Discovering Jesus in the Song of Songs

I. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY-TO REVEAL THE PATTERN OF

A. The Principles Necessary for Growing in Deep Passion With Jesus

The goal of these notes are to provide a general outline and summary of the whole SONG. This outline will help you to make sense of the big picture of what is happening in the overall story line of the SONG.

1. This book sets forth all the divine principles essential for spiritual maturity

2. This book helps us pinpoint our spiritual progress.

3. This eight-chapter love song develops the practical realities of .

outline will help you to make sense of the big picture of what is happening in the overall story line of the SONG.

I. INTRODUCTION TO THE SONG OF SOLOMON

B. Identifying the Issues that God is Specifically Dealing with in Our Lives

1. This Song helps us realize that the Father is dealing with all of us according to the exact same principles. When we discover that the pressures and trials of life we experience are common to all Christians, we won't feel quite so isolated.

2. This book also helps us become better equipped to discern the seasons of our lives.

The focus of the first session of our study was to provide some introductory principles necessary to interpret this SONG. This particular study interprets the SONG as an allegorical love song between Jesus and the individual believer as His bride. We discovered that the SONG is the divine pattern for the progression of holy passion. One purpose of the first session was to show how to use this love song as the springboard of inspiration to encounter Jesus. Several principles were provided to help in journaling as we prayer-read the Scriptures. We looked at the Holy Spirit’s purpose in the SONG to reveal principles necessary to understand our spiritual progress with greater clarity. We considered this SONG as the main prophetic song in redemptive history. We looked at the 7- fold divine kiss and its relationship to a bridal paradigm of the Kingdom.

II. ENCOUNTERING JESUS: JOURNALING AND PRAYER-READING

A. Practically Giving Our Hearts to God and Receiving From Him

1. The purpose of this section is to show how to use this love song as a springboard of inspiration for our hearts. The following is one way to express our devotion to the Lord.

a. As we read through the book, we should pray the actual Bible passages back to God. For example, when the Bride says to the Bridegroom, "Your love is better than wine" (), stop and say, "Thank you, Jesus, that Your love really is better than the wine of this world's pleasures." We then need to take the next step and pray, "Lord, reveal this truth to me. Give me a spirit of wisdom and of revelation concerning the truth that Your love is better than all the wine this world has to offer." Be persistent. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart like Paul prayed in . Holy Spirit will cause your insight to gradually increase.

b. Keep a spiritual journal. Write down the things that the Lord puts on your heart. Take time to record your thoughts, prayers and meditations as you "pray-read" through the Song The idea is to turn these Bible passages into meaningful conversation and dialogue with Jesus.

c. Commit yourself to obeying Jesus in the way described in a particular passage. Specifically express to Him the intent of your heart to obey.

d. Ask the Lord to empower your heart to obey the truth within a particular passage. Such requests for divine assistance will eventually result in a growth in grace over time. For example, in the passage where the Bridegroom exhorts the Bride to arise in obedience and follow Him to the mountains of hardship and risk (), stop and pray, "I commit myself to obeying the challenge You have set before me. Empower me by Your Spirit to obey."

III. THE SEVEN REVELATIONS OF JESUS IN THE SONG

A. The Seven Different Facets of Christ's Personality

1. Each of the seven faces of Jesus in the Song of Songs reveals a unique aspect of His relationship with the Bride. They are as follows:

a. The Counseling Shepherd (1:8)

b. The Sovereign King (2:8-9)

c. The Safe Savior (3:6-8)

d. The Heavenly Bridegroom (4:1-15)

e. The Suffering Servant (5:2)

f. The Majestic God (5:10-16)

g. The Consuming Fire (8:6-7)

IV. THE GREATEST PROPHETIC SONG

A. “The Song of Songs” (1:1)

1. Solomon wrote 1,005 songs (). He was a gifted songwriter. This song is his “best” song, thus it is referred to as the “Song of Songs”.

a. - .e., the most beautiful or excellent song

b. ; ; ; – “A king of kings”: i.e., the most mighty king.

c. – “God of gods”: i.e., the great living, or true God. The one mighty God.

d. - “Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil…” The figure is here translated, and given in the margin “Hebrew, the evil of your evil.”

e. – literally “A lamentation of lamentations,” i.e., a great lamentation.

f. – “A Hebrew of Hebrews”: i.e., a thorough Hebrew.

g. ; ; – “The King of kings and Lord of lords”

h. - “…to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever…” Literally, “”the age of the ages”, i.e., to the remotest age, forever and ever.

