Song of Solomon 5 - 8

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As we continue in the Song of Solomon, we see how the elaborate, vivid, striking, and bold language in this book is a wonderful, glorious picture of our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps, no other book of the Bible (if looking with spiritual eyes) can draw you closer to understanding the love Christ has for us and how we should love Him than what we find in the Song of Solomon.

If you were to compare the Song of Solomon with other Oriental poetry of its period—such as some of the Persian poetry—you would find the Song of Solomon to be mild and restrained. Reading Persian poetry, on the other hand, would be like reading some of the modern, dirty stuff that is being written today.

By contrast, the Jews called the Song of Solomon the Holy of Holies of Scripture. Therefore, not everyone was permitted inside its sacred enclosure. Here is where you are dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. That is one reason I hesitate to discuss this book. It will be abused by unbelievers and carnal Christians. But if you are one who is walking with the Lord, if the Lord Jesus means a great deal to you and you love Him, then this little book will mean a great deal to you also.

The Song of Solomon is poetic and practical. Within this book, God is speaking to His people in poetic songs which unfold a story. We need to take our spiritual shoes from off our feet as we approach this book. We are on holy ground. The Song of Solomon is like a fragile flower that requires delicate handling.

Let me give you what I feel are four different and important meanings found in this book:

1. The Song of Solomon sets forth the beauty in being fully in-love!  This little book shows us what real love is. The Jews taught that it reveals the heart of a satisfied husband and that of a devoted wife.

Today we see a great movement toward “sexual freedom,” which many people seem to think is good. One young man who had lived and believed in “free love” told me that he had come to realize that such a life is the life of an animal. He said, “For several years I lived like an animal. If you want to know the truth, I don't think sex means any more to my group of friends than it means to an animal.” The younger generation today is geared to sex; their life–style is one of sexual expression. But I am of the opinion that they actually know very little about it. All they know about sex is what an animal knows. A dog out on the street knows as much as they do. Something is missing—there is a terrible void in their lives.

This generation may have a great deal of experience with sex but knows little about love. They know the Hollywood version of love; yet they think they know it all. The story is told of the father who wanted to talk to his young boy about sex. He beat around the bush and finally blurted out, “Son, I'd like to talk to you about some of the facts of life.” The boy said, “Sure, Dad, what would you like to know?” The boy knew the raw facts about sex, so he thought he knew more than his dad knew. There was a veteran movie queen who had had five husbands. She knew about sex, but she didn't know anything about real love; so she committed suicide. Reading our modern novels and plays is like taking a trip through the sewers of Paris! There is a stark contrast between the ideas of our generation and the glory of wedded love as it is portrayed in the Song of Solomon.

2. This little book reveals the love God has for us! That is not a new thought which is found in this book alone. The prophets spoke of Israel as the wife of Jehovah. Hosea dwells on that theme. Idolatry in Israel is likened to a breach in wedded love and is the greatest sin in all the world according to Hosea.

The scribes and the rabbis of Israel have always given these two interpretations to this book, and they have been accepted by the church. However, there are two other interpretations set forth by the church.

3. The Song of Solomon is a picture of Christ and the Church.  The church is the bride of Christ. This is a familiar figure in the New Testament (see Eph. 5; Rev. 21). However, in this book God uses a picture of human affection to convey to our dull minds, our dead hearts, our distorted affections, and our diseased wills His so great love. He uses the very best of human love to arouse us to realize the wonderful love that He has for us. This book can lead you into a marvelous, wonderful relationship with the Lord Jesus which you probably have never known before. My friend, what we need today is a knowledge of the Word of God and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am afraid that very few of us are experiencing this today.

4. This book depicts the beautiful relationship we should have with Christ. It portrays the love of Christ for the individual and the soul's communion with Christ. Many great saints of God down through the years have experienced this. Paul could say, “… the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Samuel Rutherford could spend a whole night in prayer. His wife would miss him during the night and would get up and go looking for him. Even on cold nights she would find him on his knees praying, and she would take his big overcoat and throw it around him. Men like Dwight L. Moody and Robert McCheyne came into a real, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not some kind of second experience, as some people try to describe it. It is more than an experience. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ—seeing how wonderful He is, how glorious He is. We need to come to the place where it can truly be said of us that we love Him because He first loved us. To open up this little book will be like the breaking of Mary's alabaster box of ointment, and I trust that the fragrance of it will fill our lives and spread out to others.

People are being deluded today. They feel that living the Christian life is like following the instructions for putting together a toy. The instructions for a little truck or house will say to take piece “A” and put it down by piece “D” and then take piece “C” and fit it between them. I want to tell you, some of those instructions are really complicated! I know because I buy them for my little grandsons. It almost takes a college degree to be able to put some of those gadgets together. Some people think that the Christian life is like that. They have the impression that if you can get together a little mixture of psychology, a smattering of common sense, a good dash of salesmanship, and a few verses from the Bible as a sugarcoating over the whole thing, that makes a successful formula for living the Christian life.

My friend, may I say that what we need is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We need a hot passion for Him. The Lord is not pleased with this cool, lukewarm condition which exists today in the churches among so–called dedicated Christians. Too many who are called dedicated Christians are actually as cold as a cucumber. Some are even unfriendly and arrogant in their attitudes. What we all need is a real, living, burning passion for the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This little book is going to be personal. It is not for the ear of the unsaved man. But for the man who has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.