The Wisdom Books #4 = Song of Solomon
The Wisdom Books #4 = Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon has generally been understood as an allegory with the husband/man being God, and the woman being God's people. The Jews understood it to be the Jewish People, Christians understand it to be The Elect/The Church.
That sounds fine, except that understanding it that way goes against the idea that the book imparts wisdom to us.
Solomon's other 2 books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are absolutely practical, so why now is this book a veiled, very veiled, presentation of God's love for his people; it is not consistent.
In addition, understanding the book that way, goes against the fundamental Protestant hermeneutic of the historical grammatical method of understanding the scriptures, which is that the obvious surface meaning is the intended meaning, God does not hide truth from us, he presents it clearly.
For those 2 reasons, coupled with what Solomon says in both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes about husband and wife relations, I understand the book to be a not so veiled erotic “poem”.
Solomon does not use veiled language, he uses pictures and euphemisms that we don't use and hence don't understand, like almonds and pomegranate; we use other fruits to say the same thing, like lilies and bananas, yet the point of the book is practical: God made the human sexual act to be done in the context of a heterosexual sex monogamous marriage, and he made it to be enjoyable, not just utilitarian for procreation. This understanding would be consistent with it being a Wisdom Book, would tie in with statements Solomon made in his other 2 Wisdom Books about husband and wives, and would accord with the historic grammatical method of understanding the Scriptures.
The wisdom this book imparts to us it this: husbands and wives, enjoy sex, be creative, this is your “secret garden,” created by God for us to enjoy.
Below are verses from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to support my position. I will not write more, as frankly, I do not understand most of the imagery and euphemisms, as they are from the ancient Jewish society of Solomon's time, but the statements are clear, and I find it hard to apply them to God/Christ and the Church; but they fit perfectly with human sexual behavior.
“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.” Son 1:2
“A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.” Son 1:13
“As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” Son 2:3
“O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” Son 2:14
“Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.” Son 4:5
“I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.” Son 5:5
“His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.” Son 5:13
“His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” Son 5:16
“How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.” Son 7:1
“Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.” Son 7:3
“This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.” Son 7:7-9
“O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.” Son 8:1
“We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?” Son 8:8
“I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.” Son 8:10
Here are the verses from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes
“Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.” Pro 5:16
“Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.” Pro 5:18-19
“Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.” Ecc 9:9
In our day the issue of gender (male and female) and human sexuality, is huge, but the bible is crystal clear, when God made Adam and Eve, he made them male and female, with all the components, external, internal, and hormonal, not just to have babies, but for enjoyment. This is how God designed us. On this topic I would recommend the book “Intended for Pleasure” by Dr. Ed Wheat and Gaye Wheat.
https://www.amazon.com/Intended-Pleasure-Technique-Fulfillment-Christian/dp/0800719379
So the wisdom that the Song of Solomon gives us, is extremely practical, and aimed at our happiness within a heterosexual monogamous marriage, which is how God designed things to be.
22 December 2024