[By Ron Halbrook]
Introduction:
1.
Young King Solomon
& a beautiful young woman of Shulam
celebrate their love
as she becomes his bride.
10 I am my beloved's,
and his desire is toward me.
2
Introduction:
2. We see their relationship develop
as a series of scenes & stages.
3
Introduction:
3. This poem celebrates loyal steadfast love
experienced in marriage.
God ordained companionship,
affection, & passionate love in marriage.
4
God ordained companionship,
affection, & passionate love in marriage.
24 Therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh.
5
Introduction:
3. This poem celebrates loyal steadfast love
experienced in marriage.
Passionate love is God’s gift
in marriage—unmatched by crude, cruel
counterfeits (pornography, fornication,
adultery, rape, incest, homosexuality, etc.).
6
Passionate love is God’s gift
in marriage—unmatched by crude, cruel counterfeits
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern,
and running waters out of thine own well.
16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad,
and rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be only thine own,
and not strangers' with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed:
and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
7
Passionate love is God’s gift
in marriage—unmatched by crude, cruel counterfeits
19 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.
20 And why wilt thou, my son,
be ravished with a strange woman,
and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man
are before the eyes of the LORD,
and he pondereth all his goings.
8
Passionate love is God’s gift
in marriage—unmatched by crude, cruel counterfeits
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself,
and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die without instruction;
and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
9
Introduction:
3. This poem celebrates loyal steadfast love
experienced in marriage.
Married love: spontaneous, beautiful,
powerful, & exclusive—
includes “moments of separation & intimacy,
anguish & ecstasy, tension & contentment”
(Zondervan NIV Study Bible: 1020)
10
Introduction:
3. This poem celebrates loyal steadfast love
experienced in marriage.
King Solomon found this love as a young man
but later stumbled over political marriages—
this gift can be damaged or lost.
11
Introduction:
4. Why people avoid this book, or spiritualize it
as a poem of Christ’s love for the church.
Satan associates passion with sexual sins.
Study with appreciation not fear:
God not Satan created passionate love
in marriage.
12
Introduction:
5. God’s gift of married love is a priceless blessing:
Changes our character by teaching us
to value & serve our mate!
Perpetuates the human race in a godly way!
Merits praise, celebration, & thanksgiving!
13
TITLE 1:1
The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s
1. Solomon asked God for wisdom (1 Kgs. 3:9).
2. He wrote 3,000 proverbs, 1,004 songs (4:32).
3. This is his most beautiful & unique song!
14
I. FIRST SCENE 1:2-2:7
Love’s Passion
SUMMARY: Solomon & his beloved Shulamite
share admiration & affection.
“His banner over me was love” (2:4).
15
II. SECOND SCENE 2:8-3:5
Love’s Promise
SUMMARY: Their love grows like the beauties
of springtime. The Shulamite dreams
about searching for Solomon.
16
III. THIRD SCENE 3:6-5:1
Love’s Wedding
SUMMARY: After the joys of the royal wedding,
Solomon praises the beauty of his wife.
She invites him into the garden of love.
17
IV. FOURTH SCENE 5:2-6:3
Love’s Reconciliation
SUMMARY: Love includes seeking & finding,
alienation & reconciliation. The young wife’s
dream reflects this experience.
18
V. FIFTH SCENE 6:4-8:4
Love’s Captivity
SUMMARY: The two lovers are enthralled
& captivated by each other’s charms.
19
A.
Great King Solomon melts
He says: before the Shulamite’s beauty.
4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah,
comely as Jerusalem,
In his eyes, she is
terrible as an army with banners. a stunning beauty!
5 Turn away thine eyes from me,
One look
for they have overcome me:
from her eyes
thy hair is as a flock of goats that appearparalyzes
from Gilead.
him!
6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep
which go up from the washing,
whereof every one beareth twins,
and there is not one barren among them.
7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples
20
within thy locks.
A.
Great King Solomon melts
before the Shulamite’s beauty.
He says:
8 There are threescore queens,
and fourscore concubines,
He praises her
and virgins without number. as his one & only!
9 My dove, my undefiled is but one;
she is the only one of her mother,
she is the choice one of her that bare her.
The daughters saw her, and blessed her;
yea, the queens and the concubines,
and they praised her.
21
A.
Great King Solomon melts
before the Shulamite’s beauty.
Friends say:
10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning,
fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners?
A teaser: tell me more!
22
B.
Solomon rejoices to go
to his garden of love.
He says:
11 I went down into the garden of nuts
to see the fruits of the valley,
He is overcome
and to see whether the vine flourished, with joy
and the pomegranates budded.
by the beauties
of springtime!
12 Or ever I was aware,
my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.
13 Return, return, O Shulamite;
return, return, that we may look upon thee.
What will ye see in the Shulamite?
A teaser:
As it were the company of two armies. tell me more!
23
C.
Great King Solomon is captivated
by his wife’s beauty.
He says:
Beautiful from feet to head!
1 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.
2 Thy navel is like a round goblet,
which wanteth not liquor:
thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes
that are twins.
24
C.
Great King Solomon is captivated
by his wife’s beauty.
He says:
4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory;
thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bathrabbim:
thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon
which looketh toward Damascus.
5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel,
and the hair of thine head like purple;
the king is held in the galleries.
25
Held captive by her tresses—by her total person!
D.
Her beauty & charms please him
in every way.
He says:
6 How fair and how pleasant art thou,
O love, for delights!
7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree,
and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
8 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;
9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine…
26
D.
Her beauty & charms please him
in every way.
He
says:
9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine
She interrupts to say:
for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly,
causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
May the wine go straight to my lover,
Flowing gently over lips and teeth (NIV).
