Sermon Tone Analysis

*SONG OF SOLOMON 5:1-8  *

The “Song of Songs” [1:1] is a collection of moving love poems of a love between a man who is both “/King/” [3:11] and “/shepherd/” [1:7], and a woman who is a “Shulamite” [6:13].

There is a /courtship/ [1:2-3:5], followed by a /bridal procession/ [3:6-11], the /wedding/ [4:1-5:1], and then the /life of love/ [5:2-8:7].

The garden imagery leads the theological imagination back to the Garden of Eden.

§         The book may also be seen in the light of the pervasive biblical metaphor that likens the divine-human relationship to the intimate union of a man and a woman (see Ezekiel 16, Hosea 1-3, Ephesians 5, and Revelation).

The intimacy of the marriage relationship highlights both the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people as well as the exclusivity of the relationship.

§         In terms of the unfolding revelation of God’s covenantal redemption, the prominent symbol of the Song is not the marriage /per se,/ but the /bridegroom./

That marriage is a metaphor of God’s unique relationship to his church is clear enough from Scripture.

But that is not enough for establishing a legitimate typology here.

What /is/ enough is the fact that /Solomon,/ of all individuals, and of all kings, is the bridegroom figure of this superlative Song.

§         Yet none of this can detract from the potent symbolism of Solomon’s role and position within OT biblical theology.

That role is defined in the Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7, where David’s son was promised as the heir, beneficiary and mediator of blessing for God’s covenant people.

God promised to raise up David’s offspring to succeed him, “who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom” (2 Sam 7:12 ).

§         Solomon himself, rather than the marriage theme, is the key to the interpretation of the Song.

He is the promised son of David and heir of the covenant.

As such, he is a type of David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus, whose marriage to the church is fundamental NT doctrine as it is fundamental NT metaphor.

A typological interpretation of the Song of Solomon is grounded not in the use of the marriage metaphor by the biblical writers, but in the place which Solomon occupies within the unfolding biblical revelation.

§         For the reality is not that the Shulammite, by nature a stranger to the covenant community, is on a par with Jewish girls for the affections of the king, but that, in spite of her natural alienation from the covenant and the covenant people, yet by virtue of her marriage to Solomon she becomes integrated into that very communion.

Her marriage with the son of David results in her becoming an heiress of God, and a joint-heir with Solomon of the blessings of the covenant, a full member of the covenant community, as if she had never been anything else.

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*THE MARRIAGE UNION *

!! 1.

The Love of the Covenant

The purpose of the book, and that which summarises the story of the book, is encapsulated in the conclusion: “/love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave/…” [8:6-7].

§         ^Wbhea – “/love/”.

Original meaning of the word reflected as love between husband and wife [Hos.11:8-9].

It works irresistibly as a force in the nature of God.

*a.        **Ignited by God*

It is God that ignites love in the heart: “/the coals thereof are coals of fire/…” [8:6].

*                                                                                                   i.

**Powerful *

Powerful: “/the coals thereof have a most vehement flame/” [8:6].

§         It is a life long commitment: “/love is strong as death/” [8:6].

§         External forces cannot quench love: “/many waters cannot/…” [8:7].

§         Its value cannot be measured, otherwise it is not love: “/if a man would give all the substance of his house…despised/” [8:7].

*b.        **Marks ownership*

Love operates at the high level of possession and ownership: “/set me as a seal upon your heart/…” [8:6a].

§         “Seal” – refers to an engraved stone used for authenticating a document or other possession.

This could be suspended by a cord around the neck (over the heart) [Gen.38:18].

It can also refer to a seal ring worn on the hand: “his hands are as gold rings” [5:14].

§         The “seal” was something highly precious to the owner and could be used symbolically for a person whom one valued.

The Lord said to Zerubbabel: “/I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you/” [Hag.2:23].

§         Possession of another's seal indicated mutual access and possession.

*c.        **Possessive*

Love is possessive: “/jealousy is cruel as the grave/” [8:6].

There is a sense in which one can be legitimately jealous for what rightfully belongs to him:

§         Used of God in his jealousy for what is rightfully his: “/The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies/” [Is.42:13].

§         Used with respect to a marriage relationship with reference to the husband in the context of adultery: “/jealousy enrages a man/” [Pr.6:34].

It includes the emotions and deep bond of commitment between two individuals.

*Summary.

