Song of Songs: Part 2
Tradition Says…
As we move on to the second part of the Song of Songs, I would highly encourage you if you haven’t already, to go back and read our first part of this series. While this whole month has consisted of part 1 and part 2 series, the first part of this particular series discusses all of the wrong interpretations that we may have thought Song of Songs was about. With this post, we will be looking at what the 8 chapters of this book mean to show us and how we can use this view today. As The Bible Project notes, “In the last century, archaeological discoveries among Israel’s ancient neighbors in Egypt and Babylon have turned up all kinds of ancient love poetry, and it’s full of imagery and language very similar to the Song of Songs. In other words, love poetry was a meaningful part of Israel’s cultural environment.” Love poetry was not just something that this author was interested in or something that only one person felt inclined to write about, it was a big way that ancient Israel expressed themselves and the love that they had for their lovers. This certainly flies in the face of the Jewish tradition of this book that says the lovers in this book represent God, Christ, & The Torah. This equally turns down the more modern view of this book by some Christians that the two lovers in this book represent God, Christ, and His church. While this allegorical interpretation would seem to make sense, it doesn’t fit what the author’s overall intent in writing this book was. So what was the purpose of this book? Why have so many people guessed, only for this interpretation to still be debated? Let’s find out.
What If It’s Just Love?
To begin, it’s important that we understand proper hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the study of interpretation and the theory and methodology behind it. In other words, hermeneutics is knowing how to properly interpret the text. One of the biggest points you are taught when learning hermeneutics is you must ask, ‘What is the author’s intent?’ This is why it doesn’t matter what meaning we can turn a text into, if the author didn’t mean it, then we got the interpretation wrong. So while yes, God does love Christ, His Church, and His law, this wasn’t the point of this book from the author’s perspective. This leads us right back to the question we’ve been asking since the beginning of this study, ‘Then what is?!’. What if the whole point of this story was to actually show what love is… Now I know this seems pretty straightforward but let me explain. Yes, God is love and there are multiple different types of love described in the Bible, but what if the connection between a man and a woman (Eros) is such a beautiful love that is unfortunately so overlooked, that God wanted to emphasize this love that He created in His word? It seems fascinating to us that this would be its own separate book in the Bible because we see nothing else like it in all of scripture. However, even though this book is unique, it is undeniable that this type of love is created by God and meant for mankind to enjoy. And what better enjoyment of this love do we see than in this book? Song of Songs 4:9-10 says, “You have enchanted my heart, my sister, my bride; You have enchanted my heart with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand of your necklace. “How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much sweeter is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than that of all kinds of balsam oils!” You can’t really find a much better picture of eros love in the Bible than this.
God Inspired
Furthermore, we can confirm that this is a probable purpose for this book being written because it doesn’t go against other scriptures, but is rather backed up by them. You don’t have to turn far into God’s Word at all to see that the love between man and woman was a design God had from the very start. Genesis 2:18 says, “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” From the very beginning when God first made man, it was evident to God that having a helper for man by creating a woman was a beautiful and good thing to do. Far too often when we think about the love we have in a romantic relationship, we think that God wants nothing to do with that when He’s the one who created this love and desire for a relationship in the first place! The romantic love that men and women share is certainly personal, but it was God’s idea. I know it may feel awkward to discuss this type of love with anyone other than your partner, but that’s because of how sacred and special it is. You don’t love a piece of pizza with the same love you love your husband or wife with. God intended for this love to be intimate and personal between a man and a woman and it is indeed a beautiful thing. Paul shows us how to live out this exact form of love in the New Testament as well. Ephesians 5:25-27 tells us, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
What a beautiful description and picture of what true love for your partner should look like. Yes, we learn much about the love that Christ has for us and the love that we should have for others, but one of the most overlooked forms of love in scripture is this romantic love because we think it just simply isn’t as important. This is exactly why I believe God wanted this book in His word. As we experience the love of Christ every day and as we strive to love all those around us day in and day out, it can be easy to think that the romantic love that our Lord created is the least of these and deserves the least attention. Song of Songs would seem to suggest otherwise. This is why The Bible Project mentions, “It should not surprise us to find it in the wisdom literature of the Bible. This has led most scholars today to view the Song as what it presents itself to be, a collection of Israelite love poetry reflecting on the divine gift of love.” I hope and pray that as you read this book, you won’t turn away in awkwardness from its descriptive and passionate words, but rather you will be reminded of how the love you have for your husband or wife was beautifully created by God Himself.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] BibleProject. (2024, August 8). Guide to the Book of Song of Songs. BibleProject. https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-song-of-songs/#interpretations-of-the-song-of-songs
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