Introduction: Why Preach Song of Solomon?

Well, welcome this evening. When the 66 Book Series was presented in the elder meeting, we immediately got excited about it, and guys started claiming the books they wanted to preach. Then someone said, “Matt should preach Song of Solomon,” and I was like, “Well, maybe not—maybe someone else should.” They replied, “No, you’ll do a great job.” Somehow, it’s the first one that I’ve gotten to preach.

So here we are tonight, going through the Song of Solomon. Turn there with me. As I started to prepare this lesson, I went out to some of the pastors we know and love, checked their websites, and tried to accumulate a database of resources. I went to John MacArthur’s website and pulled down every sermon he’s written on it—which was zero. I thought, “Well, John Piper likes poetry. Let’s grab all of his.” Once again, zero. Then I started going one by one through each TMS campus, and at the end of my research, I found one Sunday sermon, one closing sermon of a marriage conference, and one two-part Bible study class in ten thousand sermons.

It’s been kind of a running joke in our home that I had to preach this book. I’m honestly surprised to see my family here.

But why do you think this is? Why do we put this book on the shelf? I know in my Bible reading, it’s usually one day, and I walk away going, “Yeah, I have no idea what that means—let’s go on to the next book.” Why do we let this book that God has put in the canon be that kind of book?

I have a theory: it’s pretty explicit, and it’s really confusing. It’s a love poem attributed to Solomon, but we know Solomon’s love life is not exactly the biblical model of marriage, so we don’t know what to do with that. Here’s a guy with 700 wives and 300 concubines swearing his allegiance to a single woman. I don’t think that’s the place you go to proof your marriage.

Even within its own verses, it doesn’t help itself. Looking at chapter 6 verse 8, he says, “There are 60 queens and 80 concubines and virgins without number. My dove, my perfect one, is the only one.” He literally just tried to flatter this woman by saying she’s his favorite of 140-plus. Once again, I’m pretty sure that’s not the biblical model of marriage.

However, as tends to happen when we start to prepare a sermon, what started as a difficult study has now become maybe my favorite book. It’s so sweet to see what’s on these pages. Tonight, I hope to give you a glimpse of what I saw in the 470 words of Song of Solomon.

What Is This Book All About?

What is this book all about? Turn to Song of Solomon chapter 8 verse 6. I love it when the “so what” is actually in the text—it makes it easy. Verse 6 says, “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”

Stated another way: God-ordained marital love cannot be broken or extinguished; it cannot be bought for all the riches of the world. On the surface, that feels like a contradiction to the context of this book—so let’s dig in.

Who Wrote Song of Solomon? Background and Setting

Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon—kind of goes without saying, but let’s say it. Look at verse 1: “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.” Smed did a great job last week of giving us background on Solomon in his Ecclesiastes lesson, so I can skip some of that. For review, we know from 1 Kings 2 that Solomon was David’s second child born to Bathsheba. David passed the kingdom to him; he reigned before the kingdom was divided and out of Jerusalem. It seems to me that part of the setting of this book is in Jerusalem in his chambers.

Personally, I think this book was written early in his reign. There’s debate, but if you look at the size of his harem at the end of his life—700 wives, 300 concubines—and here, only 60 wives and 80 concubines are mentioned, so let’s ballpark it at the first quarter of his reign. That assumes the accumulation of women was linear, which is a hard statement to say out loud.

“The Song of Songs” is a superlative—the best of the best. This is literally Solomon’s greatest song. He wrote thousands of proverbs and was granted wisdom by God. Did you know he was a songwriter? 1 Kings 4:29 says God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore, and verse 32 says, “He spoke 3,000 proverbs and his songs numbered 1,005.” So this is number one out of 1,005. This song didn’t just make his essential album; it’s his greatest hit. In fact, it’s the only single song in history to make the canon of Scripture as a book in itself—arguably the greatest song ever written, even beating out Amazing Grace, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and The Old Rugged Cross. The book that most of us have not read closely is the best song ever written.

How Have People Interpreted This Book?

Let’s talk about some of the historical ways people have approached this book. Tonight, we’re spending time examining song lyrics—this is an incredibly poetic song, and it tells a story. I’m a child of 90s alternative music; some of the bands I listened to had nonsense lyrics so vague that no one could understand them. If you tell me you know what Kurt Cobain meant in any of his songs, you’re lying. The true meaning of his songs can’t be known.

