1. RIGHTEOUS ROMANCE
From the “Song of Songs”
“Everything you always wanted to know
about romance and marriage, but were
afraid to ask!”
MAY 18, 2014
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA
2. WARNING!!!!
THIS LESSON IS RATED:
PG (Parental Guidance) 50 and above
Anyone under 50 needs written permission from
your parents!
Bring your sense of humor today! Let’s have fun!
3. Song of Songs
• Hebrew word – ‘the best song’
• The ‘best of the best’
• Also called “Song of Solomon”
• Latin term is “Canticles” or liturgical song
4. Date & Authorship
• Solomon – “the early years”
– 10th Century BC
• A prolific writer –
– 600 Proverbs (Spoke over 3,000 Proverbs)
– Psalms 72 & Psalms 127
– 1,005 Songs (1 Kings 4:32)
1 Kings 4:29
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight,
and a breadth of understanding as measureless as
the sand on the seashore.
5. Literary Style
• Resembles Egyptian Poetry
• Solomon was married to Pharaoh's daughter
• Alliances with Egypt
• Uses highly sensuous and suggestive imagery
from nature
6. INTERPRETATION
1. Allegorical – Symbolic representation
2. Dramatic – A play or drama for actors
3. Wedding Song
4. Love Song – lyrical song about love (Ballad)
7. Allegorical Interpretation
1. Love between the Lord & Israel
- Always read at the beginning of Passover
2. Love between Christ and the Church
3. Love between Christ and the soul (individual)
9. Meaning & Message
1. Guide for love – physical and verbal
2. Marriage is exclusive and binding.
3. Love between man and woman is valid and
beautiful.
4. Sexuality is not a sacred ritual as practiced in
the pagan cultures.
- Fertility cults, religious & temple prostitutes
10. The Characters in ‘Song of Songs’
1. Bride – The Beloved (Shulammite girl)
2. Groom – Lover (King Solomon)
3. Friends – Chorus (Women)(Daughters of
Jerusalem)
11. Song of Songs 1:1 – 2:7
Love’s Anticipation
“Love at 1st Sight!”
Turn in Bibles to Chapter 1
Read and look at imagery
12. Song of Songs 1:1-4a
1 Solomon's Song of Songs.
She
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your
love is more delightful than wine.
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is
like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women
love you!
4a Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring
me into his chambers.
13. Song of Songs 1:4b
Friends
4b We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise
your love more than wine.
14. Song of Songs 1:4c-7
She
4c How right they are to adore you!
5 Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the
tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am
darkened by the sun. My mother's sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I
had to neglect.
7 Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and
where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a
veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?
15. Song of Songs 1:8
Friends
8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,
follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your
young goats by the tents of the shepherds.
16. Song of Songs 1:9-11
He
9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare among
Pharaoh's chariot horses.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your
neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make you earrings of gold, studded
with silver.
17. Song of Songs 1:12-14
She
12 While the king was at his table, my perfume
spread its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting
between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna
blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.
18. Song of Songs 1:15-16
He
15 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how
beautiful! Your eyes are doves.
She
16 How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how
charming! And our bed is verdant.
19. Song of Songs 1:17
He
17 The beams of our house are cedars; our
rafters are firs.
20. Song of Songs 2:1-2
She
1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
He
2 Like a lily among thorns is my darling among
the young women.
21. Song of Songs 2:3-7
She
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among
the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my
taste.
4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be
love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint
with love.
6 His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
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.
22. QUESTION???
If man and woman are so attracted to each
other as described in “Song of Songs”, how can
there ever be conflict between them?
23. WHY CONFLICT BETWEEN MEN AND
WOMEN?
World’s Answer:
• Women are crazy.
• Men are stupid.
• The main reason women are crazy is because
men are stupid!
24. WHY CONFLICT?
God made us different and differently
Genesis 2:7
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a
living being.
Genesis 2:20
20 But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused
the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took
one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the
Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man,
and he brought her to the man.
25. HUMOR
Why did God make man 1st?
God made man before woman so that man
would have time to think of an answer for
woman’s first question!
26. Differences between men and women?
• Physical – YES!!
• Communication
• Socially
• Thinking
• Problem solving
• Love – needs and expression
• Etc., etc., etc……………………………..
27. References
• Bruce Christopher Seminars: “The Differences
Between Men and Women”
• His Brain, Her Brain: How Divinely Designed
Differences Can Strengthen Your Marriage.
Authors: Walt and Barbara Larimore
(Zondervan, 2009)
28. Opportunity to discuss these
differences in “Song of Songs”
Let’s Begin with Communication
Average number of words used daily by:
Men = 7,000 words
Women = 20,000 words
29. Example in “Song of Songs”
Number of verses where man speaks = 40
Number of verses where woman speaks = 67
Remember: Song of Songs was written by a
man!
30. Differences in Communication:
Conversations
Men
• Focus on facts
• High ability to “zone out”
• Can actually not be thinking
about something
Women
• Focus on feelings behind
facts
• Low ability “zone out”
• Brain always in gear
31. Differences in Conversation
Men
• Wants bottom line before
details
• Speak directly and use
words literally
Women
• Must build story with
details to get to ending
(Hint: Give bottom line and
he will probably ask for
details)
• Tend to speak indirectly (the
problem may not really be
the problem)
32. The “Real” Definition of Words Used
by Women During Conflict
“Fine” – I am right. The argument is over. You
need to be quiet.
“Go Ahead” – This is a dare, not permission.
Don’t do it!
“Nothing” – The calm before the storm. This
means ‘something’ and you better be on your
toes. Note: Arguments that begin with ‘nothing’
usually end up with ‘fine’.
33. New Testament’s Description of
Differences
Ephesians 5:33
33 However, each one of you also must love his
wife as he loves himself, and the wife must
respect her husband. (NIV)
33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular
so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife
see that she respects her husband. (NKJV)
34. Next Sunday
Why does the Bible say for husbands to love
their wives and for the wives to respect their
husbands?
Song of Songs – Part 2
