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Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs)
Introduction
Traditional wedding celebrations in the Middle East cast the bride and groom in the roles of a king and his queen. The festivities include love songs and also special songs that praise the physical beauty of the bride or the handsomeness of the groom. The custom has a long history and is reflected in the anthology of wedding songs we know as the Song of Songs. The individual songs may have been used repeatedly in marriage celebrations and eventually gathered together, just as the psalms were collected after years of use in worship. The title Solomon’s Song of Songs can be taken to mean that King Solomon, a renowned composer (see 1 Kings 4:29-34), was the author of its songs. However, it could also be a reference to Solomon as the kind of glorious king the groom represents.
The songs are arranged to tell the courtship story of a man and woman, of their marriage (described as a royal wedding) and its consummation, and of the beginning of their new life together. After a short introduction the book presents six episodes, each typically ending with a reference to the friends of the man and woman. This may refer to others attending the wedding to join in the celebration. Together the songs celebrate the delights of married love and the beauty of the human body, using vivid imagery from the natural world to show that these things are part of the creation that God declared very good.
www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/SNG.INTRO1.NIV
Song of Solomon 1 (ESV)
1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Bride Confesses Her Love
She
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
3 your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
4 Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
Others
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
She
5 I am very dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
8 If you do not know,
O most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Others
11 We will make for you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi.
He
15 Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
She
16 Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
17 the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.
REFLECTION:
- This chapter begins with the love song between two lovers. What sense do you get from this passage about how the “Beloved” and the “Lover” regard one another? From the images they used to describe each other, what do they reveal about their relationship?
- What fears and insecurities does the Beloved feel (vv3-4, 5-7)? How does the Lover reassure her (vv9-11)?
- This demonstrates a wonderful way to celebrate God’s good gift of sexuality to us. The entire book of Song of Solomon is a beautiful description of young lovers taking great joy in each other. Take some time writing down or telling your spouse how you delight in and appreciate him or her.
- Reflect on your own sexuality and how you respond to this picture of passionate physical love. Talk to God about how you are feeling.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
HYMN:
You’re Beautiful – youtu.be/aky-FkqH6Ng
