The Song of Songs. Four Poems. The Apple Tree (1:2-2:7) The Stag on the Mountains (2:8-3:5) King Solomon's Garden (3:6-8:4) Reprise (8:5-8:14)

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4 The Song of Songs Four Poems The Apple Tree (1:2-2:7) A bride seeks a king. He meets her as a shepherd in the fields, where they express their delight in each other and consummate their love. The poem ends with the refrain of afterglow. The Stag on the Mountains (2:8-3:5) A lover comes after his beloved to call her out to the springtime and to him. After lovemaking, she sleeps and dreams that she has lost him. In her dream she searches Jerusalem, suddenly finds him, and takes him home with her. They make love and, with her in his arms, he sings the afterglow refrain. King Solomon's Garden (3:6-8:4) King Solomon comes in splendor to fetch his princess bride for their wedding. He praises her beauty, comparing her to an exotic garden, which she opens to him. After consummation, she sleeps and dreams. In the dream, her lover is knocking on her door, but she's loath to leave her bed. At last, stirred by him, she rises, but too late. He's gone. Still dreaming, she searches Jerusalem's city streets for him and is beaten by the nightwatchmen. Appealing to the women of the city for help, she describes her lover's beauty and wakes to find him in bed with her. Love talk and lovemaking end with the refrain of afterglow. Reprise (8:5-8:14) The three themes are revisited: The Apple Tree (8:5-7), King Solomon's Garden (8:8-13), and the Stag on the Mountains (8:14), ending with a note of longing for final consummation. Cover illustration: L. Kaban Translation: R. M. Hintze

5 The Song of Songs, which Is Solomon's 1. The Apple Tree A bride seeks a king. He meets her as a shepherd in the fields, where they express their delight in each other and consummate their love. The poem ends with the refrain of afterglow. Bride: May he kiss me with his mouth's kisses. Your love is better than wine. The fragrance of your scent is sweet. Your name is like spilled perfume. No wonder the maidens love you! Draw me in your footsteps - let us run! The king has brought me into his rooms. Chorus: You will be our joy and gladness. We will praise your love more than wine. Bride: How right they are to adore you! Dark am I, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark as the tents of Kedar, as the tent curtains of Solomon. Do not stare at me because I am dark; it is the sun that has burnt me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me tend the vineyards. My own I have not tended. Tell me then, you whom my heart loves, where you graze your flock. Where do you rest your sheep at noon? Why should I wander like a veiled woman by the flocks of your friends? Chorus: If you do not know, O loveliest of women, follow the footsteps of the flock; graze your kids by the shepherds' tents.

6 Groom: I have compared you, O my love, to my mare harnessed to Pharaoh's chariot: Your cheeks glow fair between your pendants, your throat with strings of jewels. Chorus: We will make you golden earrings and silver beads. Bride: While the king was at his table, my spikenard yielded its perfume. My well-beloved is a myrrh sachet between my breasts lying; my beloved is a cluster of blossoms of henna in the vineyards of En Gedi. Groom: How beautiful you are, my love! How lovely! Your eyes are doves. Bride: How beautiful you are, my beloved! How handsome! Our bed is green. Groom: The beams of our house are cedars, and fir trees are our rafters. Bride: I am a rose from Sharon, a lily from the valleys. Groom: Like a lily among thistles, so is my love among the maidens. Bride: Like an apple tree in a forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I have sat in his longed-for shade and his fruit is sweet to my taste. He has taken me into his banquet hall and his banner over me is love. Restore me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am weak with love. His left arm is under my head; his right arm embraces me. Groom: I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, by the does of the field, do not stir love nor rouse it until it please to wake.

7 2. The Stag on the Mountains A lover comes after his beloved to call her out to the springtime and to him. After lovemaking, she sleeps and dreams that she has lost him. In her dream she searches Jerusalem, suddenly finds him, and takes him home with her. With her in his arms, he sings the afterglow refrain. Bride: The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping on the mountains, bounding on the hills! My beloved is like a gazelle, like a young stag. Look - there he stands behind our wall. He looks in through the windows; he shows himself through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me: Groom: Arise, my love, my fair one; come away, for, look, the winter is past; the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree sends forth her green figs; the vines with their tender grapes send forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliffs, show me your face; let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is beautiful. Let us catch the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. Bride: My beloved is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies. Until the dawn wind rises and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved; be like a gazelle, like a young stag on the mountains of the Covenant. By night upon my bed I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but I did not find him.

