“Extravagant and Bizarre”

Monday, November 23, 2020

BIBLE READING: Song of Solomon – An Introduction

The Song of Solomon is a somewhat cryptic story of love and romance. Written in poetic form, you might not immediately catch the implications of the compliments as they are extravagant and often bizarre to our Western ears. For example, “Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing…” (Song of Solomon 4.1-2)

It is helpful to remember that the comparisons are figurative rather than literal, and what the person has in common with what he or she is compared with is a certain quality, usually the quality of excellence, or of being the best of its kind.

Having said that, this song is a vivacious story of human desire, love, marriage, and intimacy. It should be read and interpreted in this context. In many Christian circles, such terminology and themes are avoided altogether and seen as taboo. Yet gender, marriage, and human sexuality are all designed by God. These things should be seen as gifts and it is Godly to desire what God has created. The problem is not sexuality, but human sin and perversion. To properly enjoy what God has given, we must desire these gifts within the boundaries that God has set. The Song of Solomon helps us set the boundaries for these things to properly be enjoyed. Although this song is primarily a love story between a groom and his bride, the gospel will clearly be displayed. Jesus is a better groom, and we are His bride (Ephesians 5:29). All Scripture is ultimately about Jesus and we will see His pursuit of His people through this epic song of love (John 5:39).

There are two important points we can learn from this song of Solomon:

1. God’s law commands sexual purity. There is a refrain, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, . . . that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (SOS 2.7; 3.5; 8.4; variation in 5.8), spoken by the shepherdess. This is understood as her urging the other women not to push this love too fast, in order to let it reach its consummation at the right time (the marriage bed, which seems to begin in SOS 8.5). Marriage provides the right framework within which his people may properly enjoy the gift of sexual intimacy (see Genesis 2.23-24). Thus God’s people honor him and commend him to the world when they demonstrate with their lives that obedience in such matters brings genuine delight.
2. Marriage is a gift of God, and is to be founded on loyalty and commitment (see Genesis 2.24, “hold fast”), which allows delight to flourish. As a testament to the beauty of the marriage relationship in its fullness, Song of Solomon stands out with its uniquely detailed vision of this beautiful reality. As such, it is a fitting image for God’s relationship with his people.

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