spirit would not have needed to include it in the Bible.
This marriage SONG is written in the language of romantic bridal love:
“You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart. With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace. How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love, And the scent of your perfumes than all spices!” (V.4:9-10 NKJV)
However, human words cannot express the love God has for every person on this planet. Love is a realm that transcends all human mental comprehension and understanding. Attempts to explain this with expressions such as lovesick, desperate, hopeless, romantic, passionate, ravished, etc., are infinitely inadequate to describe His magnificent love.
Some have distorted the holiness of God’s passionate love and have made the Bridal Paradigm into a kind of carnal sensuality and mystical experience that has wreaked havoc within many churches and the lives of young and immature Christians. Their convoluted teaching has caused many to want absolutely nothing to do with it because, to them, it is heresy. That has caused a ‘throw out the baby with the bath water” mentality in the arguments of those who stand opposed to it.
I began my personal experience with the Bridal Paradigm as a teenager. Over the decades, I have seen lives positively transformed as people come to understand the way God thinks and feels about them, especially regarding their weaknesses. God has placed within men and women the need for holy love. The simple truth is that God considers every individual Christian to be beautiful.
I have come to see that the revelation of God’s affection for every individual on this planet is vitally important for emotional and spiritual health, whether they be male or female. It may be hard for some men to accept the Bridal Paradigm on a personal basis, but that does not negate the truth that God’s infinite and majestic love is directed personally towards them.
The Great Commandment is the foundation of the Christian walk. The reason God wants Christians to love Him with all their heart, soul, and mind is because that is how He loves them! (Matthew 22:37-40)
The amazing truth is that every Christian is a love gift given by the Father to the Son and will always be the object of Jesus' prayers, which is one of the greatest mysteries of God! Jesus sees each of us as personally belonging to Him forever. Nothing can separate them from His love. It is not because they believed in Him but because the Father has given them to Him!
"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." (John 10:29 NIV)
In His prayer of intercession, Jesus thanks the Father seven times for giving them to Him (See John 17). Every Christian belongs to the Father and the Son because God is madly in love!
When a person comes to see the Lord for who He really is - LOVE incarnate - they can truly understand and "rely on the love God has for us" because "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).
God considers every Christian (His bride) to be beautiful. This truth will fill the heart with new courage and confidence. Understanding the affectionate personalities of God equips Christians to wage war against the enemy and to demolish the lying, accusing strongholds he has erected in their mind. Resting in the sure and certain knowledge of God's ravished heart and overflowing, unwavering love will enable every Christian to stand unoffended, unshaken, and mature in times of trouble or persecution. Understanding that the powerful passions in the heart of God Himself are the source of holy passion in their own life ensures the continuing progression of their passion for Him.
"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name." (Psalm 103:1 ESV)
NOTABLE QUOTES ON THE STUDY OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON
C. H. SPURGEON
“The true Christian who has lived near to his Master will find this book to be a mass, not of gold merely, for all God's Word is this, but a mass of diamonds sparkling with brightness; and all things thou canst conceive are not to be compared with it for its matchless worth.
If I preferred one book above another, I would prefer some books of the Bible for doctrine, some for experience, some for example, some for teaching, BUT LET ME PREFER THIS BOOK ABOVE ALL OTHERS FOR FELLOWSHIP AND COMMUNION (my emphasis). When the Christian is nearest to heaven, this is the book he takes with him." (From the book, “The Most Holy Place” – Christian Focus Publications)
JOHN GILL
“...the subject of this song...is Christ, the true Solomon, of whom Solomon was an eminent type...the transcendent glories and excellencies of His person; His inexpressible love unto, care of, and concern for His church and people, together with the nearness of access unto and sweet communion and fellowship with Himself, which He indulges them with, are here particularly expressed and set forth, so that it may be called the Song of Songs.” (From the book “An Exposition of the Song of Solomon” - Sovereign Grace Publishers)
INTRODUCTION
The Holy Spirit proclaims this book to be the best song ever written in the Word of God - "The Song of Songs! From this point forward, it is referred to as ‘SONG.’ It is also known as the Song of Solomon and the Canticle of Canticles. It has long puzzled readers because its themes seem to have nothing to do with the religious concerns of the rest of the Bible. The SONG is a book of the Bible that is among the least studied and the most emotionally controversial, with only 117 verses and 470 Hebrew words. Yet, it is among the most difficult and mysterious books in the entire Bible.