This song is not that—for one primary reason. The Song of Solomon, Solomon’s greatest hit, is in the canon of Scripture. God has written Scripture to be understood and known, and this book can be understood. But how we approach understanding it is key.

I’ve seen this book wrongly interpreted as an allegory—people do weird things with it. Did you know the phrase “Jesus is the lily of the valley” comes from an allegorical interpretation of this book? People take what I’ll call the Nirvonic approach to meaning—they have no idea what it means, so they spiritualize it and say there’s something deep. They say the story is of Christ and the church, that Christ is the lily of the valley. But that’s not how we should interpret Scripture. This book, though it’s a song and poetry and has confusing stanzas, is clear. It contains real characters, in a real time, about real love between a real man and a real woman. God intends to show us something about Himself and about marital love in this book, and that’s what we’re going to study tonight.

Before we dig into the actual text, I need to give you a little interpretive helper. In English, the pronoun “you” has no gender, but in Hebrew, it does. In English, you need context clues to know who “you” refers to, but in Hebrew, the gender is built into the word. Unfortunately, many of our English translations don’t help with that and leave us guessing.

I’ve noticed that the headers in a lot of English translations are pretty unhelpful, making interpretive decisions not in the text. However, the ESV has been super helpful in translating this book, putting “he” or “she” in the header to help us understand who’s talking. That was useful in studying this book. I actually copy-pasted everything into Word, went through and highlighted every pronoun, and tried to name who was part of that pronoun to understand what I was reading.

The Characters of Song of Solomon

There are two ways to look at the characters in this book—the two-character view or the three-character view. Over history, the literal historical interpretation has leaned toward the three-character view, but more recently, the two-character view has become prominent. I think that’s because English translation doesn’t give us clues into the pronouns, and people take odd approaches.

In my study, I believe the three-character view is the clearest. In reality, as you read, there are like six or even ten characters, but the primary four are Solomon, the Shulamite woman, the Shepherd, and the Daughters of Jerusalem (who I believe are Solomon’s harem, or a subset of the 140 women mentioned).

The character with the most debate is the Shepherd. I want to quickly touch on why I believe he is a distinct character. The confusion is that Solomon is named and the Shepherd is not, so we have to decipher from the context who is being spoken of in each passage. We can’t just assume every “he” is Solomon or that all the “she’s” are the Shulamite woman. We have to read it in context.

I believe this presents a second male character. There are 117 verses, 470 words, and quite a few clues. Let’s walk through a few.

In chapter 1 verse 7, the Shulamite woman says, “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?” This shows us a male character with a job—not a king’s job. The Shulamite is introducing her beloved in the book—she calls him “my beloved” 25 times. I believe that’s almost a proper noun in the book, a distinct person. He clearly has a job: shepherding the flock, with companions in the field. That doesn’t sound like Solomon.

In chapter 2 verse 15: “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” She’s referencing her beloved, working together in the vineyards—again, not Solomon’s chambers, but together in the fields. This context leads us to believe her beloved is someone other than Solomon.

There are repeated lines in 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4. In 2:7, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” She’s making a petition to Solomon’s harem not to stir up or awaken love until it pleases—not to counterfeit love beyond its normal means.

Walter Kaiser explains it this way: the maiden adjures the ladies of the court not to prematurely kindle love by improper means. She’s already given her heart to the shepherd, so all attempts to flatter her into switching her allegiance to Solomon, even though he’s king, will be unjust. She wishes to be left alone, just as the gazelles and does of the field.

If you read many of her stanzas as if she’s describing Solomon, it doesn’t make sense. Why is she talking about her true love and arguing with the daughters of Jerusalem? Why is she saying her bond is bound by God in contrast to Solomon’s pleas to marry him and be added to his 140 women? Why would Solomon’s harem ask what makes her beloved so great, or ask the guards to find her beloved if he’s the king? The story describes a second male character—the shepherd.

So as you see the phrase “my beloved,” think of the shepherd, her true love—not Solomon.

This isn’t just my view. Walter Kaiser has a great commentary that holds this view, as does William Varner. Varner led me to this conclusion, and once I saw it, I can’t unsee it—I can now read Song of Solomon with clarity.

