Loving the Son

Song of Songs 1:1 to 3:5

The Reformer's Fire
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Exposition by Max A Forsythe

Within the context of our study of the Seventh Commandment, I have chosen to make a quick overview of the Song of Solomon so that we are able to compare and contrast the joys against the sorrows which spring from the loves between men and women. This study has a two fold purpose in that not only may we learn the biblical relationships encouraged by Holy Scripture for husbands and wives, but also gain a glimpse however small of the greater relationship between Christ and His own bride, the Church. There are deep things here and we must be careful to handle the celebrations and revelations of Solomon's love poetry carefully. Conservative scholars credit this love poem of thirteen sections to Solomon, even though we might have severe reservations about his Casanova reputation and his degenerative lifestyle in general.

The object of this lovely poem appears to be Abishag of Shunem who is reputed in 1 Kings 1: 1-4 as the fairest of the fair maidens in all the land. Solomon's courtship and marriage would have been fairly early in his reign. This Song of Songs would have been one of the thousand and five written by Solomon and by its title and devotion to the Schulamite, it is probably his favorite song for his favorite bride.

Let us be careful in our appraisal of this song, in no way do we justify the Oriental habit of polygamy which lingers on in the Middle East even today. By Muslim law, four wives are allowed and the Ruler of Kuwait has rivaled Solomon in the multiplicity of his harem as well as in his personal wealth.

As we look at this Song of Songs we are struck by the intensity and beauty of the love poetry which celebrates the marriage bond and relationship. Interestingly enough, when the Puritan writers in Holland and England took pen to write of love and marriage, there flowered a whole new collection of love poetry to rival the beauty of Solomon's penmanship.

Stuart Olyott describes a reasonable outline of the poetic adventure in love. In this outline, there are several items of interest:

1. SoS 8:11 King Solomon had a vineyard in the hill country of Ephraim.
 2. SoS 1:6; 6:13; 8:8 The Vineyard was kept by a mother, two sons & daughter.
3. SoS 1:5 The Shulamite was the beautiful but unnoticed daughter.
4. SoS 1:8; 2:15 The overworked daughter was deeply tanned by the sun.
5. SoS 1:6-11 Solomon visits, is taken to be a Shepherd but wins her heart.
6. SoS 3:6-7 Solomon returns and takes her to be his bride.

Further, Dr G Campbell Morgaon observes that: "The songs should be treated then, first as simple and yet sublime songs of human affection. When they are thus understood, reverently the thoughts may be lifted into the higher value of setting forth the joys of the communion between the spirit of man and the Spirit of God, and ultimately between the Church and Christ." We should not be ashamed to see in Solomon's love the wonderful depths of the love shown to us by Solomon's Greater Son Jesus Christ.

In its celebration of human affection, we should see the movement from courtship, to marriage and finally to a mature experience of mutual love. And how sad it is that far too many couples never ever arrive at the final celebration of this greatest of love poems! For the balance of our time this morning, let us consider the courtship poetry of this sublime celebration of biblical human relationships. In my studies this week, I used four resources which to a certain extent an outline of who is speaking in the several verses.

Now, if you will take the trouble to only compare the NKJV and NIV translations, you quickly sense the troubles inherent in such an enterprise. While there are similarities in my several sources, there is also a wide divergence in the ordering and identification. For our purposes, I am simply going to ignore all of those extra-biblical devices and focus as much as I can upon the intercourse of affection reflected in the phrases of these poems. Oops, I used a modern word "intercourse", but please note - I applied it to the affections and not the worldly understanding so overstated in our day and time! We have to remember that not all generations were so jaded and stilted in their emotions than ours. In times past, people could better share their affections and emotions than we are able today. People like Robert E Lee, George Washington and others could correspond with many people in words that today would seem to indicate an ongoing affair of lusting bodies.

Such does not have to be the case, after all C.S. Lewis has done the English speaking world a great favor in writing about Four Loves each distinct in its interests, form and object. Never mind that the vocabulary of such loves may read the same, a proper understanding of the love in question will always inform the reader of the writer's intent. Unfortunately, society and culture have long lost any real sophistication to comprehend the difference. While on occasion, in the context of this poetry, some words may hint at the physical joys of wedded bliss, the focus is continually upon the relationships of the hearts and minds of those involved. After all, this is where true love exists. It is a matter of the heart and mind. The very opening verses of this poem may well confuse the modern reader. Today we assume kissing to be related to sensual desire.

Americans specifically fail to appreciate any purer, deeper or other possible meanings. When we see two catty television characters "kiss, kiss" in greeting, we often fail to comprehend that greeting as a pledge of peace, at least for the moment. When we see French officers in the movies award medals with a kiss, we squirm in our seats and miss the glorious affection of the moment and the sign of acceptance into an honorable friendship. The kiss here is a pledge of love and affection and the words which follow indicate that the Beloved understands that others must love the one she loves as well. Isn't this really a healthy attitude about love?