The SONG has been interpreted as an allegory full of metaphors, an extended type, a lyric poem that has both unity and logical progression, a drama involving either two (or three) main characters, a collection of Syrian wedding songs, a collection of pagan fertility cult liturgies, and an anthology of disconnected songs extolling human love.
Many believe that it deals only with the subject of a love relationship between a man and a woman, from the courtship through the wedding night and the intimate adjustments of the young couple, so there is some adult content that is so explicit the Rabbis forbade the book to be read by anyone under the age of 30. The book reveals romantic love for married couples that exceeds our greatest dreams and expectations.
Rabbi Akiba, the leading rabbi of the Bar Kochba revolt (132-135 A.D.), is quoted in the Mishnah: “In the entire world, there is nothing to equal the day on which the SONG was given to Israel. All the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is most Holy.” It was because of his endorsement that it remained in the Canon of Hebrew Scripture.
The Rabbis symbolically saw God’s people married to the Beloved (Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 31:32). On the surface, this book is just a love song written by King Solomon to a young foreign lady. If that were the full meaning, then why bother putting it in the Word of God? It seems clear that the Holy Spirit intends to reveal a deeper meaning to us.
In this series, we are approaching the Book from a contemplative metaphorical view because Jewish tradition (the Mishnah, Talmud, and Targum) views the book as a symbolic picture of the love of God for Israel. Early Church leaders, such as Hippolytus, Origen, and Jerome, have regarded the book as an allegory of Jesus’ love for His bride, the Church. It was John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, who recognized Jesus as the Beloved and proclaimed Himself to be. Throughout the Old Testament, we see that God used marriage as the idiom of intimacy with Himself, starting with Adam's love for Eve, Boaz's role in taking Ruth as a Gentile bride, and Hosea's taking unfaithful Gomer.
Reasons for Studying the Book
The Holy Spirit teaches that there is nothing more important than love (1 Corinthians 13:13)! True love bears and endures any difficulty and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:7-8). Love fulfills God's law (Romans 13:10). Love for God causes us to obey and keep His Word (John 14:23). It is through a love for Him that we are granted to know the secrets of His heart (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). All things, no matter how good or bad in your life, will turn out for good if you are in love with the Lord (Romans 8:28)! The SONG exposes the heart of Jesus, your Beloved, in all of its full, tender affection for you, His bride.
Whether our hearts are focused on God or as the Beloved God, we experience burning desire. Something profound happens in us when, even in our weakness and brokenness, we feel wanted, longed for, and rejoiced in. Our response is to abandon our hearts to God.
When we see God as our Beloved, the realization that He not only likes us and enjoys us but also takes pleasure in us while we are here on Earth completely changes our lives and personalities.
Giving our hearts to Jesus as voluntary lovers is the only purpose God has for us. That is the summation and summary of all that we are and all that we do. When we stand before Jesus face to face, we will say, ‘We have loved You because we enjoyed loving You and were not forced to, which is how we long to live, rather than serving out some mandatory decree of obedience. We are voluntary lovers of God, and we want to be lovers because You are the Beautiful One.
Human words cannot express the love God has for every person on this planet. His love is in a realm that transcends all human mental comprehension and understanding. Attempts to explain this with expressions such as lovesick, longing, desperate, hopeless, romantic, passionate, head-over-heals, and ravished are infinitely inadequate to describe His magnificent love.
The Ravished Heart of God
This study will reveal that God’s heart is ravished with loving enjoyment and delight over His people and will reveal the pleasures in the personality of Jesus so that your heart is captured freshly and your spirit is energized and opened to the new depths of passionate intimacy with Him. More understanding of God's character causes more enjoyment of Him. God enjoys us and continually affirms us even in our imperfection and immaturity.
The SONG is a breathtaking melody of divine love when the prophetic nature of its words is illuminated. Life change will take place as you begin to comprehend and realize that Jesus, the Beloved, is speaking over you, affirming and drawing forth qualities not yet fully developed in your life.
God enjoys us and continually affirms us even in our imperfection and immaturity. God considers each of us, His bride, to be beautiful. This truth will fill your heart with new courage and confidence. Understanding the affectionate personalities of God will equip you to wage war against the enemy and to demolish the lying, accusing strongholds he has erected in your mind.
We serve a beautiful and deeply loving, passionate God whose heart is ravished by the beauty of our sincere, devoted heart. You are so beautiful to Him that you take His breath away!