8 I will rise now and go about the city, through its streets and squares I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I did not find him. The watchmen found me on their rounds about the city: "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" But scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him fast; I would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. Groom: I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, by the does of the field, do not stir love nor rouse it until it please to wake. 3. King Solomon's Garden King Solomon comes in splendor to fetch his bride for their wedding. He praises her beauty, comparing her to an exotic garden, which she opens to him. After consummation, she sleeps and dreams. In the dream, her lover is knocking on her door, but she's loath to leave her bed. At last, stirred by him, she rises, but too late. He's gone. Still dreaming, she searches Jerusalem's city streets for him and is beaten by the nightwatchmen. Appealing to the women of the city for help, she describes her lover's beauty and wakes to find him in bed with her. Love talk and lovemaking end with the refrain of afterglow. Chorus: What is this coming up out of the wilderness, like a pillar of smoke, breathing out myrrh and frankincense and every scent the merchants know? Behold the palanquin of Solomon! Threescore warriors are about it, from the valiant of Israel. King Solomon made himself the royal bed, made it of wood from Lebanon,

9 made its pillars of silver, its base of gold, its hangings of purple, its interior paved with love from the daughters of Jerusalem. Come out, O daughters of Zion! Behold King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day, on the day of his heart's gladness. Groom: Oh, you are fair, my love; oh, you are fair. Your eyes behind your veil are doves, your hair, like a flock of goats running down Mount Gilead, your teeth, like a flock of sheep just shorn, come up from the washing, each bearing twins and none barren among them. Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your mouth is beautiful. Your cheeks, like halves of pomegranate behind your veil, your throat, like David's Tower, built for an armory, where hang a thousand shields, all shields of mighty men. Your two breasts are like twin fawns that browse among the lilies. Until the dawn wind rises and the shadows flee I will go to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense. You are all fair, my love; there is no fault in you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, with me from Lebanon. Look from the crest of Amana, from the summit of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountain haunts of the leopards. You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one link of your necklace.

10 How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride, how much better your love than wine, and the scent of your ointments than all spices! Your lips, O my bride, drip like honeycomb; milk and honey are under your tongue, and the scent of your robes is like the scent of Lebanon. A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Your plants are a paradise of pomegranates and all choice fruit, of cypress and henna, saffron and spikenard, lemon grass and cinnamon, with all incense trees, myrrh and aloes, with all the fine spices, a garden fountain, a well of living water, streaming down from Lebanon. Bride: Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind: Blow on my garden that its fragrance may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat his choice fruits. Groom: I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my myrrh and my balsam. I have eaten my honey with my honeycomb. I have drunk my wine with my milk. Chorus: Eat, O friends; drink. Yes, drink deep, O both beloved. Bride: I slept but my heart was awake the sound of my beloved, knocking, Groom: "Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled, For my head is drenched with dew and my locks with the drops of the night." Bride: I have put off my robe - must I put it on again? I have washed my feet - shall I soil them?

11 My beloved put his hand by the opening of the lock; the core of me trembled for him. I rose and opened to my beloved; my hands dripped myrrh, my fingers dripped sweet smelling myrrh on the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned his back and gone. My soul left at his leaving - I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave no answer. The watchmen on their city rounds, they found me; they beat me! The guards of the walls, they took away my veil from me! I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, tell him I am weak with love. Chorus: How is your beloved more than another, O fairest of women? How is your beloved more than another beloved, that you charge us so? Bride: My beloved is white and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. His head is like finest gold; his locks wave, black as a raven. His eyes, like doves by the streams of waters, washed with milk, mounted like jewels. His cheeks are beds of spices, banks of herbs, his lips, like lilies dripping sweet smelling myrrh, his hands, like rods of gold set with topaz, his belly, like bright ivory, inlaid with sapphires. His legs are alabaster pillars, set in sockets of pure gold; his face, like Lebanon, unrivalled as the cedars. His mouth is all sweetness; yes, he is altogether beautiful. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