Her interruption: transition to her response
27
E.
She invites him into the garden
She says: of love to enjoy her delicious fruit.
10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field;
let us lodge in the villages.
Complimented,
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;
she feels valued,
let us see if the vine flourish,
secure, wanted!
whether the tender grape appear,
and the pomegranates bud forth: Yes, spring is here,
there will I give thee my loves.
come & taste all
13 The mandrakes give a smell, my delicious fruits!
and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits,
new and old, which I have laid up for thee,
28
O my beloved.
F.
She wishes decorum allowed her
to display her affection openly in public.
She 1 O that thou wert as my brother,
says: that sucked the breasts of my mother!
when I should find thee without,
I would kiss thee;
Secure with him,
yea, I should not be despised.
she wants to give herself
2 I would lead thee,
without reservation.
and bring thee into my mother's house,
who would instruct me:
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine
of the juice of my pomegranate.
3 His left hand should be under my head,
29
and his right hand should embrace me.
F.
She wishes decorum allowed her
to display her affection openly in public.
She says:
4 I charge you,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
that ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
till he please.
I charge you by all things beautiful & tender,
let love grow in its own time & way.
30
VI. SIXTH SCENE 8:5-14
Love’s Security
SUMMARY: Solomon & his bride exchange
expressions of love & commitment.
31
A.
All eyes focus on the bride
who awakened Solomon’s passion.
Friends say:
5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
She says:
I raised thee up under the apple tree:
there thy mother brought thee forth:
there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
32
A.
All eyes focus on the bride
who awakened Solomon’s passion.
She 6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
says: as a seal upon thine arm:
for love is strong as death;
jealousy is cruel as the grave:
the coals thereof are coals of fire,
which hath a most vehement flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it:
if a man would give all the substance
of his house for love,
it would utterly be contemned.
33
B.
Her brother’s doubt her maturity,
but she has proven her maturity.
Brothers say:
If she is strong
8 We have a little sister,
in character,
and she hath no breasts:
we will honor
what shall we do for our sister
& adorn her!
in the day when she shall be spoken for?
9 If she be a wall,
Strongofcharacter:
we will build upon her a palace
Ifsilver:
she is weak,
and if she be a door,
will
protect
her!
vital part ofwe
her
total
beauty!
we will inclose her with boards
of cedar. it!
Time enhances
She
10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers:
says:
then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. 34
C.
She gave Solomon a vineyard
for his exclusive use: herself.
She says:
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon;
he let out the vineyard unto keepers;
gives
herself
totally,
exclusively
him—
every one She
forKeepers,
the
fruit
thereof
was
to bring
overseers,
brothers
(1:6;to
8:8-9):
she
finds
security in
a thousand pieces
of silver.
rewarded
by total
her character
& him.
conduct.
12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:
thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand,
and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
She freely gives her vineyard to Solomon:
the owner’s portion is his to enjoy!
35
D.
Solomon wants to hear her voice.
She calls him into her waiting arms.
He says:
13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice:
cause me to hear it.
She says:
14 Make haste, my beloved,
and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart
upon the mountains of spices.
36
Conclusion:
1.
Young King Solomon
& a beautiful young woman of Shulam
celebrate their love
as she becomes his bride.
10 I am my beloved's,
and his desire is toward me.
37
Conclusion:
2. We see their relationship develop
as a series of scenes & stages.
The Song’s symmetry enhances
its beauty—the story of our love
is enhanced when completed.
38
THE SONG’S OVERALL SYMMETRY
Love’s Story
Begins 1:2-2:7
Love’s Story
Complete
8:3-14
Springtime
2:6-17
Springtime
7:10-8:4
Night of
Separation
3:1-4
Wedding
Day & Night
3:6-5:1
Night of
Separation
5:2-7:9
39
SYMMETRY OF FIRST & LAST SECTIONS
Shulamite, Solomon,
Daugthers of Jer.
1:2-4
Brothers, Vineyard,
Looks 1:5-6
Her Character
& Beauty 1:7-11
Love’s
Expression
1:12-2:5
Shulamite, Solomon,
Shulamite Friends
8:13-14
Brothers, Vineyard,
Looks 8:11-12
Express
Longing
& Patience
2:6-7; 8:3-4
Her Character
& Beauty 8:8-10
Love’s
Expression
8:5-7
40
Conclusion:
3. This poem celebrates loyal steadfast love
experienced in marriage.
God ordained companionship,
affection, & passionate love in marriage.
41
Conclusion:
3. This poem celebrates loyal steadfast love
experienced in marriage.
Passionate love is God’s gift
in marriage—unmatched by crude, cruel
counterfeits (pornography, fornication,
adultery, rape, incest, homosexuality, etc.).
42
Conclusion:
3. This poem celebrates loyal steadfast love
experienced in marriage.
Married love: spontaneous, beautiful,
powerful, & exclusive—
includes “moments of separation & intimacy,
anguish & ecstasy, tension & contentment”
(Zondervan NIV Study Bible: 1020)
43
Conclusion:
4. God’s gift of married love is a priceless blessing:
Changes our character by teaching us
to value & serve our mate!
Perpetuates the human race in a godly way!
Merits praise, celebration, & thanksgiving!
44
Conclusion:
5. God’s greatest gift of love: forgiveness in Christ!
The gift above all gifts!
16 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.
45
Conclusion:
5. God’s greatest gift of love: forgiveness in Christ!
We must receive the gift!
15 And he said unto them,
Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned.
46
Conclusion:
5. God’s greatest gift of love: forgiveness in Christ!
Saints who sin can be restored!
16 Confess your faults one to another,
and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much.
47