The heart of this study is life application and a love adoration for God. The study of the SONG will cause you to reach up to Jesus and reach out to others. The most dominant theme in the SONG is the affection of God in context to the beauty of the Bridegroom and Bride. What makes this SONG so unique is that it gives an intensive revelation of the affection of God and will lead you into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus and His Bride.
Woven throughout this book is a hypothetical short story about the Bride, her friends, and the Beloved. The purpose is to spiritually illustrate what the Beloved Bridegroom and Holy Spirit feel about the Bride.
This book is all about surrender, not just circumstances but a person’s entire being! It is surrendering to His heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to develop a private, intimate love relationship between the bride and JESUS, the Beloved Bridegroom.
To spiritually receive all the love intended for you from this love song, see yourself as the Bride; as she talks with the Beloved, it will be as if you are talking to Him. When He responds to her, it will be your Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, speaking to you personally! Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the fullness of the Father’s loving heart to your heart. Get ready for a spiritual intimacy you never thought possible with Him, who sees you as everything His heart needs!
Many Christians are not yet able to experience the fundamental reality that Father God enjoys them. He wants to give us the ability to feel enjoyed and delighted by Jesus in our weakness.
This one truth will revolutionize your life, but the very powers of darkness are set on obscuring this in the heart of God's people. This one truth will set you on fire as the flames of God’s passion are stirred up by the sovereign breeze of the Holy Spirit moving in this place.
The longing for intimacy without shame is satisfied by the revelation of the tender affections of the heavenly Bridegroom. We partake of bridal affection that enables us to experience intimacy with the Godhead beyond all others in creation. The Bride experiences deep mutual sharing. Jesus, with affection, reveals holy secrets.
"For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32 NJKV)
"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NKJV)
“…but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2 NJKV)
A diligent study along these lines is so important to our emotional health. We will be transformed when we understand the way God thinks and feels about us, especially regarding our weaknesses.
The revelation of His affection and enjoyment of our lives awakens us to spiritual pleasure. This pleasure enables us to enjoy Jesus as we overflow with affection back to Him. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). In a similar way, we enjoy Him because He first enjoyed us.
We would expect the marriage SONG to be written in the language of romantic love. The Beloved knows that our destiny in eternity is to be the Bride of Christ. Throughout Scripture, God uses many different kinds of metaphors. He uses bridal, military, and agricultural language.
We cannot pass by this quickly. We know the concept of His love, but often, this very knowing and familiarity is what hinders us from ever entering into the depths and actually drinking from the deep wells of Love's plentitude. We cannot let common words stand in for experienced realities. To say that He loves me is a familiar notion indeed, but to pursue, know, and experience His love is a rare preoccupation.
The Love of God is a realm that transcends all mental comprehension and leaves all utterances empty.
God describes His Love in the Word as surpassing knowledge (Ephesians 3:19). Paul proclaims,
"'...Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him'" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
We were made for this love. Our entire story is wrapped up within its tale. It was for love you were created, and in love is your eternal testimony. It is our reason, our purpose, our end, and our beginning. We have heard with our ears of a God of love, and we have known with our minds that in this love is our life.
The Everlasting Story
To begin the great story of our existence, we must start at the end. For the end of natural history best unveils the beginning and all that lies between. The end of our story, as recorded in Revelation 19, is a glorious wedding day. This passage magnificently announces the ultimate purpose of all creation and the natural order. It reveals the day when the bride of Christ meets her heavenly Bridegroom and the marriage covenant is established.
In this passage, we find a great multitude gathered together on the sea of glass-like crystal. The Body of Christ, all the saints from all history, will finally be assembled for the first time. An anticipation that has been building for thousands of years will fill the air as each person looks around in wonder, beholding with natural eyes for the first time what they had only ever peered into with eyes of faith. Our voice of one will sound from the throne of God, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants, and those who fear Him, both small and great!" God will fling wide the great door of invitation and beckon Christians to release the SONG of their hearts to Jesus, the Desire of All Nations! Together, we will ascribe our love and declare our affections to the One who is beautiful and glorious!
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit dwell in unsurpassed union and intimacy. They have always existed as a divine dance of romance, a whirlwind of affection and pleasure and unending love. It was from this pulsating intimacy that God created humanity and the natural order. Though we will always remain the creation, He formed humanity to enter into a relationship with the Trinity, the Godhead. In His great, mysterious heart was a desire to bring human beings into the holy river of affections known between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to share in this Divine communion with them. The Father desired a family, and the Son desired a Bride. From this overflow of burning desire, humanity was brought forth.
