The Song of Songs
Love Through the Lens of Wisdom
The Song of Songs, tucked in the middle of the Bible, is love made wisdom. It is the righteous view of a man and a woman who unashamedly love one another with their whole being. And as their love informs their admirations, it informs their actions. This poem informs all poets. It also informs all loves. However, there is an unfortunate stigma that pervades the Christian’s perception of the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon). It is always looked upon as the “steamy book” of the Bible. The mere mention of its name in an adult Bible study will elicit 1st grade giggles, or some off-handed jokes about pomegranates. To be sure, our fascination with this book does stem from the provocative imagery. Perhaps, though, it goes deeper. I say it strikes at our core. We don’t read anything this vividly intimate, yet proudly published anywhere else in the Bible since, “this is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh,” (Genesis 2:23) and it makes us nervous. Why all of the illustrious descriptions? Why so many allusions to plants, animals, food, and jewels to describe a love and love itself? For example...
“My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi.”
Song of Solomon 1:13-14 ESV
“As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.”
Song of Solomon 2:3 ESV
“Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead.”
Song of Solomon 4:1 ESV
The imagery that Solomon uses to paint the relationship between him and his beloved wife evokes a strong sense of longing within us, because it blows on the hot embers in our soul, and fans into flame our innate yearning for the truth about love and beauty and strength. Love can be honest. It can be majestic. It can be described, and yet it cannot. It can be simple, and yet it can be so much more than itself that it requires all of creation to help make sense of it. It tells us that godly love can delight in the whole being of a person - body, soul, and spirit - and love every bit of them, and do so righteously. The poetry in the Song of Songs awakens in us, not only the great love that we all pray for in our single years, but a sense of the kind of love with which God loves us. God, indeed, does love us, and He created all things for us to show us his unfathomable love towards us. And as we walk around, we find that He didn’t just pen his thoughts in a lengthy letter (though he accomplished this handily with his inerrant Holy Scriptures), he didn’t just paint us a beautiful portrait. Instead, He created things like apples and pomegranates and beaches and trees and clouds for us to experience, to enjoy, to be affected by; and he did this to exemplify his deep love for us.
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
Romans 1:20 ESV
God gave us creation to give sight to his love. In turn, we use creation to describe our love. And yet, even the whole of creation cannot describe it, because God’s own love culminates in the sacrifice of God’s own son on the cross for us.
John tells us how God’s love informs the purpose of this action.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 KJV
Solomon tells us the power and intensity of this love.
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”
Song of Solomon 8:6 ESV
Jesus tells us the unsurpassing greatness of his love.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13 KJV
Paul tells us in Romans about the magnitude, the sheer force, the utter permanency of God’s love for you and I.
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:39 KJV
And in Revelation, God reveals to John the culmination of all history, the culmination of God’s great love: the marriage of Christ and his Church.
“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
‘Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure'—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”
Revelation 19:6-8 ESV
In the 21st century, we aren’t used to healthy, godly love. Many have no clue what it looks like. We’re often more focused on our practical roles in marriage rather than our intimate admiration for one another; or we are concerned only with the physicality of love rather than the depth of being loving towards the one “whom my soul loves.” Instead of Paul plainly saying, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord,” or, “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them,” Solomon gives us the glorious outworking of that type of relationship. It is not the result of a husband and wife dutifully fulfilling their marital obligations, but rather the attitude that drives them together in mutual purpose; the wind that lifts the eagle to higher heights than its own beating wings could manage. Here is described two people who live in humility, dignity and security with one another, and with great affection towards one another regardless of any personal insecurity. They do not tediously grandstand about their own glory, but take pride in the other. The Bride declares, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.” (Song of Solomon 1:2) Her Husband exclaims, “How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!” (Song of Solomon 4:10) Even the people who see this relationship take note, and say, "We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you.” (Song of Solomon 1:4) Their loving marriage is a place of reassurance, of rest, of wonder and beauty, and grace.
One of my favorite lines is at the end of the 1st chapter,
Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.
Song of Solomon 1:16-17 ESV
The description of the green couch always catches me off guard. At first, it comes off as a comical interjection about the color of woman’s new furniture, (“Martha, you’ll never guess what Robert just bought me!”) But it’s not just a mere description of a couch, it is a description of their home. The wife is describing the pride, the warmth, the splendor of their bed among the sturdy grandeur of an unshakeable household. She’s gone from the hard labor of working the fields of her angry brothers’ vineyards to the peaceful shepherd tents of her beloved, and she now has found rest and great favor in his palace. In this she delights, because her husband delights in her. Christian, is this not the same way with us at the love of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ? God swore his promise to Abraham, brought his descendants out of the slavery of Egypt, dwelt with them in tents as they wandered in the wilderness lacking nothing, and now, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has made us, by the work of his hands, the new Jerusalem beautifully adorned; a temple worked together, unshakeable, and immovable. Forever beloved; forever his.
As men and women who are recipients of this eternal, unmerited favor, let us read this book with new eyes, and newfound wisdom. Let us strive to build our own marriages and homes upon the unshakeable wisdom of these truths. Man, delight in your wife, because she is yours. Woman, delight in your husband, because he is yours. And just as creation will never fully describe God’s love for you, may creation never fully capture your own love for your beloved.