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The Song Of Solomon
Does the Song of Solomon Point to Jesus?
I’ve been reading the
Song of Solomon devotionally, and I can’t help but think it’s meant to picture
Jesus and the Church.
The
woman’s delight in her husband (Song of Solomon 1:16-17) makes me think of Peter’s statement
that loving Jesus causes believers to “rejoice
with joy that is inexpressible” (1 Peter 1:8).
The man’s exclusive
covenantal love for his wife (Song of Solomon 6:8-9) makes me think of Jesus’ high priestly
prayer asking His heavenly Father to pour out special blessings exclusively on
His people (John
17:1-26).
And the celebration
of the bride’s purity (Song
of Solomon 8:8-13) reminds
me of Christ’s deep desire for His Church to be holy (Ephesians 5:26-27).
My interpretation
wouldn’t surprise most Christians throughout church history because a great
many of them have interpreted this book as an allegory picturing Christ and the
Church.
In
fact, many King James Bibles include section headings like these for chapter 4:
“Christ setteth forth the graces of the
church” and “The church prayeth to be
made fit for his presence.”
Some contemporary
interpreters, on the other hand, would view my interpretation with less
enthusiasm.
Flipping through two
popular (and helpful) books on Song of Solomon, I see hardly any reference to
its being an illustration of the relationship between Jesus and His people.
Indeed, the pendulum
has swung.
Today many regard
Song of Solomon as a poem extolling marital intimacy and not principally, or
even at all, a picture of Christ and the Church.
In many ways, I’m
thankful for the pendulum swing, for Christians should, indeed, celebrate the
affective and sensuous aspects of love between a husband and wife.
And interpreters who
obscure or deny these realities because of their discomfort with the book’s
intimate language are in error.
However, in some
cases, I’d suggest that the pendulum has swung too far. It seems to me that
interpreting this book isn’t an either/or proposition; it’s a both/and.
Here’s why.
The New Testament
teaches that God designed marriage so that it inherently pictures Christ and
the Church.
After
what is perhaps Paul’s most famous description of the husband-wife
relationship, he adds, “This mystery is
profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32).
When
Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus following His
resurrection, “beginning with Moses and
the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning himself” (Luke
24:27).
We don’t know exactly
what passages Jesus referenced in that conversation, but Luke’s basic meaning
is that He explained how the entire Old Testament foreshadowed His life and
ministry.
It’s difficult to
imagine Jesus’ explaining how He was
-
the prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15),
-
the eternal king in David’s line (2 Samuel 7:12-13), and
-
the inaugurator of Jeremiah’s promised new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
but then steering
clear of Song of Solomon, because it was “purely
about sex.”
Of course, we
shouldn’t force every Old Testament passage into an allegory, insisting that
Rahab’s scarlet cord symbolizes the blood of Christ and Moses’ staff pictures
the cross.
But Song of Solomon
is different. It’s a poem whose principal subject was designed by God to
symbolize Christ and the Church.
So shouldn’t our
interpretation of this book include the idea that it illustrates Jesus’ great
love for His people?
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