Yet it was only with a determined price established before creation that this glorious union would come to pass. It was for this ultimate end and purpose of eternal intimacy between God and man that the Lamb was slain before the foundations of the world (Revelation 13:8). To bring humanity into this astounding position of nearness to Himself, Jesus was crucified, and we were hidden in Him (Colossians 3:3). It was for the joy set before Him, His eternal inheritance promised Him by the Father, that He endured the cross. He had the power to lay down His life and the power to take it up again. He laid it down by His choosing (John 10:18). Taking upon Himself our punishment, we are clothed in the very righteousness of Christ, justified freely by His grace, and given eternal peace with God, for He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we might be holy and blameless before Him in love, forever accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).
When God created Adam, He said to him, "I will make a partner suitable to you." The Holy Spirit revealed to Paul that this promise ultimately speaks of Jesus and the church (Ephesians 5:32).
When God said this to Adam, He was declaring the hidden purpose of His heart from eternity past, the mystery of the ages, to bring forth for His Son His bride that would be a fitting and suitable companion. He desired to bring forth voluntary lovers of God, entirely possessed by Jesus, a people who chose Him and lived out of the spontaneous overflow of their hearts rather than by mandatory obedience.
The Father has kept this eternal motivation central in His administration and unfolding of all human history. He planned the wedding day, this unprecedented celebration feast, so that we, the dust of the Earth, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, could end natural history where we began - in the embrace of the Son of God.
The Beloved Jesus taught us that there are hidden meanings (types and shadows) behind Old Testament characters and circumstances. He did this by using the story of Jonah as an illustration (sign) of His own resurrection in Matthew 12:39-40.
This Holy Spirit inspired the SONG into which you are about to venture, is filled with very spiritual secrets from the heart of your Beloved, Jesus, to us, His bride. In it, our Bridegroom reveals the innermost thoughts of His love for us.
Symbols and Words
To understand the symbols and secret words written to His bride, you must know who the individuals are in this SONG.
The Bride represents you as the Bride of Christ, so it is imperative to understand the symbols and secret words written in this SONG. To do so, you must first identify the individuals represented in the text. King Solomon (called the beloved) represents the Lord, Jesus, who is called "the Beloved" throughout this series (See Matthew 17:5; Ephesians 1:6-7).
- Solomon's name means "peaceable".
- Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
- Jesus alone gives peace (John 14:27; Ephesians 2:14).
- Solomon was the wisest person who had ever lived (1 Kings 4:29-34; Matthew 12:42).
- Jesus is wisdom itself (1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 2:3).
Solomon was Israel's most glorious king. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:14-16; Revelation 19:16). There was no one richer than Solomon. Jesus is the epitome of true riches (Ephesians 1:7,10; 2:4,7; Philippians 4:19).
The Bridal ladies were family members of rulers from other countries and held significant roles in this interpretation. These ladies were called "treaty wives." Using human wisdom, by giving a powerful nation, a member of your family, you were trying to ensure peace between the two nations. This would tend to discourage war between the countries. When Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh, the daughter of Pharaoh was sent along as part of the treaty agreement (1 Kings 3:1). It should be noted that Solomon asked God for great human wisdom, and NOT the divine wisdom of God, who answered his prayer. As his kingdom expanded, so did the number of ‘treaty wives.’
There are 60 queens and 80 concubines in V. 6:8, which strongly indicates that the events of the book took place very early in Solomon's reign. The number of wives reached one thousand late in his reign (1 Kings 11:3). When Solomon penned this SONG through the leading of the Holy Spirit, he was very young and tender toward God (1 Kings 3:5-14).
Some might complain that Solomon cannot represent Jesus since he fell so miserably toward the end of his reign as king. That would require rejecting Jonah also as representative of Jesus because he failed miserably as a prophet in action and attitude (see Matthew 12:39-41; Jonah 4). Jesus refers to Solomon in a good way, in spite of himself (Matthew 12:42). The Heavenly Father speaks of the eternal Sonship of Jesus, whereas God speaks about King David's son, Solomon (Hebrews 1:5; 2 Samuel 7:14). Even David was called "a man after God's own heart," yet David failed the Lord by committing adultery with Bathsheba (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). No Old Testament type, shadow, or illustration of Jesus could ever be perfect.
