Bible: 5 Poetic Books

Lesson 7: The Book of Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)

So what does this teach about marriage?

At first glance, this story seems to be a simple love story, a romance, an expression of love between the Beloved and the Lover. Upon digging a bit deeper, we can see that many lessons about marriage are hiding here and there:

1. Don't take love for granted. Rejoice in it!

Song of Solomon 1 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth- for your love is more delightful than wine.

2. Show how much you appreciate the one you love.

Song of Solomon 2

Beloved 1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.

Lover 2 Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.

[Here, the Beloved says she is just like any old ordinary flower you can find in a field. Her lover says that's not true. She is like a beautiful blossom among thorns, a beautiful woman that stands out from the rest. Remember to show how much you STILL care...]

3. Don't be in a hurry.

Song of Solomon 2 7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

[Often, children today are in a hurry to be "grown up". They slap on makeup, dress provocatively, and even enter sexual relationships before marriage. Rushing into love and sex with someone you are not committed to through marriage has consequences: disease, pregnancy, a reputation you don't want, AIDS, . . .

In this passage, the warning is not to hurry love. Be a kid while you're a kid; develop your relationships slowly and deeply. Then, when you're ready to commit, you'll know this is the person you want to share everything with!

4. Small problems can lead to big ones. Deal with troubles while they are still "little foxes".

Song of Solomon 2 15 Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

5. Virginity for singles is something to be valued.

Song of Solomon 4 12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

[Sex means so much more when it is with the one you are committed to through marriage. No commitment? Sex merely makes you a "conquest" of the person you have sex with--then, it's off to the next one. It cheapens you, because the relationship is not THE relationship.]

6. We should "refresh" our spouse, not nag or complain.

Song of Solomon 4 15 You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water

7. Be friends with your spouse.

Song of Solomon 5 16 His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend

[This encapsulates the relationship. Marriage is not sex without connection. That's lust. Marriage is not merely being friends. That's friendship. Marriage is a connection with your one mate as a friend and lover.]

8. Sex isn't a "guy thing".

Look how the Beloved, the woman, initiates lovemaking in the following passage:

Song of Solomon 7 10 I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me. 11 Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages. [1] 12 Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom- there I will give you my love. 13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover.

[and finally, we come to #9, perhaps the most hard-hitting lesson of all about marriage,]

9. True love is priceless. It cannot be bought. It can only be freely given, freely received. Once there, in a committed relationship, nothing is powerful enough to destroy it!

Song of Solomon 8 6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

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