12 Chorus: Where has your beloved gone, O fairest of women? Which way did your beloved turn, that we may seek him with you? Bride: My beloved has gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. He browses among the lilies. Groom: You are beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, fair as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn your eyes away from me; they overwhelm me and your hair is like a flock of goats running down Mount Gilead, and your teeth, a flock of sheep just shorn, come up from the washing, each bearing twins and none barren among them, and your cheeks, like halves of pomegranate behind your veil. There are three score queens, four score concubines, and virgins without number; my dove, my undefiled, is one alone, the only daughter of her mother, the darling of the one who gave her birth. The daughters saw her and called her blessed; the queens and the concubines, and they praise her: Chorus: Who is this who looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners? Bride: I went down into the nut groves to see the new growth of the valley, to see if the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. Before I knew, my soul carried me off like the chariots of Amminadab.

13 Chorus: Come back! Come back, O Shullamite! Come back! Come back, that we may look at you! Groom: Why would you stare at the Shullamite as at the dance of Mahanaim? How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince's daughter! The joints of your thighs are like jewels, the work of a brilliant craftsman; your navel, like a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine, your belly, like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies, your two breasts, like twin fawns; your throat, like an ivory tower. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim, your nose, like the Tower of Lebanon, sentinel to Damascus, your head, held high like Mount Carmel, and your hair like curtains of purple - the king is caught in its tapestries. How fair, how pleasant you are, O love, for delights! Your stature, like a palm tree and your breasts like clusters of dates. I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I will grasp its fruit." And your breasts shall be clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath, like apples, and the roof of your mouth like the finest wine -- Bride: -- for my beloved, that goes down sweetly, flowing over lips and teeth. I am my beloved's and his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go out to the fields; let us spend the night in the villages. Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if the tender grape appears, if the pomegranates bloom

14 and there I will give you my love and my love. The mandrakes send forth their scent and at our doorway every delicacy, new and old, have I stored up for you, O my beloved. Oh, if you were my brother, nursed at my mother's breast, when I met you outdoors I would kiss you, yes, and none would despise me. I would lead you and take you into my mother's house, and you would teach me. I would have you drink spiced wine of the nectar of my pomegranates. And his left hand is under my head and his right hand embraces me. Groom: I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir love, nor rouse it, until it please to wake. 4. Reprise The three themes are revisited: The Apple Tree (8:5-7), King Solomon's Garden (8:8-13), and the Stag on the Mountains (8:14), ending with a note of longing for final consummation. Chorus: Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Bride: Under the apple tree I roused you, where your mother conceived, where she conceived who bore you. Groom: Wear me like a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as ruthless as Hell. Its flames are flames of fire, the fire of God. Many rivers cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it; if a man gave the whole wealth of his house for love, he would only be despised.

15 Chorus: We have a little sister and her breasts are not grown. What shall we do for our sister on the day she shall be courted? If she be a wall, we will build on her a tower of silver; if she be a door, we will gird her with panels of cedar. Bride: I am a wall and my breasts are its towers, and in his eyes I have found peace. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon. He let out the vineyard to keepers, that each should bring for the fruit it bore a thousand silver pieces. But my vineyard is my own to give. The thousand silvers are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred more for the tenders of the fruit. Groom: O you who dwell in the gardens with companions in attendance, Let me hear your voice! Bride: Turn, my beloved! Be like a gazelle, like a young stag on the mountains of spices. End