In ancient times, Jewish fathers were known to relate the three books of Solomon to the Temple of Solomon.
1. They related the book of Proverbs to the outer court of Solomon’s temple.
2. They related the book of Ecclesiastes to the inner court of Solomon’s temple.
3. They related the SONG to the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s temple
King Solomon
As Israel's third king, Solomon ruled from 971 to 931 B.C. Solomon was more gifted with literary skill than any other king of Israel, for he wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. It is appropriate that a subject as wonderful as romantic love is described in sublime language by a competent human author, writing, of course, under the Holy Spirit's inspiration. Interestingly, of the more than 1,000 songs Solomon wrote, only this one was designed by God to be included in the Biblical canon.
The Bride
The Shulammite woman/maiden was Solomon's first bride. She is only mentioned once by the title “Shulammite,” in V.6:13. Her exact identity is unknown, although there are a few theories:
1. She came from a village in the territory of Issachar called Shulem, which was north of Jezreel and south of Mount Gilboa.
2. She was from Jerusalem
3. The title ‘Shulammite’ (Heb: “Shalem” = peaceful) is her married name, being the feminine form of Solomon (Heb: “Shelomoh” from ‘Shalem’ = peaceful”) and only used after the marriage.
4. She is the daughter of the Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, whom Solomon married (1 Kings 3:1), but there is no evidence supporting this theory in the Bible.
5. She could be Abishag, who served King David in his old age and who would have been known to Solomon and his half-brother Adonijah, who wanted her as his wife, and Solomon prevented that from happening (1 Kings 1:1–4, 15; 2:13–25).
6. She could be a young Shunammite (Heb: ‘shunammith’), an inhabitant of Shunem/Shunaam, which was a small village in the possession of the Tribe of Issachar and located near the Jezreel Valley, north of Mount Gilboa, which is where the Philistines camped when they fought Saul, the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 28:4). It was also the hometown of Abishag (1 Kings 1:1) and could be the modern village of Sulam (Joshua 19:18).
One thing is certain: King Solomon was passionately in love with her as His first and truest love in marriage before he sinned by adding many other wives (1 Kings 11:3), and she loved him in the same way (V.4:1–15). He admired her character as well as her beauty ( V.6:9). Everything about the Song of Solomon betrays the fact that this bride and groom were passionately in love and that there was mutual respect and friendship (V.8:6–7).
As the Holy Spirit pulls back the veil, step into the wonders of your Beloved's "first love." He is ready to lavish upon you the secrets of His heart! You are now abiding on holy ground. Not all Christians are able to receive this revelation knowledge because they have not fully surrendered to Jesus as the Lord of their life. Surrender means that you have taken your hands off the controls of your life and given permission to the Lord to do anything He wants to do with you because He has a specific plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11). What He plans, He will do it through you! (Isaiah 46:11; Philippians 1:6; 2:13).
When you allow the Beloved to touch any area of your life, it will always end in the glorious blessing of Him coming alongside you and working things out for your good because He is love and good, and His mercies are new every morning (Psalm 106:1; Lamentations 3:23; Romans 8:28; 1 John 4:16,18).
OVERVIEW OF THE SONG
A. The SONG describes her progression from self-centered to God-centered in four key statements. Four times throughout the book, she changes and redefines her experience. She starts from being only self-conscious and ends up with a mature God-centeredness. We can follow her maturity throughout the SONG through these four statements, which are in strategic places.
B. Her initial focus is only on her spiritual pleasure. This is acceptable to Him as a beginning place in the grace of God. Her only focus is that she is loved and has an inheritance in Him. She has little regard at this stage for His inheritance in her.
"My Beloved is to me" (V.1:13-14)
D. In her second focus, she says, "He is mine; He belongs to me. However, I now realize that I also belong to Him." She now adds a new dimension of His ownership of her life. She sees the necessity of loving Him because she is His inheritance. However, it is her secondary concern at this stage of maturity.
"I am my Beloved's and He is mine." (V.6:3)
E. In her fourth and final focus, she says, "I belong to Him, and what He desires is all I focus on. The fact that His desire is for me makes me want to make sure that I am 100% His. He owns me entirely. His concerns are what I care about most.” Her sincere love for God is expressed in the midst of stumbling. She is saying, “I love You and I know that You love me.”
