Devotionals

THE SONG OF SOLOMON Title: ABUNDANT JOY

by Henry Jaegers
03/07/22
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THE SONG OF SOLOMON

Title: ABUNDANT JOY

An Expression of Perfect Intimacy

By Henry Jaegers

This book is called “the Song of Song’s” and rightly so. Of all the writings of Solomon which are poetic in form, this one stands out as the greatest for the following reason. It is a song that describes what we may call "a picture of perfect intimacy"! It describes a love relationship between a husband and wife but it is a relationship that far exceeds any others that Solomon may have had. You see, Solomon had one- thousand wives, yet there is only one that stands out as special and it is the one recorded in this particular song of Solomon.

Most of the song centers on the woman and her feelings toward her husband. These are expressions of honesty, purity, unfilled filled expectations, and passionate expressions of love. We might wonder how such expressions could enter into the holy Scriptures. But as we meditate on the content of these verses, it becomes more apparent why they are part of the word of God. Although God is not mentioned in the book at all, such joy and happiness can only be found when God is in control of all these intimacies.

We have a short biography of the woman's early beginnings, and although this whole song seems to be a biography of her life. While living at home in her mother's house, it appears that she was the youngest among other sisters and their anger with her forced her to be a servant to them by tending their vineyards; but she adds, “although she tended their vineyards, yet she had none of her own”. She learned how to serve others without any expectations offered to her. That is a sign of true character. She learned how to live her life selflessly and this is portrayed throughout her marriage to King Solomon.

She refers to herself as being black, but comely. And she exhibits a sense of gratitude for the privilege afforded her to be the wife of the greatest king on earth. Though she was the wife of the king, she never grasped that privilege as being greater than others. Her love for him was unselfish and she saw him not only as of the king but the King of Kings and Lord of lords in her estimation. In her honesty, she expresses periods of loneliness and the desire to have him with her at all times, but she recognized his having other responsibilities and it was not always possible for him to be there with her. So, to solve her problems of loneliness, instead of waiting for his arrival, she made the effort to solve her problems by being where he was.

As has been mentioned, Solomon plays a lesser role in this narrative but he is seen as passionate in his love for her as hers was for him. Throughout the story, many metaphors are used to illustrate the beauty of this relationship. There is the mention of grapes, doves, deer, different types of spices, and foods used to describe the beauty of this “love relationship”. It is truly a picture of a perfect marriage, but you may ask, is such perfection possible? The daughters of Jerusalem, mentioned a few times in this narrative, do not seem to understand. It appears that these daughters of Jerusalem were the other wives of Solomon who never shared the intimacies that he had with this Shunamite woman. His love relationship escaped them and so they thought such a thing was not possible.

There is much to be said about this woman. Perhaps, King Lemuel, the writer of Proverbs 31, may have known about her when he wrote about the virtuous woman. Also, I cannot help but wonder if Paul the apostle did not have this beautiful relationship in mind when he spoke to the husband and wife about their relationship with each other. He tells the husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church and to the woman, he admonished respect and admiration for her husband who provided for her and offered her the security and protection she needed. Some had ventured into this narrative to describe it as the relationship between Christ and his church. All of these analogies are possible but the story before us stands out as a foundation for what we can expect perfect marriage to be.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In verse1, why do you think Solomon describes this book in this manner?

2 in verse 2, how does she describe her single-minded devotion to her husband?

3. In verses 5 and 6, describe some of the characteristics that she learned in her early life.

 4. In 2:4, describe what the banner was and what it means.

5. In chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, describe the excitement exhibited by the bridegroom as he was finishing his day's work.

6. In 2:15, what is the message to her concerning the "little foxes that spoil the vine"? What is she to do about this?

7. In chapters 3:1-5, describe the problem she faced and how she solved it.

8 In chapter 5, verse 9, discuss the question that these daughters of Jerusalem asked. Do you sense some jealousy on their part?