16 Notes I. Author and Date: Solomon, ca. 950 B.C. It's just possible to read the ascription: "The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's" (1:1) to mean "the song about Solomon", but the evidence points to his authorship. David is mentioned in 4:4 and Tirzah is mentioned as still impressive in 6:4; therefore, the book must have been written sometime after David and before Tirzah's decline, that is, between 960 and 870 B.C. And other geographical references mark out a kingdom encompassing the whole of Solomon's empire; Israel split in two upon his death and was never as extensive again. And the writing itself sounds like the Solomon who... spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He described plant life from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 1 K 4:32-33 and resembles his other works: Ecclesiastes, parts of Proverbs, and, as some think, Job. II. Interpretation of the Song A. The Song is NOT an Allegory The Holy Spirit identifies some few, short illustrations in Scripture as allegories (stories where there is no literal sense, but where everything "stands for" something else) and interprets these allegories for us. But if we allegorize Scripture, we're likely to miss the plain sense of what's in front of us, while guessing (wrongly) about what things "stand for". It's a game with no rules and no point, and it distracts us from the actual Word. This is not to deny what's called "resonance" or allusion. Poetic language especially may carry connotations from other pas-

17 sages of Scripture. But even though resonance may color a portion of Scripture, it cannot interpret it. Poetic language, unless the Holy Spirit interprets it in context, must be interpreted by clear, non-poetic passages and, of course, the whole Bible must be read through the teachings of the Apostles. B. Yet It Is More (not less) than Literal Certainly we have here a song cycle about a real love affair between Solomon and a Shulamite girl in the days of his inno-cence. But we have more: Choral speeches, dream sequences, and radical scene shifts lift these songs above the merely literal, and the couple here in love are more than Solomon and the Shulamite. The Lover is - unlike the author - both king and shepherd, both Judean and Galilean, and his Beloved is both princess and peasant girl. Beyond this, while merely literal love songs might be very beautiful, what purpose would they serve in Scripture? One commentator calls the Song "a justification of erotic love." But erotic love needs no justification. Others have called this book, "God's marriage manual." But as a marriage manual the Song would fail. There's nothing here about the purpose or fruit of mar-riage and there's no "how to" at all. These songs speak only in sensual terms of ecstatic experience - only of mutual delight, the aspect of marriage that the rest of Scripture takes for granted. Above all, since the entire Hebrew Bible is about Christ... Jn 5:39 These are the Scriptures that testify about Me. Ro 1: the Gospel He promised beforehand in the Holy Scriptures, regarding His Son. Ro 3:21-22 Now a righteousness from God has been revealed, apart from Law, to which the Law and Prophets testify righteousness from God through faith in Jesus Christ. Ac 10:43 All the prophets testify about Him. 1 Co 15:3-4 Christ died for our sins in keeping with the Scriptures... He was raised the third day in keeping with the Scriptures. 2 Ti 3:15 The Holy Scriptures... are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.... the Song of Songs, too, must be singing about Him.

18 C. The Song is POETRY In the Song, a great poet uses concrete images of an actual love affair to reveal a more universal reality. And as an Israelite poet, familiar with the Hebrew Bible of his day, he has to hand, as it were, many of the poetic images and specific types the Spirit uses in all Scripture. (A "type" is a real person, event, or thing that previews a later and greater reality: its fulfillment or "antitype". So, Noah's flood was the type of Baptism, the antitype; the Temple was a type of Christ's Body, the antitype; ritual sacrifices were types of Calvary, the antitype. We interpret types safely by working from the antitype backwards, that is, by studying the fulfillment and then going back to the type to find congruencies - congruencies which Scripture itself elsewhere affirms. For this must not degenerate into puzzle solving.) Since Scripture continually uses erotic love as an image of Divine-human love, sexual union as an image of spiritual union, sexual unfaithfulness as an image of spiritual unfaithfulness, and nuptial consummation as an image of the Consummation at the world's end, and since the Holy Spirit, the greatest Poet, used Solomon himself as a living type of Christ, we re not surprised to meet in the Song a king and a bride and a King and a Bride. 1. Erotic Love as an Image of Divine Love a. Sexual Unfaithfulness < Spiritual Unfaithfulness Je 3:1ff You have lived as a prostitute with many lovers -- would you now return to Me? declares the LORD. Look up to the barren heights and see: Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for your lovers...you have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.... Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Ho 1:2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord. Ho 2:3-13 She is not My wife, and I am not her Husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between