2. When Holy Spirit (who is God) describes this song as the “Song of Songs”, it conveys in the Hebrew language the "Highest of the Highest." In other words, “it don’t get no better than this!”

3. I believe this Song is the “greatest” prophetic song ever written by the redeemed in all of redemptive history.

a. The purpose of prophetic songs is to reveal the heart of Jesus. These songs speak of the beauty, splendor and majesty of His personality. John said, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (). The testimony of Jesus reveals the things pulsating in His heart.

4. In , the end-time saints are pictured as standing around the throne of God singing two songs - the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.

a. The song of Moses is recorded in .

b. Jesus, the Lamb of God, has a song called the Lamb's song. Could the Lamb's song be recorded in the Word of God like Moses' song? It could very well be that the Lamb's song and the Song of Songs are synonymous.

5. Jesus sings many different songs over His Bride (; ).

a. He sings over His people through spontaneous prophetic songs.

b. He also sings over His Bride through the use of a previously written solo.

c. Since Jesus is described in as singing over His people in the Presence of His Father, why should it be hard for us to imagine Jesus using the "Song of Songs" to cherish and romance His beloved Bride at the end of the age?

V. THE UNIQUE FOCUS OF THE SONG

A. Four Key Distinctives Related to the Song

1. The Song gives us a concise revelation of the passionate affections in Jesus' personality, including His enjoyment and affection for weak, yet, sincere believers.

2. The Song gives us insight into the beauty of Jesus, specifically as a Bridegroom King

3. The Song gives us a revelation of the unique beauty and loveliness of the individual believer.

4. The Song also gives us principles related specifically to growing in the first commandment, as well as mature bridal partnership with Jesus.

a. Our souls comprise many different emotions. Certain aspects of our hearts can only be touched through divine poetic romance. The idea that Jesus has strong and deep emotions of desire for us seems unrealistic. Many of us can only imagine an aloof, stoic, God who always seems to be angry with us. Yet, we need to consider that the reason we have such strong and diverse emotions is because He has them.

VI. JESUS' THREE-FOLD INHERITANCE -

A. The Description of Christ's Inheritance

1. is a famous messianic Psalm. In verses 7-9, David describes Jesus' prayer for His inheritance. Then in , he describes Jesus' three-fold inheritance: a people who would tremble, rejoice and kiss the Son of God. This is one of the most concise descriptions of the heart of the mature Bride.

B. The Three Sides of Redemption

1. TREMBLING-We tremble in awe by seeing the eternal majesty and splendor of Jesus as a Bridegroom, King, and Judge.

2. REJOICING-We rejoice by seeing who we are in Christ as we understand the legal and practical sides of our redemption. We rejoice in discovering the benefits of the Cross.

3. KISSING-There is the emotional and passionate side of our redemption when our hearts are enflamed by His loving beauty as He empowers us to fulfill the first commandment.

C. The Three Books That Focus on The Three Sides of Redemption

1. REVELATION-This book portrays the majesty of our Bridegroom King which causes us to tremble in awe before Him.

2. ROMANS-This book introduces us to the legal and practical sides of redemption which cause us to rejoice in the benefits of the Cross.

3. SONG OF SONGS-This book awakens us to the passionate, emotional side of God which empowers us to restore the first commandment to first place in our lives.

D. Summary

1. Most Christian groups typically focus on just one side of redemption

a. Some unbalanced holiness groups seek to tremble before the Lord while neglecting the elements of rejoicing and kissing the Son. They can easily become tempted with legalism and a morbid approach to purity.

b. Some unbalanced charismatic groups focus on rejoicing in who they are in Christ while neglecting the trembling and kissing side of redemption. They are tempted with carnality and compromise as they pursue a life in God.

c. Some unbalanced groups, especially, some of the monastic groups in medieval times, as well as certain puritan groups in the 17'th century, focused on kissing the Son while neglecting the rejoicing and trembling sides of redemption. They were tempted with unbalanced isolation and asceticism as they pursued a life of spiritual union with God.

2. I believe Holy Spirit is desirous to provide the sufficient revelation and release of power within the Church to equip the Bride to live in all three sides of redemption so that she might be the inheritance the Father promised His Son.