Explore the Bible Lesson Preview May 18, 2014 Righteous Romance Background: Song of Songs 1:1 5:1 Lesson: Song of Songs 1:7-8, 15; 2:2, 15; 4:9-12 Motivation: When reading these notes and teaching this study, remember that Song of Solomon is poetry, which does not easily lend itself to principle and analysis. It is to be read and enjoyed as an affirmation of the love shared between husband and wife; spiritually, it is a description of Christ s love for His church. Depending on the age and marital status of those you teach, you may need to vary your approach. (Matt. 16:18) Examination: I. Love s Anticipation (1:1-2:7) Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine. (1:2) Often romance in a marriage cools because spouses fail to continue courtship. Married couples need to continue to court each other! Here are some keys: A. Verbal Praise: Throughout the book, both parties are lavish in their verbal praise for one another: Your love is more delightful than wine (1:2); most beautiful of women (1:8) How handsome you are, my love (1:16). B. Word Pictures: Gary Smalley insists that word pictures break down the communication barriers between men and women. Word pictures give concrete identity to an abstract thought: He compares her to a mare (1:9), a dove (1:15) and a lily (2:2). 1 / 8
She compares him to a cluster of henna blooms (1:14) and an apple tree (2:3). Word pictures are especially helpful in conveying feelings. An extended word picture or metaphor is found in 1:7 Tell me, you, the one I love; Where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you let them rest at noon? Why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions? (1:7) HCSB, p. 1108: 1:7 As a shepherd finds shade for his flock during the heat of the day, Solomon could provide protection from the gaze of the women (vv. 5-6) and the anger of the brothers (v. 6) that burned like the sun. So Shulamith could ask, Where do you let them (the flock) rest at noon, implicitly requesting relief in Solomon s protection from the sun s heat. This extended metaphor resumes in Shulamith s comparison of Solomon to a tree in the forest in whose shade she delighted (2:3) and concludes in her being compared to the morning star (Or dawn light in 6:10). Dawn (or morning star, Hb shaker ) is a play on dark (Hb shekorah ; 1:6), the effect of the sun on the skin. Love transformed the young woman darkened by the sun into the light of dawn. In a wordplay, why appears in this form only here in the OT. The archaic relative pronoun (she) is attached to the interrogative with the lamed prefix (Hb lamah) to form shallamah. Since the consonants are exactly the same as the name Solomon, the original readers might first have thought it should be translated Solomon, make the sentence read, Solomon, I will be like a veiled woman by the flocks. This is perhaps just the sort of playful thing young lovers would say. One who veils herself is likely an allusion to Tamar, who disguised herself as a prostitute by donning a veil and then enticed Judah to fulfill his duty to provide for her (Gn 38:14-15). Like Tamar, Shulamith was not what she appeared to be: She was no more a common laborer than Tamar was a prostitute. But unlike Tamar, she did not have to use manipulation since Solomon was willing. So why indeed should Shulamith veil herself to conceal her motives? Later Shulamith is likened to a palm tree, which is Tamar in Hebrew (Sg 2 / 8
7:7-8). How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Your eyes are doves. (1:15) C. Physical Touch: Again, Smalley describes non-sexual touching and meaningful conversation as two of the major needs of women (Love is a Decision). In this passage and throughout the book, non-sexual as well as sexual contact are presented as blessed by God in marriage and as an integral part of romance. (cf. 1:2 kiss me, 2:6 hi s left hand is under my head ) He brought me to the banquet hall, and he looked on me with love. Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apricots, for I am lovesick. (2:4-5) HCSB, p. 1:17; 2:4-5 Banquet hall is literally house of wine, inviting a contrast with the house of nature in 1:17 and the house of wealth in 8:6-7; the latter is the corresponding section in the chiastic structure. He looked on me with love assumes that the root meaning behind the military banner was the concept of looking. The alternate reading, His banner over me is love, is supported by the fact that drawings in the ancient Near East show groups carrying banners with symbols identifying the group. Solomon s love for Shulamith is clear and public. I am lovesick affirms the intensity of romantic love. D. Personal Integrity: your name is perfume poured out (1:3) A major killer of romance is dishonesty! Smalley comments on this verse in Love is a Decision, p. 151 What Solomon s wife is telling us is a truth about marital passion. The more purified my character, the more attractive I am to my spouse and the more responsive she ll be to me as a result. Time and again I ve seen this principle working in the relationships of people for good and for bad. E. Security Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women. (2:2) HCSB; p. 1110: 2:2-3 3 / 8
