https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/SurveyOfTheBibleSongOfSolomon.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tSurvey of the Bible – Song of Solomon<\/h1>\n
Text: Proverbs 1:1-7<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The Song of Solomon is the last in the collection of wisdom literature<\/p>\n A. Job teaches us how to suffer, Psalms teaches us how to pray, Proverbs teaches us\nhow to act, Ecclesiastes teaches us how to enjoy life, and Song of Solomon\nteaches us how to love\n
B. In the Hebrew Bible it is called “The Song of Songs”<\/p>\n
C. The book has seen its share of controversy. <\/p>\n 1. It is one of the few Old Testament books not quoted in the New\nTestament, but that list also includes none controversial books: Ezra,\nNehemiah, Esther, and Ecclesiastes\n 2. You’ll see some claim that God isn’t mentioned in the book, but He is one\nof the speakers and He is mentioned in Song of Solomon 8:6\n
3. Mostly the controversy comes because of the topic it covers<\/p>\n
D. Authorship<\/p>\n 1. Song of Solomon 1:1 attributes the book to Solomon. However, the\nwording is vague enough to read it as a book written for Solomon.\n
2. Solomon had written songs – I Kings 4:32<\/p>\n
3. Solomon is mentioned seven times in the book<\/p>\n
4. I Kings 4:33 mentions Solomon’s interest in nature<\/p>\n a. Song of Solomon refers to 21 species of plants and 15 species of\nanimals.\n
E. Time<\/p>\n
1. Northern and southern Israel are still united – Song of Solomon 6:4<\/p>\n a. After Solomon dies, Tirzah changes name to Samaria and becomes\nthe capitol of northern Israel.\n 2. It mentions that Solomon had 60 wives and 80 concubines – Song of\nSolomon 6:8\n a. Solomon eventually has 700 wives and 300 concubines – I Kings\n11:3\n
3. There is mention of luxuries – Song of Solomon 3:6-11<\/p>\n 4. Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, is mentioned as still living – Song of\nSolomon 3:11\n
5. So the book was written in the early to middle part of his reign<\/p>\n
II. Character of Song of Solomon<\/p>\n
A. Again, the first line tells us that is a “song of songs”<\/p>\n
1. A collection of smaller songs (poems) compiled to form a longer one.<\/p>\n
2. It can also mean that this is the best of all songs<\/p>\n
3. Likely both are true and the ambiguity is purposeful<\/p>\n
B. It is the only book in the Bible that is written from the female’s point of view.<\/p>\n 1. There are other books which focuses on women (Ruth, Esther), but this\nbook gives insight into what woman is thinking and how she perceives the\nworld.\n C. It is difficult because it is poetry set in a time and place that is quite different from\nour own.\n
1. Most people find poetry hard anyway<\/p>\n
2. But here images are presented that are unfamiliar to us.<\/p>\n 3. For example, To tell a young lady that her hair looks like a flock of goats\ncoming down the mountain sounds like an insult to modern ears – Song of\nSolomon 6:5\n a. In that culture goats were plentiful and generally were dark-haired.\nTo see goats coming down the mountain in the distance where it\nwould be hard to distinguish one goat from the other invokes a\npicture of dark, flowing hair that bounces and moves.\n
D. The book is done as a play<\/p>\n 1. There is almost no narration. The story moves along by listening to what\npeople say.\n 2. This is perfect medium for a book from a woman’s point of view since\nwomen tend to be verbal.\n
3. But what makes it really hard is that the parts aren’t marked. <\/p>\n
a. We aren’t told who says what lines. <\/p>\n
b. It has to be deduced from what is said and what pronouns are used.<\/p>\n
E. This has led to three views of the book<\/p>\n 1. People who are uncomfortable with the topics raised will often claim that\nit is an allegory of God’s relationship to Israel or Christ’s relationship to\nthe church.\n
a. The church is the bride of Christ – Ephesians 5:23-25<\/p>\n b. Therefore most discussion of marriage can illustrate aspects of\nChrist and the church\n c. However, there are elements in Song of Solomon which stretches\nthe illustration too far.\n
2. Another view is that of a three way love affair.<\/p>\n
a. Pasty Rae Dawson in “Marriage a Taste of Heaven” is a well-known proponent of this view.<\/p>\n b. It is seen as a young woman trying to decide whether to marry her\nsweetheart, a shepherd in the country where she grew up, or King\nSolomon who wants her to be his bride. Eventually the shepherd\nwins out.\n c. The difficulty with this view is that it must treat the dialogue as a\nlarge series of flashback and flash forward in time. Without this\nevents would take place out of their rightful sequence.\n 3. The view I think is accurate is that it is a play about Solomon marrying an\nIsraelite maiden to be his queen\n a. This would be his first non-political marriage. The first he marries\nbecause of love.\n b. The elements in the play then run in chronological order from\ncourtship to marriage, to married life.\n c. People have a hard time with this because how could a man who\nhas 60 wives and 80 concubines really know about godly love.\n d. I don’t have a good answer to that other than to point out that\nDavid also had multiple wives. It wasn’t right.\n (1) Still, it appears this woman was the only Israelite that\nSolomon married – I Kings 3:1; 11:1-4\n (2) His foreign wives did not have equal status – II Chronicles\n8:11\n (3) It might explain why Solomon was lead astray until his old\nage.\n
III. Division of the Song of Solomon<\/p>\n
A. Courtship<\/p>\n
1. Her arrival in Jerusalem – Song of Solomon 1:2-11<\/p>\n
2. Daydreams during dinner – Song of Solomon 1:12-14<\/p>\n
3. Dreams of a home in the forest – Song of Solomon 1:15-2:3<\/p>\n
4. A formal banquet – Song of Solomon 2:4-7<\/p>\n