While we may expect marital fidelity of course, we must also appreciate that the one we love may be loved by friends, relatives and the world as well. The Shulamite sums this up in the last part of verse four: How right they are to adore you! Isn't this the type of love that we must have for our Christ? We would comprehend that any Christian who loved the Lord and wanted to keep it all to themselves would be warped indeed.

Beginning in verse five we see the self appreciation of natural flaws, or what we would call the self-doubts entertained in the courtship process. Who would love me, we all asked countless times in our teens? May we learn from this courtship experience to bring that attitude before our Christ, what reason has the most Holy to love us? We must realize our own inadequacy and not be filled with the overweening self esteem so encouraged in our own time. I am reminded of an over confident BMOC a few years ago who was pursuing a young lady that I knew. She had tried to be tactful and ignore him, but he wrongly thought of himself as some Narcissial gift to all females. Where tact and the advice of intermediaries failed, the young lady in question finally had to decapitalize the his attitude with a blunt refusal to consider any invitations what-so-ever. Isn't that what we were all so afraid of, being rejected by the object of our affections when we were young. Eventually, like the Shulamite we all found someone who loved us in spite of our skin problems and self apparent low estate.

In verse seven she wonders how she might run into the visitor. In verse eight, the answer is obvious in tending her own sheep, in doing the duties of her labor. I would guess that only a horseman, a cowboy or those of another age can really appreciate the equine comparison in verse nine. If you have any appreciation of the common endings of Western movies, imagine the cowboy realizing the girl is more beautiful than his horse and you will have the image here well in hand! Verses ten and eleven should show us that the suitor will grace the beauty of the Shulamite with jewelry to make her more lovely still. W.J. Cameron comments in these words: "However much grace the Church may have received and may exhibit, Christ has more to bestow, to make her more acceptable to Himself". And yet, even the greatest worldly gifts of perfumed fragrances is less than the presence of her Lord. May we come to that same conclusion, if we would please our Lord and King, all of the vain things that charm us most must be put into their proper perspective.

Then like the maiden here, we will hear the love of the Lord for us. In mansions fit for a king, as imagined here, we may linger in His Divine presence and sing of the banner over us which is His love. In chapter two, verses three through nine, the Shulamite sings of the delight of His company. O that we may be overwhelmed by the love and presence of the Lord as we seek His presence day by day. Yet, how coarse is the time of our generation, where the communion of fellowship has been so dampened by electronic gratification. We have lost the art of conversation, the little kindnesses that charm another and the appreciation of any moment in time.

I was once given an old Bible that had belonged to a relative. Scattered here and there within its pages were interesting odds and ends. Dried flowers crushed by the holy words of joy, apparent tear drops amidst the psalms of sorrow. Hardly legible notes of paper to remind the owner of some particular joy. Newspaper clippings as well to highlight the lives and times of friends, family and loved ones. So much richness in those reminders, the majority of which I had no comprehension.

In verses ten through fifteen there is the invitation that every young person wants to hear, come walk with me, come dance or come and be with me. Nothing tawdry as the world might think. But in the occasions of the past, an invitation to be driven home from church perhaps, or permission to sit a while on the front porch for all the world to see them together! Not just once, but time and again. I would think that in every time and place, there must have been a public square, a hamburger row or something other for courters to walk and advertise their claims upon each other. Look at who wants to be seen in my presence? Wow, isn't that what courtship is all about!

And the memory of those public moments in verses sixteen through to the end of our section in the fifth verse of chapter three. The day dreams, the hopes, the fears that love may or may not blossom and bloom. How many daisies have been sacrificed over the years "He loves, me he loves me not", always being careful to begin the count so that the answer is the one that is wanted! A childish poem perhaps, for those taking baby steps in love? A memory of those precious moments when we found and were found by those we love? A vision of our relationship to Christ even as He loves His own church?

All of those and more we may see in this glorious love poetry before us. In this courtship theme let us learn that the believer must find the Lord of life attractive. Then we must rejoice in His love for our own unattractiveness. We must always remember that He love us before we loved Him, and He loved us not for what we are but for what we can be in and through Him alone. Second we must learn that His love makes us attractive. He decks us with the beauty of grace and promises more, much more in the beauty of His holiness. More love for thee of Christ, more love for thee - just as the ancient hymnist appreciated! May our love increase and our joy be complete in the presence of our Lord and King. And may that greater joy and love form, guide and inspire our relationships with those closest to us day by day and hour by hour.

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