How long has it been since you read the Old Testament Book, Song of Solomon?  There are answers there that we desperately need today.  Do you know how many of our youth today are born out of wedlock?  It is a sure sign that we are in the last days.  Eighty percent of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes – 14 times the average.  Of all homeless and runaway children, ninety percent are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average.  Children living in female-headed homes with no spouse have a poverty rate of fifty percent.  Seventy percent of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes – 10 times the average.  The lack of a father's involvement impacts infant mortality.  Adolescent women from fatherless homes who are seeking psychological services are three and a half times more likely to get pregnant out of wedlock.  Sixty-three percent of youth suicides are from fatherless homes – 5 times the average.  Eighty-five percent of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average.  These are disturbing and sickening statistics.

For the solution to these problems – read the Song of Solomon and draw the spiritual lessons of this inspired Book of the Old Testament.  God is the author of the Song of Solomon.  The Song of Solomon is about the intimate happiness and joy within the marriage relationship.

Genesis 2:18  The Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

When viewed on the spiritual level, the Song of Solomon presents the intimate personal relationship that Jesus has with His future Bride, and the inviolate covenant bond that only the Wife, the Church brethren, enjoy with Him.  The integrity of the love between the beautiful young Shulamite woman and the young beloved shepherd is demonstrative of the love between the Church brethren and Jesus Christ.

The Song of Solomon is the poetic dialogue of an opera-like drama composed of three main players.  The main story concerns the stunning courtship of a beautiful Shulamite girl and a young beloved shepherd.  Their beautiful courtship is interrupted by Solomon who has abducted the beautiful Shulamite and desires to add the young lady to his bevy of beauties.  She successfully resists Solomon’s every indecent proposition and untoward advance toward her.

The language of the Bible is poetic and pointed at the same time.  It doesn’t say, “Don’t sleep around to have fun.”  It says it more poignantly this way:

Proverbs 9:17  Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

To violate this rule is to permanently scar the being – robbing one of God’s gift of a pure and innocent heart – with peace of mind and emotional maturity.  The young people in this drama were raised with Godly principles and virtues – to which they adhered with faithfulness.  

God built into mankind a natural proclivity to come together and be one flesh.  It is a type of the oneness of Jesus Christ and His Church (John 17:21).  In the Song of Solomon, when the young lady and the young man speak about the pleasures of married life, they are not speaking from experience as many in this hardened world would believe.  They are speaking in anticipation of the pleasures of man and wife as God intended from the beginning.  God used virtuous young people as role models who represent the Church.  It is the virtuous Church that will be the Bride of Jesus Christ.

As you read the Song of Solomon, read it in context.  The King James Version does not note changes in speakers, which makes it a little difficult to follow.  It is a short book, and a little studying will reveal who is speaking in the different sections.  Just like in an opera, at different moments, different characters will be center stage – reciting their various dialogues.  Sometimes it is the beautiful young Shulamite woman, sometimes it is the young beloved shepherd, and sometimes it is Solomon.  Perhaps when the prose and lyrical poetry were being sung, the shepherd’s part was that of a ‘tenor,’ and the Shulamite girl’s part was that of a ‘soprano,’ and the other characters were represented by a chorus.

The young woman bares her emotions in the play much more than the young shepherd.  She articulates her emotions, yearnings, anxieties, fears, hopes and delightful expectations in colorful similes and metaphors – flowers, fragrant perfumes, fruit, animals, exotic spices, gold and ivory in expressive ways.   In doing so, she presents a picture of how the Church brethren are to view Christ in His spiritual characteristics and gifts.

The unspoken theme throughout the story is, who will the Shulamite choose?   Will it be King Solomon who offers her everything by way of untold riches, jewels, and servants – as a member of his multitudinous harem?  Or, will she refuse the pleasures of sin for a season, choosing instead the unique and profound everlasting love of the young shepherd?  The answer is that Solomon pursued and tried hard to gain the love of this fair maiden – but was unsuccessful in wooing her.

In today’s sermon we will explore this inspired work of God to see some of life’s most vital lessons.

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Sermon:

"Song of Solomon"