Song of Songs - Introduction

A brief introduction with a few facts about the Song of Songs before we launch into the text.  Enjoy!!

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Hello everyone. Welcome to Jeff's Bible Trek, Season 5. We're starting today. For this new season, I have chosen to do a study on the Song of Solomon, or the Song of Songs, as I will call it. And why have I chosen this little book upon which to spend a season? Well, I'm glad you asked. Because the closer I get to God the Father, to Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, the closer I want to get still. Every year, when this when my annual Bible reading program goes through this little book, I get stirred afresh to teach on it. So in this episode, I want to provide a brief introduction to the book, and we'll begin in earnest the next time on the text. My goal will be to cover the eight chapters in eight episodes, which is completely doable. So here we go. As a quick aside, there are several speakers in the book, but the central characters are Solomon and his bride, also known as the Shulamite Maiden. I also want to mention the fact that this story has become somewhat perverted to refer to married love or sex. And that's unfortunate because this has resulted in a lot of Christians avoiding the book entirely. The first verse of chapter one gives us the title of the book. In the King James, it's The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. In the NIV, it's Solomon's Song of Songs. In the Passion Translation, it's the most amazing song of all by King Solomon. I love that one. Not only is the song composed by Solomon, but it speaks of him as well. And we are to see him here as a reigning king in great glory. This is important because as a reigning king in great glory, he is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the triumphant life of his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. When David, Solomon's father and predecessor, slew Goliath and triumphed over that great enemy, that was a picture of Christ's victory over the devil through his death, burial, and resurrection. Solomon, receiving the fruits of all of David's victories, came to the throne as a king of peace, which clearly points to the Lord Jesus, who's referred to as the Prince of Peace, seated in the power and authority of his throne in heaven. The Song of Songs, then, presents Jesus Christ in the glory, power, and authority represented by King Solomon. And the fellowship God wants us to have with him in that exalted realm is the same kind of relationship Solomon had with the maiden in this story. So we enter into a realm where the battle with the enemy is already won. He is, as we call, a defeated foe. In 1 John 3.8, it says the reason the Son of God was revealed was to undo and destroy the works of the devil. That is past tense. This has already been done. Hebrews 2.14 speaks of the same thing. And I quote, since all his children have flesh and blood, so Jesus became human to fully identify with us. He did this so that he could experience death and listen, annihilate the effects of the intimidating accuser who holds against us the power of death. Because of this, Jesus says in Revelation 1 and verse 18, I was dead, but now look, I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys that unlock death and the unseen world. So through the victory of Christ's death and resurrection, he now holds the keys of death and the unseen world. There is nothing to fear, for he holds all authority and all keys. Better important. This is why he can say in Matthew 11, verses 28 and 29, Come to me, I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Wow, I love that. Simply join your life with mine, he says. Learn my ways, and you'll discover that I'm gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me, for all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear. So then peace reigns, and Solomon is a king who has received glory, and as the book begins, we behold our exalted Lord. Our relationship to him, as pictured by this book, is not that of Jonathan to David, but as that of the Shulamite maiden to King Solomon. You see, Jonathan loved David because of David's great victory over the mighty Goliath, but the Shulamite loved Solomon for himself alone. There are many believers who love the Lord Jesus Christ, mostly because of the great victory he won in the cross and resurrection over evil powers. And some say this can lead to extremes. Others, however, appreciate him not only for the struggle and victory of the cross, but also for all that he now is in his enthroned life in heaven. The cross represents the Lord's battle to establish his kingly authority. His heavenly life at the right hand of God, however, shows him as triumphant and reigning. God is wanting us to go beyond the cross and experience communion with Jesus as he now is. The Queen of Sheba at first only heard of Solomon's great acts. Later she saw Solomon upon his throne. She experienced him, and thereafter all of her attraction was to the king himself. In the same way, God wants us to not only see and love Jesus as a great conqueror, but to see and love him as our bridegroom, just as Solomon was to the maiden. This book, and this is why it's in our Bible, is designed to lead us to know him as the reigning king, and to be by his side as the object of his supreme affection. You can see how then this book is addressed to those who are already children of God, but are awakened to longings for a fuller experience of Christ. There is a place for emphasizing the elementary doctrines of the church that flow out of the earthly work of Jesus. But as Hebrews 6 1 to 3 says, now is the time for us to progress beyond the basic message of Christ and advance into perfection. The foundation has already been laid for us to build upon, turning away from our dead works to embrace faith in God, teaching about different baptisms, impartation by the laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. So with God's enablement, we will move on to deeper truths. God wants us to move on and learn some other things about him, some other things about us, about how we should see him, and about he, how he views us. There's nothing in the Song of Songs about salvation and sinner, but rather the emphasis is on the advancement of the believer. There are no instructions on how to be saved and justified before God, but it tells of a believer's longings for deeper experiences in God. The book doesn't even talk about faith, but rather of love. Love is the banner over the whole book. In fact, it's in chapter two and verse four that the maiden says of Solomon, his banner over me is love. Consider the following people. The Old Testament Israelites all lived under religion, the law of Moses. But Moses and David were both Old Testament individuals who went way past the average Hebrews and insisted on knowing God intimately. Solomon himself had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Man, he had a thousand women available to him. But there was one to whom Solomon was greatly attracted, and they experienced greater intimacy together. Think about the twelve disciples. You know, most of them, once they're chosen, you never hear about again. But there were three Peter, James, and John, who stood out to Jesus and were the only ones present for numerous encounters with Jesus. But then there was one who leaned into Jesus at the Last Supper in the upper room and had a more intimate relationship with Jesus. He referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. John also was entrusted with caring for Jesus' mother, Mary, as he hung on the cross. There were up to five hundred people who saw Jesus after his resurrection, but Jesus had more intimate moments with the remaining disciples. Paul said that all the runners run in the race, but only one gets the prize. We need to set our eyes on the prize, an intimate walk with our Lord. And that's the purpose for doing a season on the Song of Songs. The Song of Songs. It says in 1 Kings 4 32 that Solomon composed a thousand and five songs. But this is the most excellent song, therefore it is called the Song of Songs. This type of phrase means it is the pinnacle of all songs. Some examples. Jesus is called the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In like manner, this book is the Song of Songs. It's interesting, the book previous to this one is also written by Solomon, and that is the Book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes speaks of the vanity of vanities, and this is in contrast to the Song of Songs. These two books, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs have the same author, but are as different as night and day. Ecclesiastes speaks of a life of wandering. Song of Songs speaks of rest from a life of wandering. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon cannot obtain satisfaction through knowledge alone. In the Song of Songs, man can reach satisfaction only through love. Ecclesiastes is about the pursuit of things under the sun. The song of songs is about the pursuit of things in Christ. In Ecclesiastes, the wrong things are sought for in wrong ways, resulting in the conclusion that everything under the sun is vanity of vanities. In the Song of Songs, the right things are sought for in the right way. Therefore the result is supreme blessedness. Well, that concludes my introduction to the book. In our next episode, we'll set the scene for how Solomon and the Shulamite maiden came together, and then we'll launch into the book itself. So until then, God bless you.