The significance of the lotus flower s place among thorns is similar to the tree s shade and fruit in a dangerous forest: both are places of safety surrounded by danger. The implication is that their love was likewise a place of safety in a hostile world. Fruit is often a metaphor for speech (Pr 12:14; 13:2; 18:20) that can be described as sweet not only in Proverbs (Pr 16:24), but also in the Song (Sg 5:13, 16). F. Appropriate Timing Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field: do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time. (2:7) HC SB; p. 1110: 2:7 Shulamith asked the women to promise by the gazelles and the wild does of the field. Gazelles (Hb tseva oth ) is precisely like hosts (Hb tseva oth ) in Lord of Hosts, and wild does of the field (Hb ayloth hasadeh ) is similar to El Shaddai two wordplays that might go unnoticed except that Shulamith s request is in the form of the traditional oath formula normally requesting a promise by the Lord (Gn 24:3). The play on the names of God is instructive. Shulamith asked for a promise of patience in love. So she asked for the promise not by the Lord of Hosts nor by the Almighty God but by the creatures whose manner modeled romantic ways. Love, as she expresses it here, awakens not in response to the coercive power of an army or the might of God, but to love expressed with the gentle sensitivity of the gazelles or does of the meadow. Until the appropriate time (lit until it pleases ) personifies love as their guide. II. Love s Frustration (2:8-3:5) A. Small Problems: catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards (2:15) Many times a relationship crumbles, not because of one big problem, but because of a multitude of aggravations. These little foxes become a major problem when we fail to deal with them and let them accumulate. We re encouraged in Ephesians 4:32, And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgives you. 4 / 8
B. Selfish Possession: Dr. Ed Hindson sees a progression of love throughout the book: 2:16 Selfish love My love is mine 6:3 Mutual love I am my love s, and my love is mine 7:10 Unselfish love I belong to my love, and his desire is for me. C. Straying Apart In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. (3:1) To justify divorce, people often use phrases like we ve grown apart, we re not in the same place or he s not the man I married. All of these are symptomatic of straying apart rather than becoming one flesh. The key to a long happy marriage is first to find intimacy and likeness with Christ and by doing so to find intimacy and likeness with one another. As we each become more like Christ, we re drawn together, not apart. III. Love s Consummation (3:6 5:1) A. Wedding Processional (3:6-11) The contrast between Solomon s magnificence and wilderness (6) accents the wonder of true love and committed marriage. The groom emphasized his provision of security ( 60 warriors ), comfort ( royal litter ), and love ( inlaid with love ). B. Words of Praise You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How 5 / 8
delightful your love is, my sister, my bride. Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam. Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden a locked garden and a sealed spring. (3:9-12) HCSB; p. 1114: 4:11 The phrase Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb is alliterative in Hebrew, suggesting the sound of dripping honey. Honey and milk not only describes passionate kisses but likely alludes to the richness of the land that God gave Israel (Ex 3:8, 17; Nm 14:8; 16:13-14). Solomon found the same richness in Shulamith and implied she was also a gift from God. C. Wonderful Love I have come to my garden my sister, my bride. I gather my myrrh with my spices. I eat my honeycomb with my honey. I drink my wine with my milk. Eat, friends! Drink, be intoxicated with love! (5:1) Having metaphorically described the wonders of love as a lush garden (4:12-15) and having been invited to partake (4:16), Solomon now declares his love using the same words used for restraint in Chapter 2. HCSB; p. 1114: 5:1 Solomon celebrated the consummation. The songwriter s words began this section and now conclude it. Since friends in the singular was Solomon s customary name for Shulamith (rendered darling in 1:9, 15; 2:2, 10, 13; 4:1, 7; 6:4) and love in the singular was Shulamith s customary name for Solomon (rendered my love: in 1:13, 14, 16; 2:3, 8, 9, 16, 17; 4:16; 5:2, 4-6, 8, 9-10, 16; 6:1-3; 7:9, 11; 8:14), an alternative translation is Eat, O darling companions (Hb reyim ); drink and drink deeply, O beloveds (Hb dodim ). In other words, it appears the songwriter addresses the couple by the names they most commonly call each other. This blessing is at the center of the song s lyrics and is the conclusion of its central section. As if Shakespeare stepped onto the stage of Romeo and Juliet, the songwriter dramatically appears. After encouraging the wedding guests at the end of the wedding day (3:11), he blesses the wedding couple at the end of the wedding night (5:1). His authorial perspective is all-knowing and all-present, hinting that he speaks for God. Readers have often thought it curious that the mothers appear five times (3:4, 11; 6:9; 8:2, 5), but fathers not at all, even where expected (8:8-9). Perhaps it is because the voice of the songwriter speaks for the ultimate Father who orchestrates the romance. As the wedding s preeminent guest, the Great Songwriter gives blessing to love and the lovers. 6 / 8
Application: 1. Love involves courtship, giving the other what he/she needs. 2. Love involves solving problems together, committed to one another for life. 3. Love involves intimacy on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. Leader Pack Item 18: Handout: In the Know Illustrator: p. 6; Oils, Perfumes and Cosmetics of the Ancient Near East. **You may access David s Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: www.hfbcbiblestudy.org Dates: 5/11 Mother s Day Event SPF; 5/11 David Self @ Loop and Gregg Matte @ CYP; 5/18 Houston 1:8 Kickoff/Parent Commitment; 5/26 Memorial Day Church offices closed; 5/27 - Daycation begins; 5/30 ReCreate Date Night/Next Gen Summer Kickoff Night; 6/1 - LBS Promotion Sunday; 6/1 Deacon s Meeting/Church Conference; 6/4-7/30 SPF Summer Nights on Wednesdays; 6/5-8 Camp Intersect; 6/5 8/7 7 / 8
MetroLIVE Thursdays; 6/11-14 - Elevate Student Mission Trip; 6/15 - SPF Father s Day Event; 6/23-27 VBS; 6/26-28 GACHP Conference (Paul); 7/4 Independence Day Holiday, Offices closed; 7/6-10 Houston 1:8; 7/12-18 Rushmore; 7/13 Lord s Supper; 7/14-18 SWOC; 7/14 Pastor begins Sabbatical, returns 8/11. 8 / 8