Question of the Day

April 14, 2010

Question: Why is it exactly that we are supposed to base marriages off of the Song of Solomon?

From: Janie

Thanks for the question, Janie!

First off, I'll tell you that when leading a couple through their pre-marital preparations, the Song of Solomon is one of the last texts I lead them to encounter together. Before that point, we have discussions out of very direct teachings of the Old and New Testaments centering upon such things as the Biblical structure of marriage, the roles of husbands and wives, submission and cooperative living, etc.

However, when looking into the intimate courtship process, the Shir Ha-sharim (Song of Songs/Song of Solomon) is, in my opinion, the clearest, "no holds barred" approach to the intimate relationship between a man and a woman. There is no doubt about the moral mandates which Solomon trampled in his days as the King of Israel. In fact, many of the pluralistic maladies and practices of the Israelites in the following generations, find their roots in the influx of religions which accompanied Solomon's non-Israelite wives. The reality, however, is that Solomon, imbued with the greatest of human wisdom by God, reveals to us the most excellent of insights as He records the courtship, romance, and marriage of himself to the Shulamite bride.

There are, then, clear transports of principle to our relationship with God. However, to equate this book as purely allegorical to that divine relationship would be out of sync with the style of that marriage allegory held elsewhere in Scripture. In simple English, Solomon gets way more explicit than do prophecies relating God to His people in a marriage allegory.

So what can we learn from the Song of Solomon? Godly passion.

Godliness and intimacy are not separate concepts; indeed, God Himself created the beauties of human intimacy. Solomon explores those in this book and gives us a pathway toward lifting high the fulfillment of one another in marriage. I believe that this practice alone could save countless marriages today, and provide keys to future success for people not yet married.

All that being said, its also just absolutely beautiful literature! Enjoy the poetry, I wish you could read it in the Hebrew! Discover God's "gold standard" for intimacy! Accept and embrace nothing less!

Pastor John