Song of Solomon

Many ministers of the gospel avoid teaching the Song of Solomon and reading through the book one could see the reason why. How can anyone stand in front of believers and teach about love, romance, and marriage? However, just the way our Heavenly Father is referred to as the King of Kings, or the Holy of Holies. The book is also referred to as the Song of Songs by the Hebrews to show you how powerful the words are.

The truth about this intriguing book is, it is a proof that God wants us to see love, sex, and marriage in the context of something beautiful and poetic. It takes the grace and wisdom of God to show God’s people indeed, what the Songs of Solomon is really about.

I have gone through several articles, listen to sermons, but none spoke to me like the sermon of G I Williamson, The Song of Songs: A Series of Sermons. I hope as you go through this article, the Holy Spirit will reveal to you the undiluted message of the Scripture.

Song of Songs- the beginning of True Love
There are several parts to the poetic scriptures; “the beginning of True Love” is one of the many series of the Song of Songs.
Song of Solomon 1:2-2:7
[The Shulamite]
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for your love is better than wine. Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth; therefore, the virgins love you. Lead me away!
[The Daughters of Jerusalem]
We will run after you.

[The Shulamite]
The king has brought me into his chambers.
[The Daughters of Jerusalem]
We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more than wine.

[The Shulamite]
Rightly do they love you. I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not look upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.
(To Her Beloved)
Tell me, O you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?

[The Beloved]
If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow in the footsteps of the flock, and feed your little goats beside the shepherds’ tents. I have compared you, my love, to my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots. Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with chains of gold.
[The Daughters of Jerusalem]
We will make you ornaments of gold with studs of silver.

[The Shulamite]
While the king is at his table, my spikenard sends forth its fragrance. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, that lies all night between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms in the vineyards of En Gedi.

[The Beloved]
Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes.

[The Shulamite]
Behold, you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our bed is green. The beams of our houses are cedar, and our rafters of fir. I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

[The Beloved]
Like a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

[The Shulamite]
Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
[The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem]
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with cakes of raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.

Lessons
First, this poem talks about a woman in love with the writer. It also shows she is from a humble background because she worked in the vineyard under the scorching heat of the sun, which turned her skin dark. She feels disadvantaged because unlike the bevy of women who are pampered, has milky white skin which what Solomon was use to, in contrast of her dark skin because of the hard work she has to do in her family’s vineyard. Her own vineyard in the poem connotes her body she has abandoned. The girl yearns for the love of the king of Israel; she is the one who set her heart on the king of Israel.

Secondly, the passage shows her character, which is the most exceptional beauty that brings out her virtues. She fixed her heart on the ruler and yearned for his embraces- “Your name is like perfume poured out” she did not focus on his looks, but his name. Names are not just what you give to anyone, but it reveals the true self of an individual. Solomon means the peace of God- God blessed him with wisdom, and he became the wisest man in the world. She praised his name instead of his physique – “Your name is like ointment” is another way of saying your reputation is beautiful and wonderful.

The third lesson of the poem shows the girl respects and accepts God’s given role to man and woman. Some people subordination makes you unequal, but it is wrong. What they fail to understand is that Christ, our Savior subordinated Himself to the Father yet He was equal with His Father.

She happily embraced the God-given role; she wanted the king to take the initiative “Take me away with you” “Let him kiss me” “Let the king bring me into his chambers.” All through the passage, she proves that she wants the man to be her lover and her leader.

The fourth lesson in this passage shows how Solomon cherishes the woman, even though she is not confident in herself. He realized that the woman is amazingly different from the other women. “I likened you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.”

While she was thinking herself to be unworthy of the King’s attention, the King was already interested in her.
The summary of this passage is sex,and love is not about the physical attraction; the woman, of course, wanted Solomon to touch or kiss her, but she wanted to do it in God’s way. “Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you, don’t do anything to tempt me or to spoil the progress of God-ordained love.” The woman honors his headship and the love for the king is not just sexual desire, his character also awakens it.

I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste (2:3b, NIV).
Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste (2:3, KJV).

ENCOURAGE YOURSELF: We should not indulge in sex until the time is right. Many relationships are shattered today because people do not want to yield to God’s instruction. The Song of Solomon proves God is also interested in sex, love, marriage lives and we can talk Him concerning these areas of our lives. He wants to help us avert unnecessary heartaches, but we have to let Him into our lives. The Book is there for us to use; it is life’s manual.