Introduction: No place in the Bible gives us as beautiful a picture of the sweet relationship that should exist between Jesus and His people as does the Song of Solomon.
The girl, mentioned here, was a Shulamite girl that was very poor. She came from a shepherd's country. She was in love with her betrothed who was a shepherd in the hills. She was to get married to him, and they were very deeply in love with each other.
Solomon was king at this time and was out to add women to his harem. When he saw the Shulamite girl, he wanted to add her to his "collection." She was a very lovely girl, and Solomon was infatuated by her. He sought to bring her to his palace to love him. She refused all of his offers.
- He offered her money, but she was faithful to her shepherd boy in the hills.
- He offered her part of his throne, but she was faithful to the young man she loved so dearly.
- He offered her riches and things that would make any other girl die of envy, but all she wanted was her shepherd boy.
With that said, allow me to introduce the book as a whole. The scope of the book is determined by the structure of the book as a whole. The story gradually develops itself; and, from the key, which is found in the last chapter (8:5-14), the whole story may be pieced together.
1. The title. - Song of Solomon 1:1
"The song of songs, which is Solomon's."
- The title, which is not inspired but added as were the other names of books in the Bible, is taken from verse 1. This song of songs was a song written for and concerning King Solomon. Jeremiah 49:1 uses the same kind of structure, "Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons..." (see also Jeremiah 49:3, 7, 28, etc.)
- Solomon is not the author, even though he is often considered so.
- In verse 1, we find the phrase, "The song of songs..." which is the Hebrew expression, "Sheer Hasheereem," which means, "The Most Beautiful Song."
- In the Septuagint, it is called "Asma Asmaton," and in the Latin Vulgate "Canticum Canticorum," which all have the same meaning, "The Song of Songs." The name "Canticles" is from the Latin Vulgate.
- "Sheer Hasheereem" or "The song of songs" is a Hebrew mode of expressing the superlative degree by repeating the noun in the genitive plural, meaning "the finest, the most beautiful, or the most excellent song." The same figure (Enallage) is seen in other expressions in the Bible:* Holy of holies (Exodus 26:33).
* King of kings (Ezekiel 26:7).
* God of gods and Lord of lords (Deuteronomy 10:17).
* Hebrew of the Hebrews (Philippians 3:5).
* The Heaven of heavens (1 Kings 8:27).- Contrary to the most popular teaching, we must note that there are seven speakers who tell the story, not two, again indicating that Solomon is not necessarily the author:
* The Shulamite.
* The daughters of Jerusalem (Solomon's harem).
* King Solomon.
* The betrothed shepherd boy of the Shulamite.
* The brothers of the Shulamite.
* The companions of the shepherd.
* The inhabitants of Jerusalem.
2. The story. - Song of Solomon 8:8-14
- There was a family living at Shunem consisting of a widowed mother, several sons, and one daughter who cared for themselves by farming and raising livestock.
- The brothers loved their sister very much (as should every brother) and took her under their personal care promising that her purity and virtue should be greatly rewarded by them.
- In the course of time, while tending the flock, and, according to the custom of the shepherds, at noon, she sat down beneath a tree for shelter against the mid-day heat of the sun and met with the shepherd boy to whom she became espoused. This is seen in the following verses:* "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?" (Song of Solomon 1:7)
* "My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies." (Song of Solomon 2:16)
* "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies." (Song of Solomon 6:3)
3. An immediate application. - Song of Solomon 1:4
"Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee."
- The Shulamite has been taken captive by King Solomon for his harem of 1,000 women, "...hath brought me into his chambers..."
- In remembering her shepherd boy, she begs in her heart and with her voice for him to come and rescue her from the king.
- "Draw me, we will run after thee..." This phrase means, "Draw me after thee! Let us flee together! Let's run to anyone for help and refuge!"
- This is just like Satan the tempter. He is out to take captive those, who belong to the Lord.* He is the god of this world, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
* He is an angel of light, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)
* He is a murderer and a liar, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44)
* He is a deceiver, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world..." (Revelation 12:9)
* He is a destroyer, "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon [Destruction], but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon [Destroyer]." (Revelation 9:11)
* He is your adversary and a roaring lion, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)- Praise the Lord, the Shulamite did not go willingly! She wanted only her shepherd boy! She was there in the king's chambers against her will!
Conclusion: She begged to be rescued. This is not the cry of many Christians today. They cry, "Leave me alone! It's my life; I'll live it the way I want!" They say, "...besides, I'm happier than I have ever been!"
All this may be true...but notice that the Shulamite was AWAY from her betrothed. She knew she couldn't love both. She knew she had no desire for the one, for she only desired her own! To be with one was to be away from the other. She would not straddle the fence. She wanted to be rescued. Do you?