The Faithful Way

Rev. Jeremy Chambers

Wednesday Adult Bible Study, 7pm, Bellevue Foursquare Church, January 16, 2013

Introduction

During these four weeks we will journey through the Song of Songs.  Since there are 8 chapters in all, it should be a little easier to cover more detail than our last study in Isaiah.  So, therefore, the expectation is a little different in that in my teaching we will spend more time going through the text.  Therefore, you don’t have to read ahead unless you desire.  Of course, reading ahead is always helpful as it prepares you for better discussion!

Commentaries

Tremper Longman, Song of Songs: The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001)

Richard S. Hess, Song of Songs: Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005)

Authorship and Characters

It is widely accepted that Solomon is the author given the first verse of the text.  There is no other external evidence suggesting otherwise.  There are three main characters:

1. Solomon is the Lover.  He is often referred to as a gazelle, a stag, and various other metaphors we’ll see as we move through the text.
2. I believe (although it is somewhat of an assumption) that Abishag is the Beloved, the woman.  We’ll see how she speaks first and often.  Much of the text centers around her expressions of sexual desire; it is rather abnormal in that culture for a woman to be so assertive.  Read 1 Kings 1:1-4.
3. A chorus of women who are Abishag’s friends.  They briefly comment on events revealing the feelings of Abishag.  They are not primary characters.

Notice how God is conspicuously missing.  This work is primarily a celebration of human love.  Often we view the Scripture as a collection of pages where God is speaking to us.  And, in general, that is a good approach to inspired scripture.  But, amazingly, in this case God speaks without being present in the text.  How might that effect your understanding of what is being communicated?

Title and Features

Often people are confused over the title.  The correct title of this book (per the Hebrew text) is literally “Song of Songs”.  We sometimes refer to it as the Song of Solomon making reference to the author; this is not wrong, but it is not the technical title of the book.

Some have suggested that this book resembles soft-core pornography.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Although it is a veiled description of human sexuality, it belongs to a group of scripture in the Hebrew Bible which also includes Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, and Ruth.  We often call this grouping of books “wisdom literature” as it describes various aspects of human life and in the case of the Song of Songs celebrates human sexuality.

Interpretation

There are three main ways folks have viewed the Song.

• Allegory.  It uses human sexuality symbolically as it describes the relationship between God and man, the church, Israel, and individuals.
• Drama.  It is actually a “story” of a love affair between Abishag and Solomon.  Therefore, by reading it as narrative we can use it as an example of proper human sexual expression.
• Poetry.  It is not so much concerned with symbols nor is it primarily concerned with relating facts in a story.  It is more concerned with the emotions surrounding human sexuality set within a marriage of Solomon and Abishag given certain language of commitment, closeness of the relationship, and titles including “Bride”.

Let’s experiment with your creativity!

Read the following passages and describe the imagery interpreting what it means:

1. 4:12 a locked garden
2. 1:6, 7:12 a vineyard
3. 3:7-10 a palanquin
4. 5:5 a locked room
5. 8:9-10 a walled city
6. 5:7 watchmen & walls

How NOT to read the Song:

• Not drama
• Not sequential narrative (not chronological)
• Not as an allegory or a symbolic work
• Not a theological work
• Not description of married life
• Not entertainment
• Not a “manual”
• Not a manifesto for free love

It IS a glimpse into the celebration of human love.

Outline

Although we will take roughly two chapters per week, below is a more precise outline of the book:

1. Longing for her lover. Chapters 1 – 3:5
2. Marriage at the heart of the song. Chapters 3:6 – 5:1
3. Searching for her lover and getting away. Chapters 5:2 – 8:4
4. The power of lover. Ch. 8

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 starts the first poetic grouping in vv. 1 – 4 as the woman’s pursuit.  In essence, it opens with a passionate love scene.  Remember that the woman talks first, the woman talks last, and the woman talks most.  The implication is that this piece of scripture is written from the woman’s perspective.  This might be unfamiliar to us in that our culture today looks at sexuality predominantly from the male perspective.  Therefore, it will be interesting to see the woman’s perspective in this celebration that bring such delight and joy.