5. Spring and the approaching wedding – Song of Solomon 2:8-17<\/p>\n
B. Wedding<\/p>\n
1. Fears just before the wedding – Song of Solomon 3:1-5<\/p>\n
2. The wedding ceremony – Song of Solomon 3:6-11<\/p>\n
3. The wedding night – Song of Solomon 4:1-5:1a<\/p>\n
C. Married life<\/p>\n
1. Complacency toward her husband – Song of Solomon 5:1b-6:3<\/p>\n
2. The art of repairing a broken relationship – Song of Solomon – 6:4-13<\/p>\n
3. Mature love – Song of Solomon 7:1-9<\/p>\n
4. Spicing up the marriage – Song of Solomon 7:10-8:4<\/p>\n
D. Advice on marriage – Song of Solomon 8:5-14<\/p>\n
IV. Importance of Song of Solomon<\/p>\n
A. God teaches us all things pertaining to life and godliness – II Peter 1:2-4<\/p>\n
B. Teens and young adults need to know how romance should be. <\/p>\n
1. How men ought to treat women<\/p>\n
2. How men and women ought to behave<\/p>\n
3. For young men, a clue to how women think<\/p>\n
C. Married couples need to know how to treat each other<\/p>\n
1. How to settle disputes<\/p>\n
2. How to become one<\/p>\n
D. Chastity<\/p>\n 1. Keep a covenant with your self and your future spouse – Song of Solomon\n2:17\n
2. Family is there to help you – Song of Solomon 8:8-9<\/p>\n
E. Love<\/p>\n 1. Cannot be hurried. It needs to develop at its own pace – Song of Solomon\n2:7\n
2. Allowed to grow it becomes unquenchable – Song of Solomon 8:6-7<\/p>\n
F. Disputes<\/p>\n
1. Settle them early, when they are small – Song of Solomon 2:15<\/p>\n 2. Resolve problems by focusing on what is important – Song of Solomon\n6:10-12\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEcclesiastes\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSurvey of the Bible\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIsaiah\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Survey of the Bible – Song of Solomon Text: Proverbs 1:1-7 I. The Song of Solomon is the last in the collection of wisdom literature A. Job teaches us how to suffer, Psalms teaches us how to pray, Proverbs teaches us how to act, Ecclesiastes teaches us how to enjoy life, and Song of Solomon teaches…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":16880,"menu_order":22,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22537","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4463,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-greatest-love-song-written-a-study-of-the-song-of-solomon\/","url_meta":{"origin":22537,"position":0},"title":"The Greatest Love Song Written: A Study of the Song of Solomon","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 21, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Greatest Love Song Written A Study of the Song of Solomon by Jeffrey W. Hamilton An Introduction to the Song of Solomon (Song of Solomon 1:1) A Country Girl in King Solomon's Court (Song of Solomon 1:2-11) Daydreams of Love During Dinner (Song of Solomon 1:12-14) Dreams of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22525,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-proverbs\/","url_meta":{"origin":22537,"position":1},"title":"Survey of the Bible – Proverbs","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - Proverbs Text: Proverbs 1:1-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Like the book of Psalms, Proverbs is a collection of writings \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The major of the Proverbs were written by Solomon, just as the majority of Psalms was written by David. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Solomon\u2019s proverbs are in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chapters 1-9 - Proverbs 1:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chapters\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4589,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-greatest-love-song-written-a-study-of-the-song-of-solomon\/let-love-continue\/","url_meta":{"origin":22537,"position":2},"title":"Let Love Continue","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Chapter 15 Let Love Continue And so we come to the end of this beautiful song of love. We have traced the development of their romance from early engagement to their later years together. There were a few rough times, but their love for each other grew stronger with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":22537,"position":3},"title":"Survey of the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible by Jeffery W. Hamilton Old Testament Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth I Samuel II Samuel I Kings II Kings I Chronicles II Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4532,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-greatest-love-song-written-a-study-of-the-song-of-solomon\/an-introduction-to-the-song-of-solomon\/","url_meta":{"origin":22537,"position":4},"title":"An Introduction to the Song of Solomon","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Chapter 1 An Introduction to the Song of Solomon The time between finding the perfect husband and the day of your marriage can seem like an eternity. It feels as if you are conscious of the passing of every second. Yet at the same time, there is so much that\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22518,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-psalms\/","url_meta":{"origin":22537,"position":5},"title":"Survey of the Bible – Psalms","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - Psalms Text: Psalms 19 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The book of Psalms is a collection of poems by various prophets written over the years \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Hebrew it is called the book of praises. 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