Sex, Love, and Marriage
Ecclesiastes 11 – Song of Solomon 4
Well guys, we’ve arrived at the Song of Solomon. I thought Ecclesiastes was challenging but the Song of Solomon has given me fits. There are a lot of theories about why this book is in the Bible and what it means. There are a lot of scholars who see this book as some kind of allegory for God and Israel, or for Christ and the believer or church. Some think it is some kind of play with two or three actors. I’m going to share with you some of what “The Bible Knowledge Commentary” has to say about the Song of Solomon.
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
“The Song of Songs (called the Song of Solomon in some Bible versions, e.g., kjv, nasb) is perhaps the most difficult and mysterious book in the entire Bible. A cursory glance at the Song’s history of interpretation reveals a diversity of opinion unequaled in the study of any other biblical work. The Song has been interpreted as: (a) an allegory, (b) an extended type, (c) a drama involving either two or three main characters, (d) a collection of Syrian wedding songs (a view held by E. Renan, J. Wetzstein, Umberto Cassuto, and others) in which the groom played the role of a king and the bride played the role of a queen, (e) a collection of pagan fertility cult liturgies (held by Theophile Meek), and (f) an anthology of disconnected songs extolling human love (held by Robert Gordis).
Viewed as an allegory, the details of the book are intended to convey hidden spiritual meanings, with little or no importance attached to the normal meanings of words. Jewish tradition (the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the Targum) viewed the book as an allegorical picture of the love of God for Israel. Church leaders, including Hyppolytus, Origen, Jerome, Athanasius, Augustine, and Bernard of Clairvaux, have viewed the book as an allegory of Christ’s love for His bride, the church. Origen, for example, wrote that the beloved’s reference to her being dark (Song 1:5-6) means the church is ugly with sin, but that her loveliness (1:5) refers to spiritual beauty after conversion. Others said the cooing of the doves (2:12) speaks of the preaching of the apostles, and some have suggested that 5:1 refers to the Lord’s Supper. These examples show that the allegorical approach is subjective with no way to verify that any of the interpretations are correct. The Song of Songs nowhere gives an interpreter the suggestion that it should be understood as an allegory.”
I think that last sentence is important. “The Song of Songs nowhere gives an interpreter the suggestion that it should be understood as an allegory.” The Bible is full of allegory but I think it tends to be fairly clear when allegory is being used. Perhaps I am wrong about that but I find it hard to believe that an entire book of the Bible is some kind of allegory with no way for us to know for sure. While I believe the Bible can be understood on many different levels, we should never ignore the most obvious and basic meaning of the text. The Song of Solomon is about the beauty of marital love.
Any boy of 12 or 13, and maybe even younger these days, can tell you about sex. Far too many grown men have no understanding of true, God-ordained, marital love. Every living creature has sex. If you believe the humanist, we are no better than animals. I could not disagree more. The union of man and wife is a spiritual matter; we are to become one flesh. Marriage is of such a spiritual make-up that it is itself used in the Bible as an allegory for Christ and the church. When we look at the opposite sex as simply a receptacle for our sexual desires, we are no better than animals; but that is not what God intended. He did not create women to be your receptacle. He created women to be a partner to man; one man, one woman to become one flesh.
Why are we to become one flesh? Brothers, it is my contention that we are not complete without a wife. I realize I’m going out on a limb with that statement and I stand ready to hear opposing views but here is why I believe that. When God formed man out of the dust, in His own image, and breathed life into him (something He did not do with the other creatures He created, by the way) man was one complete being. Let me repeat myself; this complete being was made in the image of God. Realizing that it was not good for man to be alone, He brought various animals forward to be man’s companion. None were suitable.
At this point God put this original man to sleep and divided him. Woman was taken out of man. The image of God was split. A man is not complete, in terms of the image of God, without a woman. When we view women as objects, we are not only demeaning them, we are demeaning ourselves. We are also rejecting the sumptuous banquet that is marital love for the scrapes under the table that are animal sex. Let me continue the commentary from “The Bible Knowledge Commentary”.
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
“The purpose of the book is to extol human love and marriage. Though at first this seems strange, on reflection it is not surprising for God to have included in the biblical canon a book endorsing the beauty and purity of marital love. God created man and woman (Gen. 1:27; 2:20-23) and established and sanctioned marriage (Gen. 2:24). Since the world views sex so sordidly and perverts and exploits it so persistently and since so many marriages are crumbling because of lack of love, commitment, and devotion, it is advantageous to have a book in the Bible that gives God’s endorsement of marital love as wholesome and pure.”
OUTLINE
I. The Superscription (1:1)
II. The Courtship (1:2-3:5)
A. Introduction: The expressions of longing, insecurity, and praise (1:2-11)
1. The theme of longing (1:2-4)
2. The theme of insecurity (1:5-8)
3. The theme of praise (1:9-11)
B. The growth of love and its intensity (1:12-3:5)
1. Mutual praise (1:12-2:6)
2. The refrain (2:7)
3. A visit to the country (2:8-17)
4. The beloved’s fear of losing her lover (3:1-4)
5. The refrain (3:5)
III. The Wedding (3:6-5:1)
A. The wedding procession (3:6-11)
B. The wedding night (4:1-5:1)
1. The beauty of the beloved (4:1-7)
2. The king’s request (4:8)
3. The king’s praise of his bride’s love (4:9-11)
4. The king’s praise of his bride’s purity (4:12-15)
5. The consummation of the marriage (4:16-5:1)
IV. The Maturation of the Marriage (5:2-8:4)
A. Indifference and its resolution (5:2-6:13)
1. The problem: The wife’s indifference and the husband’s absence (5:2-8)
2. The attractiveness of the lover (5:9-16)
3. The lover in his garden (6:1-3)
4. The reconciliation: The lover’s praise of his beloved (6:4-13)
B. Praise of the beloved and her love (7:1-10)
1. The beloved’s charms (7:1-6)
2. The lover’s desire (7:7-9)
3. The refrain of mutual possession (7:10)
C. An invitation from the beloved (7:11-13)
D. The beloved’s desire for a greater intimacy (8:1-4)
V. The Conclusion: The Nature and Power of Love (8:5-7)
A. A picture of love (8:5)
B. An explanation of love (8:6-7)
VI. The Epilogue: How Love Began (8:8-14)
Brothers, as we consider this book let us consider our wives, our partners, our help-meets. Let us put sex in its rightful place. It is a glorious blessing from God when it is viewed and enjoyed as God intended. It is sin when we do otherwise. God has much to teach us. I pray we will learn our lesson well!
May your thoughts today be on the blessing of your wife!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