The Story of Song of Solomon

So what’s the story? It’s not really written in chronological order—a lot of songs aren’t. It starts in Solomon’s chambers, but the middle of chapter 6 describes when he brought her there. It’s clear but still poetry, and it tells the story of a Shulamite woman betrothed to her beloved, her true love. They’re ready to be married when King Solomon kidnaps her and brings her to his chambers with his harem of women. He’s transfixed by her beauty and uses every trick to woo her. Both the harem and Solomon try to convince her to leave her beloved for Solomon, but her heart is knit by God to her beloved’s, so she isn’t drawn in. She ultimately escapes and is reunited with the shepherd. That’s the story.

Read chapter 8 verses 6 and 7 again, knowing this story: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, my beloved shepherd, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of Yah. Many waters cannot quench, neither can floods drown it. If a man—even Solomon the king—offered for all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”

Solomon’s greatest hit is the story of how the wisest king in Israel could not woo away a working woman from her true love.

Three Tenets of God-Ordained Marital Love

Tonight we’re going to look at the message of this book and see that God-ordained marital love cannot be broken or extinguished; it cannot be bought for all the riches of the world. To illuminate this, I want to focus on three tenets of God-ordained marital love from Solomon’s greatest song.

1. God-Ordained Marital Love Is Stronger Than Worldly Temptations

There are multiple verses where the harem and Solomon try to entice the Shulamite woman with status, but she doesn’t seem tempted. The daughters of Jerusalem say things like, “We will exalt and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you.” In verse 11, “We will make for you ornaments of gold studded with silver.” They say, “Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love.” Later, “What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you must adjure us?” They’re asking her what makes this beloved guy so great.

Then there’s Solomon. The narrative in chapter 6:10–12 is that one spring day, as she was visiting her family’s orchard, unexpectedly Solomon’s posse shows up. He observes her, is struck by her beauty, and decides to make her another member of his growing harem. He brings her to Jerusalem and hands her over to the care of the palace women, promising all sorts of gifts. Solomon and the harem try to woo her with status and wealth, and she isn’t enticed.

A thousand others were—700 wives, 300 concubines—but she wasn’t. The Shulamite and her beloved had a bond of God-ordained love, a bond that could not be broken by any temptation.

2. God-Ordained Marital Love Is Rooted in More Than Just Physical Desires

Let’s look at two approaches—Solomon’s, and then the relationship between the Shulamite and her beloved.

There are three major stanzas of Solomon proclaiming his love to the Shulamite. We don’t have time to read every word, and some are explicit, but let’s look at chapter 4, verses 1–15. He says, “Behold, you are beautiful, my love.” He goes on for 15 verses describing her physical beauty—her eyes, hair, teeth, lips, mouth, cheeks, neck, breasts. “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride, with one glance of your eyes.” He was transfixed by her beauty, and she didn’t seem to care. Her response wasn’t that of a smitten woman, but one tormented by the situation—he had kidnapped her, taken her to his chambers, and is now wooing her by describing her beauty.

She says in chapter 5:2, “I slept, but my heart was awake.” All she could do was long for her beloved.

Yet Solomon didn’t give up. In chapter 6, starting in verse 4: “You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners,” then he describes her hair, teeth, cheeks. “There are 60 queens and 80 concubines and virgins without number. My dove, my perfect one, is the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her.” Nothing entices a woman like saying, “Of the 140 women I have, you’re my favorite.” Somehow, it worked a thousand times for him—but not this time.

In chapter 7, his last effort, he doesn’t change his approach—he doubles down. “How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O noble daughter! Your rounded thighs… your navel… your belly… your breasts… your neck… your eyes… your nose… your head. How beautiful and pleasant you are, a loved one with all your delights.” Everything is driven by physical desire. No wonder the woman says to the harem three times, “Do not try to counterfeit love beyond its moral means.” This is clearly a king trying to entice a woman with riches, flattery, and prominence, and all she cares about is the love of a lowly shepherd.

Quick diversion—this is Solomon’s greatest song: the story of a woman who cannot be wooed by the king who saw her as a sex object. Most people believe Proverbs 31 was teaching from Bathsheba to Solomon. Single guys: The Song of Solomon is not a guideline for what a woman must be, but tradition says Solomon had that guideline and didn’t seem to hear it.

