Song of Solomon - Selected Passages.
Song of Solomon - Selected Passages.
CONTEXT
Some say that this is an allegory of God's love for Israel
and/or the church. Others say it is a literal story about married love.
But in reality, it is both--a historical story with two layers of
meaning. On one level we learn about love, marriage, and sex; and on the
other level, we see God's overwhelming love for his people. This book
tells how Solomon, who frequently visited the various parts of his
kingdom, one day visited some royal vineyards in the north. His royal
entourage came by surprise upon a beautiful peasant woman tending the
vines. Embarrassed, she ran from them. But Solomon could not forget
her. Later, disguised as a shepherd, he returned to the vineyards and
won her love. Then, he revealed his true identity and asked her to
return to Jerusalem with him. Solomon and his beloved are being married
in the palace as this book begins. The Song of Songs is a series of
seven poems, not necessarily in chronological order. It reflects upon
the first meeting of Solomon and the peasant woman, their
engagement, their wedding, their wedding night, and the growth of their
marriage after the wedding. There are three characters or groups of
characters in this book: the girl (the "beloved"), Solomon (the "lover"),
and "friends." The girl who caught Solomon's attention may have been
from Shunem, a farming community about sixty miles north of
Jerusalem. Her tanned skin indicates that she probably worked outside in
the vineyards (Song 1:6)--thus she may not have been from the upper
class. The friends include either members of Solomon's harem or workers
in the palace, as well as the girl's brothers (as in Song 8:8-9).
[The One Year Bible Companion re SOS]
Jewish tradition sees this book picturing Jehovah's love for
Israel, and Christians see it illustrating Christ's love for the church
(Eph. 5:23-33) as well as the individual believer (John 14:21-24).
The "plot" centers on King Solomon's love for a humble maiden.
Courtship (1:1-3:5) leads to marriage (3:6-5:1) and then to the joys and
trials of married love (5:2-8:14). The book is indeed a beautiful
presentation of the love of husband and wife, for the Jews accepted sexuality
as a precious gift from God, a holy expression of true commitment
in marriage.
The Song of Solomon is also an expression of the love
relationship of the believer and the Savior. Christ calls us away from the
trivial things of life that we might enjoy a deeper communion with Him.
This communion is not without difficulties and disciplines, but it
leads to a happier and holier life.
As you read the Song of Solomon, be sure to distinguish the
various people speaking. Many recent translations of the Bible, such as
the New King James Version, will identify them for you. Also keep in
mind that this is a poem for mature people. It is rich in Oriental
imagery and must be "felt" as well as read. Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes
for the inquiring mind, Proverbs for the obedient will, and the Song
of Solomon for the loving heart. It takes all three for a balanced
life. [Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe re SOS]
COMMENTARY APPLICATION with Emphasis on Selected Passages
God As Our Lover Song 2:4
Love--as in, "his banner over me was love" (Song 2:4). It is
the greatest gift God offers us, and yet it is the one we have the
most difficulty receiving. Why?
First, we do not think we deserve His love--which is true. "God
demonstrates His own love toward us," the apostle Paul writes, "in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).
Second, we do not understand it, for the quality of His love
differs tremendously from our own. We somehow want to believe that He
loves us the way we love others. Such a viewpoint, however, leaves us
doubtful that He will always love us as the Bible promises He will.
Love is a commitment to the satisfaction, peace, security,
joy, and development of another person. God's love is not based on
emotion, but flows out of His changeless character. The Bible tells us
that God is love (1 John 4:8). Since it is impossible for Him to do
anything contrary to His nature, His love will forever remain certain and
dependable.
In addition, His gift is love. James 1:17 implies that God's
love does not change, and it exists independently of our feelings
about "deserving" it. We cannot earn it or give anything in return for
it--God offers His love to us freely, as a gift.
Furthermore, the love of our heavenly Father is perfect. Every
one of God's attributes represents the peak of perfection and cannot
be improved to any degree. Since His love is perfect, we know it
will bless us forever. He will always treat each of us in accordance
with His love.
