Romantic Example for Christians

Romantic Example for Christians

Song of Solomon 1:1-11

Big Idea: The Song of Solomon sets before its readers a pattern of example for romantic love in courtship and marriage.

Intro.

                There are 190,000 hits for “Christian Singles Dating Sites” when I put it into the search engine.  People are desperate for real love and most of it has to do with knowing how to treat a person in a relationship once you have one.

I.                   Intro. to the Book of Love v. 1

A.   This verse identifies the author of the Song as Solomon

1.     As Israel’s third king Solomon was perhaps more gifted with literary skill than any other king of Israel for he wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32)

2.     Of the more than 1,000 songs Solomon wrote, only this one was designed by God to be included in the biblical canon

B.    The title Song of Songs offers a clue to the interpretation of the work

1.     We don’t need to view the work as a collection of songs but rather as one unified song

2.     The words “Song of Songs” suggests the song as “most holy”

3.     The title may mean that this is the best of Solomon’s 1,005 songs or, more likely, that this is the best of all songs

II.                There was a Theme of Longing v. 2-4

A.   The Song begins with a soliloquy by the beloved in which she first expressed her strong desire for her lover’s (Solomon’s) physical affection (kisses)

1.     When she spoke of his love (v. 2b) she was referring to the physical expressions of his love

2.     The statement your love is more delightful than wine means that his physical affections were exhilarating, refreshing, and a great source of joy

B.    The pleasing aroma of his perfumes made him even more attractive to her

1.     Mention of perfumes led her to compare his name to perfume

2.     A person’s name represented his character or reputation

3.     So comparing Solomon’s name to perfume meant that his character was pleasing and attractive to the beloved

4.     For this reason, she said, many were attracted to him

C.   The statement the king has brought me into his chambers may be rendered as a request: “May the king bring me into his chambers.”

1.     This sense she was expressing her desire for intimacy and marriage with the lover

2.     This matches the first part of 1:4, Take me away with you

3.     This opening suggests that physical desire (sex) is a characteristic of romantic love and that properly channeled the desire is good, not evil

4.     One ought to be “intoxicated” with love for one’s own mate rather than with wine, drugs, or other people

5.     The choice of a marriage partner should be based on far more, the beloved’s speech indicates that the character (“name”) of a person is vitally important

D.   The beloved’s “daughters of Jerusalem” and “daughters of Zion” (3:11), spoke v. 4b

1.     Many suggestions have been given concerning the identity of the “daughters of Jerusalem, ” most likely they refer to the female inhabitants of Jerusalem

2.     That city is frequently referred to as the “mother” of its inhabitants

E.    The chorus is a literary device in the Song whereby the beloved and her lover express their emotions and thoughts more fully

1.     By praising Solomon in Song of Songs 1:4 the “daughters” seemed to be agreeing with one another that the couple had an ideal romance

2.     The last few words were by the Shulamite women

III.             There was the Theme of Insecurity v. 5-8

A.   The beloved’s suntanned appearance (dark am I) revealed that she worked in the fields

1.     This made her feel insecure (do not stare at me) among the  city dwellers and in particular the women of Jerusalem

a.      She compared her dark skin to the tents of Kedar, which were made of black goats’ hair

b.     The people of Kedar were known for their archery and flocks

c.     Apparently the tent curtains of Solomon were also black

2.     Her explanation for her dark appearance was almost an apology

a.      Because of hard outdoor work in the vineyards, required of her by her brothers

b.     She was forced to neglect the cultivation of her own vineyard, that is, herself and her appearance (cf. Song 8:12)

B.    The beloved’s feelings of insecurity helped arouse in her a desire for her lover’s presence

1.     She addressed him as though he were a shepherd (a common epithet for a man in ancient Near Eastern love poetry)

2.     If she could not be with him she said she would be like a veiled woman

3.     That without Solomon she would be as sad as a person in mourning

C.   The reply in this verse is usually credited to the lover since he was addressed in the preceding question

1.     If Solomon is the speaker then the verse is probably a playful or teasing response

2.     It seems like something that could be taken the wrong way but Solomon only wants to uplift the Shulamite he is in love with

IV.            Now We Come to the Theme of Praise v. 9-11

A.   The answer to the beloved’s feelings of insecurity was the praise of her lover

1.     Frequently he called her his darling (vv. 9, 15 etc. )

2.     In ancient Arabic poetry, women were sometimes compared to horses as objects of beauty, but the reference in 1:9 is probably more specific

a.      The words a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh is literally, “a mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.”

b.     Stallions, not mares, were used to pull chariots

c.     The point of the comparison is that in Solomon’s opinion she was as beautiful and sought after as if she were the only woman in a world full of men

3.     When he further stated that she was beautiful with jewelry (earrings and necklaces, v. 10), the daughters of Jerusalem (we, v. 11) were forced to change their attitude of disdain

a.      They even agreed to make her earrings

b.     Verse 10 includes the first of numerous times in the book where he said she is beautiful

c.     In summary, since the beloved had felt self-conscious about her appearance, the lover praised her physical beauty so that her detractors were forced to agree with him

d.     Solomon basically says, “Her beauty is worth all the earrings and gold chains we can get, isn’t she ladies!”

B.    The attitude today by many men and women is “I said I love them before and I will let them know when it changes.”

1.     This is absolutely lazy if there really is a true love between the 2

2.     True love needs cultivation just as a garden needs tending

Conclusion: The Song of Solomon sets before its readers a pattern of example for romantic love in courtship and marriage.