READ vv. 2-4a

Her pursuit has a 5-point outline.

Outline	Notes	Conclusions(let’s fill this out together)
1. “Let him kiss me. . .”	Kissing is the first thing she thinks about. This verb “let him kiss” is Jussive; a better translation would be “make him to kiss me. . .” The Hebrew word in this case “to kiss” is the more passionate type of kiss; not a peck on the cheek!
2. “your love is . . .delightful. . .”	“Love” is literally “love-making”.
3. His fragrance	She is sensitive to his personal scent.
4. He is popular	He is desirable to more than just her.
5. “Take me. . .”	There should be no doubt she wants him sexually.

READ v. 4b

The chorus of her friends reinforces her desire and experience.  They celebrate her opportunity as the intoxicating nature of physical love is certainly in mind (“your love is more delightful than wine”).  With regard to the friends, a woman’s friends often have a strong role in her self-image (in a very different way than men).  How are a woman’s friends influential in her life?

READ vv. 4b-17

1. The woman’s self image is poor.
2. Her husband enjoys looking at her and affirms her beauty.
3. She responds and opens to him as she feels affirmed and safe.

Conversation starters:

• Why is her self-image poor?
• In verse 9, he uses comparison with other women (a mare among war horses) to flatter her.  It is obvious she is the tender one and her coy, demure, femininity becomes in itself attractive.  What do men find most attractive in women?
• In verses 12 -14, we see him spending the night between her breasts as the ongoing theme of  fragrance is reinforced.  Let everyone try the henna blossom and myrrh.

Chapter 2

I am a rose of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

Sharon is a plain near the Mediterranean which is known for it’s remarkable fertility.  The rose of sharon is a category of flower that includes: asphodel, crocus, hyacinth, or narcissus.  In addition to the “rose of sharon” being a classification for a variety of flowering plants, there is a modern “rose of sharon” as well.

When she calls herself “a lilly of the valleys” or “a rose of sharon”, she is suggesting that she is one among the other maidens.  Maybe she is attractive, but there are many like her and she is therefore common.

He responds in verse 2 by suggesting that she is unique.  Her beauty is unique to him.  He is saying “you are my type” and that everything about her is sexually attractive to him and others don’t do it for him.  What is your type?

READ vv. 3-7

Here we find the climax of the first two chapters.

1. She reinforces her unique attraction to him in response to his affirmation of her beauty.
2. A literal translation of v. 4 would be “Let him come and bring me to the house of wine and let his intent be to go up into love-making”.
3. Then, in verse 4, she swoons faint and needs food.
4. She rests in the safe arms of her lover.
5. Her admonition to the virgins of Israel is that they remain chaste while she has found how wonderful love is when saved for the appropriate time.

Comments?

READ vv. 8-14

In these verses her anticipation grows and her excitement builds as she waits for her lover to come.  She compares him to a gazelle or a young stag (swift, masculine sexuality, beautiful) and he invites her to a tryst (vv. 10b & 13b) in the vineyard.  Agrarian images and the warmth of Spring are repeating, universal images of new life, warmth, hope and anticipation.  Spring is an auspicious time!

READ v. 15

This verse seems to come out of nowhere.  Vineyards are a place where your work is rewarded with the fruit.  However, foxes ruin vineyards when they eat the fruit prematurely.  Therefore, the foxes could represent 1. obstacles to their love-making, 2. simple mischief, or 3. things that hamper their blossoming relationship.

Closing chapter 2, verses 16 and 17 reaffirms her desire for physical intimacy (especially 16a).  However, in reflecting on their physical passion in chapters one and two, someone mentioned to me that is nice for a young couple who is just starting to bond.  On the other hand, is it possible to keep a marriage physically “alive”?  Can we watch for “foxes in the vineyard”?  What gets in the way of your love-making and what hampers your blossoming relationship?