Author : Keith Sharp
The Bible is the complete book, supplying every spiritual need of man and providing principles for guidance in every aspect of life. One of man’s strongest needs, recognized by the Lord from the very beginning, is the need for companionship from the opposite sex (Genesis 2:18-24).
Reville writes of the nature of the Song of Solomon:
The song of Song is a lyrical and pastoral poem, containing dramatic action, and having for its subject the victory of chaste and faithful love over the seductions of a king, whose passion, without being precisely illegitimate in the age and country into which it carries us, has nevertheless licentiousness for its motive (Albert Reville. 20)
Thus, the theme of the Song of Solomon is Marital Love, the Victory of True Love(1:2; 6:3; 7:10; 8:6-7).
The book calls itself, in the very opening verse, “The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.” Thus, Solomon is the author of the “song of songs.” The short, poetic drama contains seven specific references to Solomon (1:1,5; 3:7,9,11; 8:11,12).
In some ways Solomon was uniquely qualified to write the Song. Of course, he was inspired of God. He wrote “one thousand and five” songs (1 Kings 4:32). As “the song of songs,” this is the height of Solomon’s songs. As the husband of 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3), Solomon was quite skilled in the carnal aspects of marital love. But, from the content of the Song, it appears Solomon came to appreciate what he himself never experienced – the deep, committed, faithful love of one woman and one man.
The phrase “song of songs” does not mean a song composed of songs but is a Hebrew superlative, meaning the song that is chief among all songs, the most beautiful of all songs (cf. Genesis 9:25; Exodus 26:33; Deuteronomy 10:17; 1 Kings 8:27; Ecclesiastes 1:2).
Song of Solomon is one of the least known and most difficult to understand of the books of the Old Testament. There are several reasons for this. Since the book deals exclusively with marital love, several of its passages are quite sensual. It is the only book in the Bible which consists entirely of poetry and conversation. The book is filled with Hebrew figures of speech.
The three chief characters of the book are a beautiful, dark skinned, country maiden of the hills of northern Palestine; King Solomon, who attempts by the art of seduction to win her to his harem; and the shepherd, the handsome country lad whom the maiden truly loves. The maiden (“the Shulamite”) is truly a heroine of virtue and dedication to her true love.
Hailey summarizes the story thus:
I believe that Solomon was infatuated with the girl’s charm and beauty, but that she was in love with a shepherd lad. In the struggle within her own heart, true love triumphs. When Solomon unwittingly revealed the sensual nature of his infatuation (7:7-9a), the die was cast: her mind was completely determined to return to the shepherd. The poem is God’s commendation of true mating love, and His condemnation of Solomon’s polygamy. (cf. 6:8; sixty queens and eighty concubines. His marriage machinery was just getting into high gear.)(Hailey. 24)
This beautiful, poetic story closes with the maiden pledging her wedding vow to the shepherd lad she truly loved:
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised (8:6-7).
There is no description of the purity and strength of marital love more sublime for beauty and accuracy in any literature, human or divine! Thus, the song reaches its crescendo and the drama its climax. Truly, a young woman with such exalted ideals and principles, can be called:
“…the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.” (2:1)
With Song of Solomon the Old Testament Wisdom and Poetry Literature comes to a close. Each book has a valuable contribution to the overall character of servants of the Lord. Job shows us how to endure suffering, the Psalms demonstrates how to praise and pray to the Lord, Proverbs instructs us in wisdom in daily affairs, Ecclesiastes teaches us how to be happy, and Song of Solomon poetically leads us to understand how to love our mates.
I. Introduction – 1:1
II. In the Royal Tents in Issachar, Love Introduced – 1:2-3:5
III. The Royal Procession Entering Jerusalem – 3:6-11
IV. In the Royal Palace in Jerusalem, Love Tested – 4:1-8:4
V. In Issachar, the Shepherd and the Maiden, Love Victorious – 8:5-14
