Song of Solomon, I'd like to know your thoughts...
If you are familiar with the bible then you have at least heard of the book entitled "Song of Solomon". It tells the story of King Solomon and one of his brides; their courtship, wedding, honeymoon, first fight and more. It is a wonderful story and describes how our marriages should look if we are to follow God's intent.
Tommy Nelson started a lesson series on the Song of Solomon (SOS) a few years ago that is just great. In addition to the lesson series there are also conferences held around the US. One of the men preaching the SOS conferences is Mark Driscoll and he has a couple of video devotionals that promote the conferences. In one he says some things that have gotten some people up in arms and other people are happy to see him saying what he is saying.
I'll keep how I feel about this quiet for the time being, but I am curious to know what other people think.
Check it out here.
Was the Song of Solomon written only about Solomon and his bride to show us how our marriages should look, or is it as some have said an example of the relationship that we are to have with Christ? Was it even written about Solomon?
Matthew Henry is direct in his opinion that the book is "a Divine allegory, which represents the love between Christ and his church of true believers".
Richard T. Ritenbaugh seems to agree with Henry, "(sic) Jewish rabbis allegorize God and Israel from its poetry, and Christians see Christ and His Bride, the church."
Ray Stedman finds that both interpretations are correct.
Spurgeon found that it was about Christ and his bride, "It is not all the saints who can enter here, for they
have not yet attained unto the holy confidence of faith, and that
exceeding familiarity of love which will permit them to commune in
conjugal love with the great Bridegroom."
Why two such separate views of the same book? Can both be correct? Is it perhaps a rendering of the times in which the opinions were written? Do Henry and Spurgeon believe it has to be allegorical because the time in which they lived was ultraconservative about sex and therefore there had to be another answer for this? Or has the prevelance of sex in today's culture twisted Driscoll's view to one that this can only be a story of love between Solomon and his bride?
Some things that I find as I spend time studying my bible, I will NEVER know everything, I will NEVER know as much as I'd like and every time I find an answer I also find at least one more question. But God is faithful to us and He actually wants us to seek Him, ask Him questions and learn more about Him.
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Please let me know what you think, I'd really like to know.