19 her breasts.... She said, "I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink." Therefore... I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, "I will go back to my Husband as at first, for then I was better off than now." She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold -- which they used for Baal.... So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers.... I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers.... I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but Me she forgot. Ja 4:4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Rv 17:1-5 Come, I will show you the punishment of the great pros-titute.... With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.... The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: Mystery: Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth. See also Ezekiel 16:1-38 and 23:1-20 b. Sexual Love < Spiritual Love Ho 3:1-4 The LORD said to me, Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods... Ho 2:14-20 Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.... There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that day, declares the LORD, You will call Me my Husband ; you will no longer call Me my master [lit. 'my baal']... I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and com-passion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD. The Psalm used at our weddings: Ps 45:9-15 At your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir. Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father s house. The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord.... All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold....they are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the King.

20 Is 5:1 I will sing for my Beloved a song about his vineyard. Is 54:5-6 For your Maker is your Husband -- the LORD Almighty is His name.... The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and dis-tressed in spirit, a wife who married young, only to be rejected. Is. 62:5 As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Je 2:2 I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved Me and followed Me through the desert. Zp 3:17 The LORD your God is with you... He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love. Jn 3:28-29 [John said,] I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him. The bride belongs to the Bridegroom. 2 Co 11:2 I promised you to one Husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him. Ep 5:25-32 Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her... to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.... We are parts of His body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" - This is a profound mystery, but it speaks of Christ and the Church. Rv 19:7-9 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb!'" Rv 21:2-3, 9-10 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her hus-band. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will wipe every tear from their eyes... [An angel] said to me, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he... showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God. Rv 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, Come!

21 2. Solomon as a Type of Christ Lu 11:31-32 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now One greater than Solomon is here. We know Jesus, first and last, as the Suffering Servant, humbled to save us: Is 53:2-3,7 He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.... He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. But the Song shows another side of Jesus: the "Beautiful Savior, King of Creation, Lord of the Nations," the Greater Solomon, the glorious, wise, and wealthy Lion of Judah: Gn 49:9-12 Judah, my son, is a lion's cub returning from the prey. As a young lion he will crouch; as a Lion full-grown He will lie down - and who will dare to rouse Him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until He comes to whom it belongs, and the obedi-ence of the nations is His. He will tether His donkey to the grapevines, His colt to the choicest branch. He will wash His garments in wine, His robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will shine like wine and His teeth will be whiter than milk. a. Solomon was a Son of David 1) The Promised Heir 1 Ch 17:11-14 When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your seed to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a House for Me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father and he will be My son. I will never take My love away from him, as I took it away from your prede-cessor. I will set him over My House and My kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.

22 2) Of Great Promise Psalm 45 My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer: You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victorious for truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. Your throne, O God, will be forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness, Therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. All your robes are fragrant with with myrrh and aloes and cassia; From palaces adorned with ivory the music of strings makes you glad. Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir. Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house; The king is enthralled by your beauty. Honor him, for he is your lord. The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; men of wealth will seek your favor. All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her and are brought to you. They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king. Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land. I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever. Psalm 72 Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king's son. He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor ones with justice.

23 Peace will flow to them from the mountains; righteousness will flow down the hills. He will judge for the poor of the people; he will save the children of the needy. He will shatter their oppressors to pieces; They will fear him as long as the sun and moon endure, through all generations. He shall come down like rain on mowed fields, like showers that water the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish, and abundant peace while the moon endures. He shall rule from sea to sea, from the rivers to the ends of the earth. Desert-dwellers shall bow before him; his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring tribute; the kings of Sheba and Saba will bring gifts. Yes, all kings will fall down before him; all nations will serve him. For he will rescue the needy when they cry, and the poor and the helpless. He will spare the poor and needy; he will save their souls. He will redeem their souls from lies and violence; their blood will be precious in his sight. And he shall live, and receive the gold of Sheba. Prayers will always be offered to him, and he shall be praised daily. Where a handful of grain is sowed in mountain soil, the harvest will shake like the forests of Lebanon. The citizens of his city will flourish like grass in the land. His name shall endure forever; his name shall last as long as the sun. All mankind shall be blessed in him, and all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things! Blessed be His glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen! 3) The Lion of Judah, Most Glorious of Kings: 1 Ki 3:5-13 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream and God said, "Ask for whatever you want Me to give you." Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to Your servant, my father David... and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am an infant and do not know how to carry out my duties. So give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your peope and to distinguish between right and wrong."

