Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Overview of the Bible: Song of Songs

 

Song of Songs  

Title: Son of Songs or Son of Solomon (1:1)

Date of writing: times of Solomon (around 1000 BC)

Structure: Dorsey, p. 200

a. 1:2 – 2:7, opening words of mutual love and desire

  b. 2:8-17, young man’s invitation to the young woman

    c. 3:1-5, young woman’s nighttime search

      d. 3:6 – 5:1, their wedding day

    c’. 5:2 – 7:10, young woman’s nighttime search 

  b’. 7:11 – 8:4, young woman’s invitation to the young man

a’. 8:5-14, closing words of mutual love and desire

Main themes: Usually, when people think about the Song of Songs, they think of it as a love song. Love – in a biblical sense – is a very important part of the book. Yet, I believe that the main theme is unity. Throughout the whole “performance” He and She are trying nothing else but be together. This togetherness also touches on some other themes – emotions of people, beauty of sexual relations within the married couple, partnership or headship of family dynamics, etc.   

Also, a good thematical starting point is the title – “song”. The book shows that the Gospel message can be presented as a beautiful and enigmatic “opera”, where visual and textual imagery reflect the theme(s) of the production. 

An important level that should not be neglected is eschatological yearning and consummation: already and not ye (1:2-4; 8:13-14).   

Main Characters: He, She, Choir, Robbers. Is “He” Solomon? Who is Shulamite?  

Reflection in other parts of the Bible:

Song of Songs is picking up the theme of marriage started by God’s ordinance during 6th day of creation (Gen. 1:16-30; 2:18-24).

Song of Songs continue the chain of songs delivered by the prominent women in the Bible. Miriam picks up the song of Moses after the Red Sea crossing (Ex. 15). Deborah sings a song commemorating the victory of God over Canaanites (Judg. 5). Hannah sings a song glorifying God after the birth of Samuel (1 Sam. 2). 

Lutheran teaching:

On one hand The Book of Concord does not have any references to the Son of Songs. On the other, we build our teaching of chastity and purity of pre-marital relationship and marriage on the ideas and images of the Song, as St. Paul does it in his letters to Ephesians (chapter 5).

Also, a great theologian of Lutheran Orthodoxy Johann Gerhard (15-82-1637) in his volume of systematic theology derives a few images of the Church as a Bride of Christ [Christi sponsa] based on the Song of Songs. To name a few (Mitchell, p. 528-530):  

1. “A lily among thorns” (2:2) means that Church is beautiful, and should be separated from the sinful world, but is vulnerable to persecution.

2. the Church is a “dove” (2:14; 5:2; 6:9) and has “the eyes of dove” (1:15; 4:1; 5:12) – Gerhard explains is a sincerity of spirit (Mt. 10:10) and to the appearance of the Spirit in the form of a dove (Mt. 3:16).

3. “Awesome as an army with banners” (6:4,10) – Gerhard uses it to express the idea of the Church militant – the One constantly fighting with satan. Also, regardless of the outward appearance as a disordered crowd, she is an organized by the orders from above.    

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 525 – “Crown Him with many crowns”

LSB 644 – “The Church’s one foundation”  

Relevancy of the Book:

Seeing images of YHWH and Israel and Christ and the Church in the relationship of Him and Her in the Book, modern reader can have a blessing from the passionate words of the Gospel with which God reaches out to us. The blossoming vineyard of the outreach should spread its branches covering the whole earth with the protective shade of His love, being defendant from foxes of the outer world.      

Memory verses:

8:7: Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.

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