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*THE MARRIAGE UNION  *

*1.        **The Words of the Shulamite  *

*a.        **The Desire for Shared Love *

*i.        **The Stirring Up *

The call to initiate the process: “/Awake, O north wind/…” [4:16],

§         ע֤וּרִי - “/awake/” [4:16], qal imperative, ‘alert, rouse’; ‘to be in an alert state ready to do an action, as an extension of being in a physically awake state’;

§         צָפוֹן - “/north/ /wind/” [4:16], ‘the north’; ‘a wind which blows from the north’;

§         ב֣וֹאִי - “/come/” [4:16], ‘to come, go’; ‘to arrive, ‘to enter in’;

§         תֵימָ֔ן - “/south/” [4:16], ‘south, southward’; ‘a wind that blows from the south’;

*ii.

**The Action *

The winds are to blow upon her garden: “/blow upon my garden/…” [4:16].

§         הָפִ֥יחִי - “/blow/” [4:16], hiphil imperative, qal ‘to blow, be breezy’; hiphil ‘to exhale’;

§         גַנִּ֖י - “/my/ /garden/” [4:16], feminine, ‘a cultivated place of domestic plants and produce trees, having definite parameters, possibly enclosed with separating wall’;

*iii.

**The Purpose *

The purpose is that the spices of her heretofore private garden would become public, at least to the man: “/that the spices thereof/…” [4:16].

§         בְשָׂמָ֑יו - “/spices thereof/” [4:16], with 3rd masculine singular suffix, ‘balsam tree’; ‘aromatic tree’;

§         יִזְּל֣וּ - “/flow/ /out/” [4:16], qal imperfect, ‘to flow down’; to waft down and around’;

She calls on the winds to make her fragrance drift to her beloved, thus drawing him to herself.

Maintaining the metaphor of the garden, she invites him to come and enjoy her love.

This is the consummation of their marriage.

*b.        **The Invitation *

The woman’s invitation: “/Let my beloved come/…” [4:16].

§         דוֹדִי - “/my beloved/” [4:16], ‘one who is beloved and of romantic kindred spirit’;

§         יָבֹ֤א - “/come/” [4:16], qal imperfect, cohortative in meaning, ‘to come, go’; ‘to arrive at’;

§         לְגַנּ֔וֹ - “/to/ /his/ /garden/” [4:16], ‘a cultivated place of domestic plants and produce trees, having definite parameters, possibly enclosed with separating wall’;

§         יֹאכַ֖ל - “/eat/” [4:16], qal imperfect, ‘to consume food’; ‘to devour’;

§         פְּרִ֥י - “/his/ /pleasant/ /fruits/” [4:16], ‘fruit, harvest’;

§         מְגָדָֽיו – “/pleasant/” [4:16], ‘choice things’; ‘best gifts’;

*Application*

 

*2.

**The Words of the King to the Bride *

The words used in 5:1/a /are Solomon’s morning salutation to her who has now wholly become his own.

*a.        **The Entrance to the Garden *

The entrance to the Shulamite’s chamber: “/I am come into my garden/…” [5:1].

§         בָּ֣אתִי - “/come into/” [5:1], qal perfect, ‘to come, go’; ‘to arrive at’;

§         לְגַנִּי֮ - “/my/ /garden/” [5:1], ‘a cultivated place of domestic plants and produce trees, having definite parameters, possibly enclosed with separating wall’;

§         The poetic expression בָּ֣אתִי לְגַנִּי֮ points to the entrance of a man into the woman’s (bride’s) chamber.

§         The “/garden/” is the Shulamite: “/a garden enclosed is my sister/…” [4:12].

§         אֲחֹתִ֣י - “/my/ /sister/” [5:1], ‘a female sibling with the same father and mother’; ‘a family relative in the same clan~/family’;

§         כַלָּה֒ - “/my/ /spouse/” [5:1], ‘bride’; ‘a woman in the very initial stage of marriage to a man, or possibly just prior to marriage’;

*b.        **The Shared Love *

The King now triumphs in the final enjoyment of life with the Shulamite.

*i.        **The Gathering *

The shared love is spoken of in a way which describes the enjoyment of the union: “/I have gathered my myrrh with my spice/…” [5:1].

§         אָרִ֤יתִי - “/gathered/” [5:1], qal perfect, ‘to pluck produce from plants’;

§         מוֹרִי - “/my/ /myrrh/” [5:1], ‘a yellowish to reddish brown resinous gum or oil related to Balsam tree or other oily bark trees, fragrant and slightly bitter, used as perfume and incense’;

§         בְּשָׂמִ֔י - “/my/ /spice/” [5:1], ‘balsam tree’; an aromatic tree’;

*ii.

**The Participation *

The interchangeable figurative description of the enjoyment of love: “/I have eaten my honeycomb with/…” [5:1].

§         אָכַ֤לְתִּי - “/eaten/” [5:1], qal perfect, ‘to consume food’;