24 The LORD was pleased that Solomon had asked for this, so God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth... I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for - both riches and honor - so that in your days no king will be your equal." 1 Ki 4:20-34 The people of Judah and Israel were as many as the sands on the shore; they ate, they drank, and they were happy. And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates... to Egypt. These countries brought tribute.... The daily provisions for Solomon's court were 185 bushels of fine flour and 375 bushels of meal, 10 head of stall- fed cattle, 20 of pasture-fed cattle, and 100 sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl. In the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and fig tree. Solomon had 4,000 stalls for chariot horses and 12,000 horses.... God gave Solomon wisdom and great insight and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sands on the shore, greater than all the wisdom of the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.... He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He described plant life from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom. 1 Ki 6 [Solomon built the Temple of bronze and stone and gold and cedar and sandalwood overlaid with gold.] 1 Ki 7 [Solomon built his palace - "The Palace of the Forest of Lebanon" - of cedar and sandalwood and stone.] 1 Ki 9-10 [Solomon's fleet brought great cargoes of gold, sandalwood, and precious stones, silver, ivory and apes, and peacocks and baboons. Every year he received 25 tons of gold, not including tribute from afar. His throne was made of ivory, overlaid with gold, with a lion on either side as armrests. On the six steps up to the throne were lions on either side, twelve in all. All his dishes, cups, and utensils were made of gold, because silver was considered of little value in his days. He was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth....the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as pebbles and cedar as plentiful as sycamores.] Mt 6:29 [Jesus said:] Even Solomon in all his glory...

25 b. Jesus is David s Son and David s Lord 1) The Promised Heir Mt 1:1 The book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Lu 1:32-33 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David and He will reign over the House of Jacob forever. His kingdom will have no end. Mt 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:29; 21:9, 15; 22:41-42; 27:11, 37 Two blind men followed Him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" A Canaanite woman... came to Him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!" When they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The chief priests and teachers of the Law saw the wonderful things He did and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?" "The son of David," they replied. [Pilate] asked Him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" "Yes," Jesus replied. Above His head they put the written charge against Him: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Rv 4:3-6; 5:5-6 There before me was a throne in Heaven... Encircling the throne was a rainbow like an emerald, and surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on them, twenty-four elders, clothed in white, with crowns of gold on their heads. From out of the throne came bolts of light-ning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne seven lamps were bla-zing, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God, and before the throne was seemed a sea of glass, clear as crystal.... Then one of the elders said to me, "... Look! The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed!" and I saw a Lamb... standing in the center of the throne. Rv 22:16 I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.

26 Solomon "The Man of Peace" Anointed by the high priest with oil King of Israel Fabulously wealthy Builder of the Temple Wisest of all Men David's Son 2) Of Greater Promise - and Fulfillment Lu 11:32 One greater than Solomon is here. Jesus Is 9:6 The Prince of Peace Ep 2:14 He Himself is our Peace Ac 10:38 God anointed Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and power Rv 19:16 King of kings and Lord of lords Mt 28:18 All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me Hb 1:2 [God] has spoken to us by a Son whom He has appointed Heir of the Universe Jn 2:19 Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up. Ep 2:21-22 In Him the whole building rises to become a holy Temple in the Lord, and in Him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit Co 1:24 Christ... the Wisdom of God. Co 2:3 In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Jn 21:17 Lord, You know all things Mt 22:41-45 David's Son [and] David's Lord Ro 1:2-4 As to His human nature, made of the seed of David; by the Holy Spirit, declared to be the Son of God with power by His resurrection from the dead - Jesus Christ, our Lord.