You don’t need a woman with hair like a flock of goats, cheeks like pomegranates, or a nose like the Tower of Lebanon. You should be enticed by the things found in Proverbs 31. “An excellent wife who can find? For her worth is far above pearls.” She is trustworthy, hard-working, giving, your cheerleader, strong, full of joy, your greatest counselor, loving, frugal, a good mother. It closes with, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears Yahweh shall be praised.”

The irony is, I think the Shulamite was a Proverbs 31 woman—trustworthy, hard-working, strong, loving. In Solomon’s attempts to woo her, he didn’t care about these things. The king was enticed by her beauty and only her beauty; his false love was rooted in physical desires. God-ordained love is not that.

Let’s look at the Shulamite and the shepherd’s example. In chapter 1 verses 5 and 6, the Shulamite describes herself: “I am very dark but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. 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.” She was forced to work in the fields and became tanned (not considered attractive), and didn’t focus on her looks, but she met her beloved there.

In verse 16, “Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful. Our couch is green; the beams of our house are cedar; our rafters are pine.” I believe she’s sitting in Solomon’s chambers, looking at his house and longing for her time in the pasture with her beloved—the green couch of their time together.

Write down chapter 2:10–15 in your notes—an extensive section where the Shulamite quotes her beloved and references their time together in the fields, their relationship centered around verbal exchanges in the vineyards.

In chapter 5:9, the Shulamite describes her beloved to the daughters of Jerusalem: “What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you must adjure us?” The harem asks what makes him so great, and she answers: “My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a pool. His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rods of gold set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved, this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”

She adores this man—every aspect of his physical body is treasured, but she closes with, “This is my beloved, this is my friend.” The intimacy they experienced tending the vineyard blossomed into friendship—something Solomon does not offer, something more valuable than all physical beauty. She called him “my beloved” 25 times, but here, in her closing argument, she says to Solomon’s harem, “This is my friend.” Their disposition changes: in chapter 6:1, they respond, “Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?” Even they knew something unique existed in God-ordained love with the shepherd.

3. God-Ordained Marital Love Is Sealed by God

Go back to chapter 8:6–7. “Set me as a seal upon your heart, my shepherd love, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of Yah. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man—even Solomon the king—offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”

The Shulamite woman and the shepherd’s love was tested like few others. Solomon was a catch: wise, king, wealthy—more than a young lady working her family’s vineyard could imagine. Yet Yahweh sealed her love to another. True marital love is as strong as death.

Let’s list five ways marital love is sealed by God from these verses:

1. God intertwines identities. “Set me as a seal upon your heart.” In that culture, a seal was a small cylinder or ring worn around the neck for personal identification—like a signature. She wanted her identity sealed and aligned with his; they were one identity.
2. God creates an unbreakable bond. “For love is as strong as death.” It has a strong intensity; marital love wants to protect, guard, preserve, and give oneself to the other. It has a jealousy as tenacious as the grave.
3. God provides an unquenchable desire. “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.” No amount of water or floods can wash away genuine love that God has placed in a marriage. This kind of love perseveres despite all waves of adversity, suffering, or trials.
4. God establishes its value. “If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.” No amount of money or gifts can purchase or divert this love. Solomon, with all his riches, tried to attract the Shulamite’s favor, but lost her to a lowly shepherd. Love won’t tolerate the substitution of wealth as an alternative for giving oneself to another.
5. God makes marital love irresistible. “Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of Yahweh.” This is the only place in the book where God’s name appears. This love is a flame from Yahweh—if the flame is lit by God, there is little chance of it being extinguished unless it is not tended and guarded.

One last time: God-ordained marital love cannot be broken or extinguished; it cannot be bought for all the riches of the world. That’s what Song of Solomon is all about.

Closing Prayer

Lord God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for making it clear. Thank you for putting a book we may overlook in here and yet putting such truth in it. Help us not to skim or skip any part of your Word. You have created love uniquely for us so that we can interact with each other in a way that gives us a glimpse of who you are and what your love is for us. Thank you for that. Help us to love you more as we have read this book. In your name, amen.