Introduction to the Song of Songs (1:1)

INTRODUCTION

In our first session, the purpose of our study primarily will be to provide a road map to help give us an overview of the book. There are several interpretations of the Song of Solomon. However, in our study we will be addressing the two main ones. These interpretations are extremely valid and edifying. We will also look at several key principles for interpreting this Song.

I. INTERPRETING THE SONG

A. The Natural Interpretation-This school of thought depicts a literal human love story between King Solomon and his Bride, the Shulamite. It is a natural love story based on biblical principles written to honor and inspire deeper love within marriage. It is a wonderful love story that gives symbolic principles on the beauty of married love. There is one basic story line that must be mentioned when viewing the book as a natural love story It depicts a young maiden wooed by the handsome and rich King Solomon. He progressively wins her heart throughout the story.

1. The natural interpretation has become popular only in the last hundred years. For the previous 2800 years (since Solomon approximately 900BC) there were only a handful of commentaries written from this viewpoint.

B. The Allegorical Interpretation-This view suggests that Solomon was writing a love song to describe spiritual truth about the love relationship with the coming Messiah. This has been the most common interpretation of the book throughout Church history (for the first 1900 years of Church history and the 2800 years since Solomon first wrote it (this includes the rabbinical tradition).

1. An allegory is a story that is totally symbolic without any historical facts as its basis. Natural details of facts are not primary. For instance, a very popular allegory is the “Chronicles of Narnia”, or “Hinds Feet on High Places”, or, “The Wizard of Oz”.

2. The Bible itself affirms the use of allegorical interpretations in . Paul allegorically speaks of things that happened with Hagar and Sarah. There are several other references in the Bible to allegorical interpretation.

3. Allegories are also used to make a truth more colorful and easier to grasp.

4. Allegorical interpretations are important and helpful “only” as long as they are used to illustrate a truth that is already clearly established throughout the entirety of the Word of God.

5. While this love poem expresses the emotions related to an actual romance that took place in Solomon's life, we will, in this study, pursue the allegorical interpretation of the book.

II. THE THREE MOST COMMON ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATIONS

A. The Relationship between God as the Bridegroom and Natural Israel as the Bride

1. This interpretation is clearly taught throughout the Old Testament ; ; , , , ; ). Therefor, for nearly 3,000 years, Jewish rabbis have been This is how Old Testament believers interpreted this book, finding real strength in knowing God's deep bridal love for Israel

2. This song was written about 900 B.C. Therefore, for nearly 3,000 years, Jewish rabbis have been interpreting the Song as symbolic of Yahweh (as the Heavenly Bridegroom) in Bridal love with Israel (His Bride).

B. The Relationship between Jesus and the Corporate Church of Christ (; ; ; )

1. Another common allegorical interpretation of the Song is to see the Bride as the Church throughout history. This has been used mostly from the early Church to about the 16th century by the Catholic Church. They interpreted the Song mostly through the lens of the Bride as the corporate Body of Christ. This view is also a very valid way of interpreting the book.

C. The Relationship between Jesus and the Individual Believer describing the God-ordained progression of spiritual development to maturity.

1. The focus of this study will be to interpret the book as an allegorical love song between Jesus and the individual believer as His Bride. This approach will offer practical spiritual insights for our personal lives as we seek to grow in our personal passion for the Man, Christ Jesus.

NOTE: It is important to understand that there are some groups that interpret the Bride as a very small and spiritually elite remnant within the context of the larger Body of Christ. We believe that the Bride is the whole Church. In Heaven, all believers are mature in love. Some will press in more on this side of eternity, but on the other side of eternity, Holy Spirit will bring to completion His maturation process in every believer.

III. THE UNIQUE FOCUS OF THIS SONG

A. The general purpose of this book is to fully fascinate and capture the hearts of God’s people by the greatest prophetic song ever written. There are several, very clear, unique distinctives related to this Song.

1. It is a condensed revelation of the passionate affections in Jesus’ personality related to His affection and enjoyment for weak, yet sincere believers.

2. It has an expansive, in-depth insight into the beauty of Jesus specifically as a Bridegroom King.

3. The revelation of the unique beauty and loveliness of the individual believer.

4. The revelation of the honor and beauty of the corporate Church throughout all of redemptive history.

5. The principles related specifically to God’s ordained process for growing in the first commandment and mature bridal partnership with Jesus.

B. The uniqueness of the Song is found in how focused and concentrated its truths are presented. Though it does not teach anything that is not stated in many other places in the Word of God, this concentration creates an intensity of these subjects that cannot be found anywhere else in the Bible.

C. Certain aspects of the human heart can oly be touched through divine petic romance. Our soul is comprised of many different emotional aspects. We were created in such a way that the divine poetic romance language of love touches a deep part of our makeup that other aspects of God’s truth do not touch in the exact same way.

1. Part of our being was created to respond best to a concentrated revelation of His passion for us. Other parts of our human makeup respond to other benefits of the cross, which are also wonderful foundational doctrines that we will never outgrow.

2. God desires to touch our whole heart. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord God with a whole heart” (Author’s paraphrase). The whole heart is like a diamond that has many different angles. It is as if He is shooting a holy laser beam of the revelation of His passionate affection into us.

III. THE THREE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK

III. THE THREE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK

A. King Solomon-Solomon is depicted in the allegorical interpretation as a type of the triumphant resurrected Jesus who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

1. Solomon is the writer of the Song. This Song was probably written between 900-950 B.C.

2. This beautiful Song could possibly have come out of his supernatural experience with God recorded in .

B. The Shulamite Woman -The Shulamite is depicted as a type of the Bride of Christ who eventually experiences full spiritual maturity.

1. She is introduced in the book as a young maiden who is fervent but immature. By the end of the story she is the mature Bride who is full of glory.

2. The name "Shulamite" is mentioned only once in the Song (6:13). Shunam was a very small city in Israel located several miles north of Jezreel. The maiden lived in the city of Shunam; therefore, she is called the Shulamite

C. The Daughters of Jerusalem - A group that appears regularly throughout the Song, depicting those who are genuinely born again, but who never attain to the same level of spiritual intimacy as the Shulamite.

1. This group seems to personify the condition of immature believers in a very general way.

IV. COMPARING ECCLESIASTES AND THE SONG OF SONGS

A. The Message of Ecclesiastes

1. Solomon wrote three books in the Old Testament. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Ecclesiastes was written to expose the vanity of life apart from a loving relationship with God. Ecclesiastes emphasizes just how impossible it is to truly be satisfied with even the most desirable external circumstances. The book also depicts the endless wanderings of man who cannot find true spiritual rest apart from God.

B. The Message of the Song of Songs

1. The Song of Songs, in contrast, reveals the true joy of life that can be experienced in God regardless of external circumstances. It highlights just how meaningful life can be when our one consuming passion is to know and love the magnificent Lord Jesus. If the Book of Ecclesiastes is properly understood, it will lead to an awakened passion for God.

2. Ecclesiastes is in many ways a vital preparation for studying the Song of Songs because it's difficult to fervently seek the fullness of life in Jesus without understanding how futile life is outside of Christ