27 In fact, what is written about Solomon could only really come true about Christ: 1 Ch 17:11-14 When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your seed to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a House for Me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father and he will be My Son. I will never take My love away from him, as I took it away from your pre-decessor. I will set him over My House and My kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever. Ps O Mighty One; clothe Yourself with splendor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victorious for truth and meekness and righteousness; Let your right hand display awesome deeds. Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies; Let the nations fall beneath your feet. Your throne, O God, will be forever and ever... Ps They will fear Him as long as the sun and moon endure, through all generations. He shall come down like rain on mowed fields, like showers that water the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish, and abundant peace while the moon endures. He shall rule from sea to sea, from the rivers to the ends of the earth.... Desert-dwellers shall bow before him; his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring tribute; the kings of Sheba and Saba will bring gifts. Yes, all kings will fall down before him; all nations will serve him. For he will rescue the needy when they cry, and the poor and the helpless. He will spare the poor and needy; he will save their souls. He will redeem their souls from lies and violence; their blood will be precious in his sight. And he shall live, and receive the gold of Sheba. Prayers will always be offered to him And he shall be praised every day. Where a handful of grain is sowed in mountain soil, the harvest will shake like the forests of Lebanon. The citizens of his city will flourish like grass in the land. His name shall endure forever; his name shall last as long as the sun. And mankind shall be blessed in him, and all nations shall call him blessed. III. Israelite Poetry A. Parallelism Parallelism is a poetic technique as common to the ancient East as rhyme or stress patterns have been in English poetry. Israelite poets like David, Asaph, and Solomon frequently follow one line with

28 another that parallels it, that is, that almost repeats it, but expands or deepens the meaning. We're familiar with this from: Proverbs: Listen, my son, to your father's instruction; do not reject your mother's teaching. They will be a crown of grace for your head; they will be a circlet for your neck. and from Job: Such is the future of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider's web. He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold. and from the Psalms: Give the King Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the King's Son.. He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor ones with justice. This technique works in at least three ways: It makes room for clarifications and colorings that bring out the poet's exact meaning. It builds the poems on pulses of wave-like energy, which appear most plainly when they are read responsively. (Israelite poetry was virtually always set to music and often sung antipho-nally, with solo and choir or two choirs.) It makes the poems easier to sing or chant. Solomon certainly uses parallelism in the Song, which, yielded to, gives an almost hypnotic effect: Dark as the tents of Kedar, as the tent curtains of Solomon... Your cheeks glow fair between your pendants, your throat with strings of jewels... My well-beloved is a myrrh sachet between my breasts lying; my beloved is a cluster of blossoms of henna in the vineyards of En Gedi... The beams of our house are cedars, and fir trees are our rafters. But the Song of Songs is remarkable for how relatively little use it makes of this most common technique. To the Israelites who

29 first heard it, it must have seemed startlingly free and passionate. But that, of course, was Solomon's (and the Holy Spirit's) intention. B. Near Eastern Similes and Metaphors These are more difficult for Western ears. We hear eyes compared to doves, teeth to shorn sheep, hair to goats, cheeks to pomegranates, noses to towers, and, famously, a bride compared to a mare. This difficulty will be cured by listening critically to our own similes and asking what an Israelite would have thought of lips like cherries (spherical?), or skin like actual peaches and cream, or foxy women, or handsome hunks. And what would my love be like, if she were literally like a red, red rose? In English or Hebrew, if we give in to the intended comparison, we'll be moved by resemblances that never occurred to us before. IV. The Use of the Song in the Church A. In Old Israel The Song of Songs was read aloud on the 8th day of Passover, as speaking of redeemed Israel in the wilderness with the Lord "in the days of their espousal." Rabbi Aqiba called this book "The Holy of Holies" of the Hebrew Bible. B. In Great Israel Ever since the Great Passover, the Song has been used to sing of the love between the Israel of God, the Jewish/Gentile Church, and the Lord, united in the world yet longing for the Consummation. See the following hymns in The Lutheran Hymnal: #204, vv.1&2 (2:10-12) #215 (1:4) #343 vv.1&2 (1:14; 2:16) #349, vv.1&5 (1:4) #350 (1:3) #362 vv.1&3 (5:16; 8:5) #364, v.1 (1:3) #606 vv.1&2 (2:8-10) #652 v.3 (1:3; 2:6)

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