The Song of Solomon is a book in the Bible mostly avoided and rarely taught in many Christian circles. The deep poetry’s meaning is lost in literal translations and perceptions. The intense affection exhibited between the two main characters in the book is mistakenly reduced by many to be just another erotic story. While the nature of the language cannot be ignored, its worth noting that erotism in this book is figurative to bring out the kind of love, deep affection, and oneness intended.
The book is both poetic and prophetic with cryptic ministries of both the Holy Spirit and the Word. In a poetic nature, the prelude; the first four verses, serves as an epilogue representing the marriage supper of the Lamb, and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Song of Solomon 1:1-4 NKJV
The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Banquet
The Shulamite
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
For your love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4 Draw me away!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will run after you.
The Shulamite
The king has brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in you.
We will remember your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
Rightly do they love you.
Revelation 22:17 NKJV
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
The epilogue is a banquet reserved for the King; Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit; Shulamite, and the church/ believers; daughters of Jerusalem.
The succeeding verses are a poetic presentation of why God is love, and how oneness in the Holy Trinity is attained through love. Love is extended from the Holy Trinity to humankind who can rejoice and be partakers of the divine love. The Holy Spirit can only testify of the Word while the Word of God can only come in the Spirit of God. It is in their unity in the divine love that the wholeness, fullness, and oneness of God in the Holy Trinity is demonstrated.
The Song of Solomon 2:4 NKJV
He brought me to the banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
The individual perfect descriptions and accolades in which the two major characters; the Shulamite and her beloved accord each other is admirable and unmistakable. However, it should not be lost that much also is communicated in regard to their respective ministries and interactions with the believers, which is the main focus of the book.
The Song of Solomon 1:7-8 NKJV
(To Her Beloved)
7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?
The Beloved
8 If you do not know, O fairest among women,
Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
With Jesus Christ as the shepherd, a believer’s life and fruitfulness is shaped by the extent of his surrender to the Holy Spirit. “…Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats..” It is upon surrender that the Holy Spirit’s ministry in a believer’s life is manifested. Chapter one verse six- “…they made me the keeper of the vineyards..” The Holy Spirit nurtures the believer to maturity.
The Song of Solomon 2:15 NKJV
“Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.”
Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to enable and enhance the discernment of deceitful spirits that seek to lead the believers astray. These together with deceitful acts of the flesh are the ones regarded as the “little foxes that spoil the vine”.
Acts 13:9-10 NKJV
“Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?”
In the Song of Solomon chapter three, we see a brief separation and then a reunion between the two protagonists.
The Song of Solomon 3:1-4 NKJV
“A Troubled Night
The Shulamite
3 By night on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 “I will rise now,” I said,
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 The watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the house of my mother,
And into the chamber of her who conceived me.”
This is the first separation in the book. Having in mind that the main characters are the Holy Spirit and the Word, when did this happen? The Word came into the world being personified in Jesus Christ. The reunion happens when he was baptized by John the Baptist.
Luke 3:21-22 NKJV
“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
The Song of Solomon 2:14 NKJV
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
This encounter/reunion with the Holy Spirit commissioned Jesus’s ministry on earth.
Luke 4:14-19 NKJV
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
The second separation which is more difficult to bear than the first one happens in the Song of Solomon chapter five. It is depicted as painful and although there was a strong individual wish that it doesn’t happen, commitment was to an overall sovereign will that had to prevail. This was the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.
“The Shulamite
2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I defile them?
4 My beloved put his hand
By the latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My heart leaped up when he spoke.
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.”
Luke 22:41-42 NKJV
“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; neverthelessnot My will, but Yours, be done.”
Luke 23:44-46 NKJV
“Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father,‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last”.
The Song of Solomon 6:5 NKJV
The Beloved.
“Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have overcome me.”
In this story whose epilogue is the marriage supper of the lamb, we’ve seen, the coming, baptism, and death of Jesus. The next event is the resurrection.
The Song of Solomon 8:5-7 NKJV
“A Relative
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awakened you under the apple tree.
There your mother brought you forth;
There she who bore you brought you forth.
The Shulamite to Her Beloved
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.”
Jesus overcame death. Having died for the love of mankind, not even death could separate and sustain the separation with the Holy Spirit with whom there’s the fullness of love. The next major event involving Jesus and the Holy Spirit in this poetic presentation is the Pentecost.
The Song of Solomon 4:16- 5:1 NKJV
The Shulamite
16 Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant fruits.
The Beloved
5 I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
(To His Friends)
Eat, O friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!
Acts 2:1-4 NKJV
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
At this point, many would wonder how Solomon besides being the author fits in the story.
The Song of Solomon 3:11 NKJV
Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.
This is the moment King Solomon had an encounter with God for the first time and great wisdom, and understanding among other gifts were imparted to him in a dream.
1 Kings 3:11-13 NKJV
Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13 And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.
It is worth noting that before the encounter, Solomon married the Pharaoh’s daughter. Although he loved the LORD before the encounter, he still sacrificed and burnt incense at the high places, a pagan culture contrary to his father David.
1 Kings 3:3 NKJV
And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.
It is after offering a thousand burnt offerings at the high place in Gibeon that the grace of God was extended to him in a dream despite his pagan practices.
1 Kings 3:4-5 NKJV
Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
The Song of Solomon 8:11-12 NKJV
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;
He leased the vineyard to keepers;
Everyone was to bring for its fruit
A thousand silver coins.
(To Solomon)
12 My own vineyard is before me.
You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
And those who tend its fruit two hundred.
The encounter Solomon had with God was purely an act of Grace from God. Despite the pagan practice of burnt offerings and incense at high places, God still extended his grace to Solomon. His response to the extended grace impressed God and earned him all the imparted gifts. The Grace of God is available to us not because of who we are, but because of who he is: love. The saving grace of God is available for everyone awaiting an individual’s embrace..
Conclusion
The Song of Solomon is a prophetic book covering all the fundamentals of the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the epilogue of his Second coming & the marriage supper of the lamb, it goes on to poetically detail the first coming, death and resurrection, the day of Pentecost and Salvation by Grace through Faith. All this is done within the context of love who God is. The fullness of God is in the Holy Trinity; the highest form of love. By abiding by the Word and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit, we become vessels of Love; Vessels of God. With his fullness dwelling in us, we are carriers of his glory to the world.
John 6:53-58 NKJV
“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unlessyou eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.55 For My flesh isfood indeed, and My blood isdrink indeed.56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My bloodabides in Me, and I in him.57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—notas your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
Amen.