While Solomon wrote many songs (I Kgs. 4:32), the Song of Solomon is the only one included in the scriptures. It is a beautiful love poem which is greatly revered by the Jews who read it in conjunction with Passover. While the Song has been subject to much interpretation by commentators, it is most likely that Solomon is presenting a parable that teaches God’s love for His people and the love between Christ and his chosen ecclesial-bride.
Familiar pictures
When reading the Song, many of the phrases evoke familiar images. Taking 2:8-14 as an example, we will find it brings to mind events associated with the return of the Lord Jesus. The section portrays a springtime reunion of the Shulamite maiden and her beloved. They are delighted to be together again after a long separation: “Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills…rise up, my love my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past…the fig tree putteth forth her green figs…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.”
When our Savior returns and his feet touch the mountain (Zech. 14:4), it will be evident to all that the winter of his absence is over. Springtime will have come with the opening of the graves and resurrection of the dead. The Israelite fig tree will again produce useful fruit to the glory of God and righteousness and praise will spring forth before all peoples (Isa. 61:11).
As we read the joy of the Shulamite maiden, we should ask ourselves if our love is as keen as hers. When the great day of resurrection comes, for most of those brought to life, it will be the first time they have seen Christ face to face. For those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, will they be ready for his appearance, or will they be disappointed to be taken from worldly pursuits to meet the Lord?
Bride and bridegroom
Much of Solomon’s Song concerns the reciprocal love and longing of the bride for her future bridegroom. Since elsewhere in scripture Jesus is described as the bridegroom (Luke 5:34) and the saints as the bride (Rev. 21:9), clear indication is provided to identify maiden and shepherd in this song.
Unfortunately, the poem is not directly quoted in the New Testament. There are, however, several allusions to themes mentioned in the book. Important references include Matthew 6:28,29; 13:52; Ephesians 5:27 and Revelation 3:20, all of which help to guide our study of the book.
Ephesians 5:27 reads, “A glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” and is almost certainly an allusion to, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee” (Song 4:7). As we apply such loving words to ourselves, they stimulate us to greater effort lest we disappoint our beloved. The Jews would understand the Song as teaching God’s great love for His people and urging them to separate from idolatry and remain chaste and faithful to their Lord in heaven. Through the centuries, readers could not fail to perceive the powerful exhortation to the sanctity of marriage and the importance of chastity before marriage.
A multitudinous bride
Descriptions of the maid support the view that she represents the saints, the bride of Christ. Her beauty is often described in plural terms. “I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver” (1:9-11). Note that the comparison is not to a single horse, jewel, border or silver stud, suggesting the bride speaks of more than one person. She represents the multitudinous bride of Christ.
Such scriptural links help us understand why God has seen fit to include the Song of Songs in the canon of scripture. Those missing these connections see the poem as merely a portrayal of the intense love of a woman for her man. A closer inspection, however, reveals it is teaching the mutual love that must exist between the believers and the Master.
Beauty in different terms
Many terms used to describe beauty in the song fail to match our current ideas of attractiveness. Unless we do a little study and use our imaginations, this can detract from the usefulness of the book. Some of our problems can be explained by differences in culture while others are attributable to our lack of familiarity with the objects involved.
As an example: “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from Mount Gilead” (4:1). Most of us would not consider a flock of goats as an apt comparison to feminine beauty. For those familiar with watching the movement of a distant flock of goats on Mount Gilead, however, the sight would be considered beautiful and inviting. The patterns they formed would seem to ebb and flow over the shoulder of the mountain like the gentle movement of the maiden’s dark hair. Similarly, most of us have probably not paid much attention to the eyes of a dove which are large, languid and deeply colored, suggesting a gentle and loving character.
We would hardly liken one’s nose to “the tower of Lebanon” (7:4). But evidently this tower was beautifully proportioned and was an apt figure for a distinctive, yet not overly pronounced nose.
A cultural difference is noted in 7:2, “Thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.” The beauty of a fuller figure conflicts with the current fashion of associating beauty with a slender waist.
Helping your own reading
As you read, try to link phrases and ideas with other parts of scripture. Consider the ideas that come to mind from “watchman,” “mother’s house” and “make haste,” to name a few.
For example, note the beautiful words of the maiden as she rises up in yearning anticipation of seeing her beloved: “I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh…” (5:4,5). In the Law, myrrh is associated with the word of God. Here is a picture of the bride, eager to greet her groom with her hands and fingers immersed in the word. Will we greet our Lord with equal enthusiasm and preparedness?
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