Every day, you and I walk under the canopy of God's amazing
love, which remains perfect and changeless, even if we wander from His
will or fall into disobedience. Never allow yourself to think, the
canopy must be down. It never is! We did not erect the canopy, and
neither can we dismantle it.
God has always loved you and always will. Release any
misconceptions therefore, and rejoice under His canopy of love. [Life
Principles SB By Charles Stanley re v. 2:4]
What Does God's Love Look Like? SONG 6:4
The notion of "true love" dominates much of popular culture.
We purchase cards, shop for gifts, and plan romantic outings with
our cherished one in mind.
God Himself places a high value on love (1 Cor. 13:13) and
delights in expressing His wonderful love to us. Much of the time,
however, we don't feel loved, do we? Sin has spoiled our capacity to
understand God's love, to receive His love, and to love Him in return.
Thank God that our Savior, Jesus Christ, has remedied this
problem! By liberating us from the power of sin and providing us with a
new nature, we can now understand--at least, a little--our heavenly
Father's wonderful love for us.
Divine love is unconditional--He showers us with it, regardless
of who we are, where we have been, or what mistakes we have made.
What matters to the Lord is that we belong to Him.
His love for us is also absolute--it never wavers or varies and
knows no limitations. It always seeks our best, helping us to grow
into the likeness of Jesus. Even when God disciplines us, He does so
as a loving Father.
Understanding how much we are loved, and accepting God's love
for us, frees us to live and love God's way. By loving Him with all
our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we find the wisdom and power to
love our neighbors in return.
What does loving God look like? Loving God means spending time
deepening our relationship with Jesus and submitting to Him. We love Him
when we give ourselves wholeheartedly to knowing Him and learning
what pleases Him. We express our love when we obey Him.
The Word of God also tells us that when we love others, we are
loving Jesus (Matt. 25:40). Loving others God's way means we will
pursue God's best for them. We will ask God to show us what we can say
and do on behalf of others. We will seek to answer the question,
"How can I build them up and help them grow into Christ's likeness?"
When we love people in obedience to God, we will find ourselves
looking for ways to express God's love to them. Love demonstrates that
we belong to Jesus (John 13:35).
We are created to be lovers of God and others. Dear child of
God, won't you receive God's outpouring of love today? [Life
Principles SB By Charles Stanley re v. 6:4]
The Invitation
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I
will give you rest." {DA 328.1}
These words of comfort were spoken to the multitude that
followed Jesus. The Saviour had said that only through Himself could men
receive a knowledge of God. He had spoken of His disciples as the ones
to whom a knowledge of heavenly things had been given. But He left
none to feel themselves shut out from His care and love. All who
labor and are heavy-laden may come unto Him. {DA 328.2}
Scribes and rabbis, with their punctilious attention to
religious forms, had a sense of want that rites of penance could never
satisfy. Publicans and sinners might pretend to be content with the
sensual and earthly, but in their hearts were distrust and fear. Jesus
looked upon the distressed and heart burdened, those whose hopes were
blighted, and who with earthly joys were seeking to quiet the longing of
the soul, and He invited all to find rest in Him. {DA 328.3}
Tenderly He bade the toiling people, "Take My yoke upon
you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls." {DA 328.4}
In these words Christ is speaking to every human being.
Whether they know it or not, all are weary and heavy-laden. All are
weighed down with burdens that only Christ can remove. The heaviest
burden that we bear is the burden of sin. If we were left to bear this
burden, it would crush us. But the Sinless One has taken our place. "The
Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6. He has
borne the burden of our guilt. He will take the load from our weary
shoulders. He will give us rest. The burden of care and sorrow also He will
bear. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him; for He carries us
upon His heart. {DA 328.5}
The Elder Brother of our race is by the eternal throne. He
looks upon every soul who is turning his face toward Him as the
Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what
are our wants, and where lies the strength of our temptations; for
He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He is
watching over you, trembling child of God. Are you tempted? He will
deliver. Are you weak? He will strengthen. Are you ignorant? He will
enlighten. Are you wounded? He will heal. The Lord "telleth the number of
the stars;" and yet "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up
their wounds." Psalm 147:4, 3. "Come unto Me," is His invitation.
Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord.
Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for
you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The
weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you
become in His strength. The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the
rest in casting them upon the Burden Bearer. The rest that Christ
offers depends upon conditions, but these conditions are plainly
specified. They are those with which all can comply. He tells us just how
His rest is to be found. {DA 329.1}
"Take My yoke upon you," Jesus says. The yoke is an
instrument of service. Cattle are yoked for labor, and the yoke is
essential that they may labor effectually. By this illustration Christ
teaches us that we are called to service as long as life shall last. We
are to take upon us His yoke, that we may be co-workers with Him.
{DA 329.2}
The yoke that binds to service is the law of God. The great
law of love revealed in Eden, proclaimed upon Sinai, and in the new
covenant written in the heart, is that which binds the human worker to
the will of God. If we were left to follow our own inclinations, to
go just where our will would lead us, we should fall into Satan's
ranks and become possessors of his attributes. Therefore God confines
us to His will, which is high, and noble, and elevating. He desires
that we shall patiently and wisely take up the duties of service. The
yoke of service Christ Himself has borne in humanity. He said, "I
delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart."
Psalm 40:8. "I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the
will of Him that sent Me." John 6:38. Love for God, zeal for His
glory, and love for fallen humanity, brought Jesus to earth to suffer
and to die. This was the controlling power of His life. This
principle He bids us adopt. {DA 329.3}
There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care
because they seek to reach the world's standard. They have chosen its
service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs. Thus their
character is marred, and their life made a weariness. In order to gratify
ambition and worldly desires, they wound the conscience, and bring upon
themselves an additional burden of remorse. The continual worry is wearing
out the life forces. Our Lord desires them to lay aside this yoke of
bondage. He invites them to accept His yoke; He says, "My yoke is easy,
and My burden is light." He bids them seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and His promise is that all things needful to
them for this life shall be added. Worry is blind, and cannot discern
the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every
difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly Father has
a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those
who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God
supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their
feet. {DA 330.1}
"Learn of Me," says Jesus; "for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest." We are to enter the school of Christ,
to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that
process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a
knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and
practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness.
The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to
God. {DA 330.2}
In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with
God, there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, nor
dejected by censure or disappointment. Amid the greatest opposition and
the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. But many who
profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because
they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a
complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences that
such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender,
they cannot find peace. {DA 330.3}
It is the love of self that brings unrest. When we are born
from above, the same mind will be in us that was in Jesus, the mind
that led Him to humble Himself that we might be saved. Then we shall
not be seeking the highest place. We shall desire to sit at the feet
of Jesus, and learn of Him. We shall understand that the value of
our work does not consist in making a show and noise in the world,
and in being active and zealous in our own strength. The value of
our work is in proportion to the impartation of the Holy Spirit.
Trust in God brings holier qualities of mind, so that in patience we
may possess our souls. {DA 330.4}
The yoke is placed upon the oxen to aid them in drawing the
load, to lighten the burden. So with the yoke of Christ. When our will
is swallowed up in the will of God, and we use His gifts to bless
others, we shall find life's burden light. He who walks in the way of
God's commandments is walking in company with Christ, and in His love
the heart is at rest. When Moses prayed, "Show me now Thy way, that
I may know Thee," the Lord answered him, "My presence shall go
with thee, and I will give thee rest." And through the prophets the
message was given, "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see,
and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,
and ye shall find rest for your souls." Exodus 33:13, 14; Jeremiah
6:16. And He says, "O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments!
then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the
waves of the sea." Isaiah 48:18. {DA 331.1}
Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their
souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and
quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them
glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest.
The Lord says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3. Our lives
may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master
Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be
to His own glory. And that character which expresses the
glory--character--of Christ will be received into the Paradise of God. A renovated
race shall walk with Him in white, for they are worthy. {DA 331.2}
As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We
respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we
begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God
through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and
still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God,
the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in
this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His
presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here. But what is
this compared with the hereafter? There "are they before the throne
of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Revelation 7:15-17. {DA
331.3}
Love is the greatest thing that God can give us; for He is love:
and it is the greatest thing we can give to God. Jeremy Taylor
www.aBible.com
