You can not inform the entire story of the Bible with out speaking about marriage. To start with, God created a person and a lady and put them in a covenant relationship with one another (Gen 2:21–25). And on the finish, the Lord Jesus is the groom who returns in glory for his redeemed bride, the church.
The Bible’s narratives carry its story from creation to consummation. The Previous Testomony is stuffed with guarantees and patterns that might be fulfilled (Luke 24:27, 45–47; Col 2:17), and the New Testomony is primarily about this success.
Nonetheless, some sections of Scripture, no less than at first, don’t appear to play a task within the story. One instance of those sections is the Music of Songs.
How does the Music of Songs match into the general story of Scripture? Its type is poetic, its language is provocative, and its imagery is stuffed with animals, crops, and issues that have interaction your senses. The mix of those options makes it tough for readers to grasp what’s occurring within the Music.
Perhaps you’ve considered the Music as a sort of standalone doc that appears disconnected from what precedes and follows it. Perhaps its content material has appeared so in contrast to different sections of Scripture that you just’ve not contemplated any inter-biblical relationship between it and the themes and tales of Israel’s life. Perhaps its romantic and sensual tones have, in your thoughts, excluded it from enjoying any significant canonical position. And possibly its numerous and unusual interpretations throughout historical past have numbed your instincts to learn the Music as something apart from a lyric about intimacy within the lifetime of a married couple.
On this article, I goal to steer you that the Music of Songs not solely suits into the canonical move of Scripture, but in addition contributes to the christological hope that the biblical authors nurture and advance. To do that, we’ll:
- Think about the authorship of the Music and why that issues
- Discover ethical functions to the viewers
- Mirror on marriage as a parable of one thing higher than human love
- Spotlight connections between the Music and the historical past of Israel
- Be part of the writer in celebrating the unquenchable nature of the couple’s covenant love
Taken collectively, as a cumulative case, these components tune the reader’s ear to the facility of the Music’s messianic music.
Written by the son of David
The earliest place within the Music of Songs that connects us to Israel’s story is the primary verse. We learn that the Music of Songs “is Solomon’s” (Music 1:1). King Solomon dominated for forty years over the land of Israel, from roughly 970 to 930 BC. Throughout his peaceable and affluent reign, he “spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs have been 1,005” (1 Kgs 4:32 ESV).
The proverbial and lyrical output of Solomon was staggering. The guide of Proverbs accommodates a lot of this king’s clever sayings (e.g., Prov 1–9), and the Music of Songs is outwardly considered one of his many compositions that match within the music class. Certainly, calling this doc the “Music of Songs” makes use of a superlative to spotlight the significance of this composition. Simply because the tabernacle had a “Holy of Holies” to designate a very powerful and sacred room, the phrase “Music of Songs” attracts consideration to the guide’s significance and worth.
Solomon was a king who shepherded his individuals with reality. His Music esteemed the goodness and pleasure of marriage.
By recognizing the authorship of the Music, we’re higher outfitted to interpret it as a bit of knowledge from Israel’s king. Since Israel’s king was like a nationwide shepherd (for the notion of kings as shepherds, see, for instance, Jer 23:1–8), the eight chapters of the Music are Solomon’s musical effort to nourish his individuals’s imaginations and hearts with magnificence and delight. The king was the pinnacle of the covenant individuals, and, specifically, the Music of Songs, just like the guide of Proverbs, was helpful for the covenant lifetime of the Israelites, as a result of the Israelites wanted to know find out how to stroll properly within the worry of the Lord. Solomon was a king who shepherded his individuals with reality. His Music esteemed the goodness and pleasure of marriage, and exhorted the single to reside with chastity and self-control.
However Solomon was additionally the rapid successor of David. King David had acquired covenant guarantees about how a descendant would reign on the throne without end (2 Sam 7:12–13). So David’s successor was naturally of curiosity to the biblical authors and the covenant individuals as a pointer to the Higher Son who would come. And though Solomon was not the Messiah, he was the primary descendant of David to rule. He thus started the sample of Davidic descendants that may result in the Messiah (Matt 1:6–16).
Discover top-ranked commentaries on the Music of Solomon utilizing our greatest commentaries locator.
(Not) awakening love
A technique that the Music of Songs suits in Scripture is by directing the covenant individuals into covenant faithfulness. And by guiding us into clever dwelling, the Music serves to organize the way in which for brand new covenant glories and our life in Christ.
The writer of the Music describes the couple’s love with language of pleasure and want. He associates the eager for intimacy with thrilling urgency (Music 1:4; 4:16), overwhelming want (2:5), and intoxicating aromas (4:14; 7:8–9, 13). Actually, the goodness of God’s design for marriage is on full show.
The couple’s phrases towards each other convey attentiveness, devotion, and exclusivity. She stands out to him like a lily amongst brambles (2:2). He stands out to her like an apple tree in a forest of bushes (2:3). She broadcasts, “My beloved is mine, and I’m his” (2:16 ESV). This conviction of belonging enriches the connection as a result of it denotes peace, safety, and covenant love.
Different voices rejoice the awakening of the couple’s love. “We’ll exult and rejoice in you” (Music 1:4 ESV), says a refrain of voices. Within the context of the couple’s consummation, voices exhort them, “Eat, pals, drink, and be drunk with love!” (5:1 ESV). Such remarks affirm that the person and girl’s intimacy just isn’t immoral. This husband and spouse are rightly delighting in marital intimacy, and the third-party voices cheer on this pursuit.
Solomon’s Music tells of robust covenant love, and this covenant is marked by delights that recall the glories of Eden’s backyard.
At a number of factors in Solomon’s Music, the bride urges self-control to the single. She says, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the sphere, that you just not fire up or awaken love till it pleases” (Music 2:7 ESV). This identical counsel is given in related varieties in 3:5 and eight:4. Awakening love—most particularly, sexual intimacy—is for the wedding covenant. Such is God’s designed context for intercourse, and the violation of God’s design could be to awaken love earlier than “it pleases.”
Solomon’s Music tells of robust covenant love, and this covenant is marked by delights that recall the glories of Eden’s backyard. The couple are bare and unashamed (Music 4:1–5:1). Their love thrives in vibrant settings (Music 2:12–13; 6:2, 11; 7:11–13). Actually, their phrases painting each other as a sort of paradise to take pleasure in. To her, he’s “a cluster of henna blossoms within the vineyards of Engedi” (1:14 ESV). To him, she is a “backyard” and “a fountain” (4:12, 15; 5:1 ESV).
So robust is the couple’s love that the girl says, “Set me as a seal upon your coronary heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is robust as demise, jealousy is fierce because the grave” (Music 8:6). The energy of the grave was apparent, as a result of nobody may keep away from it. Demise was a fierce shopper of image-bearers below the solar. However now, behold the facility of steadfast covenant love! This love rivals demise’s energy. This devotion, this jealousy, is fierce sufficient to get the grave’s consideration. This love is so robust that it’s like flashes of fireside that can’t be quenched, flames that can’t be drowned by floodwaters (8:6–7).
We marvel on the couple’s devotion and love. Their stunning imagery, sensual tones, and unashamed want are shifting to learn. We’d even discover ourselves eager for the sort of edenic peace and love they’ve. May the biblical writer intend for his or her needs to immediate and direct our hearts towards one thing larger, deeper, and lasting?
A covenant parable
Think about these phrases about “my beloved” and “his winery”:
Let me sing for my beloved my love music regarding his winery: My beloved had a winery on a really fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with selection vines; he constructed a watchtower within the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he appeared for it to yield grapes, however it yielded wild grapes. (ESV)
Whereas the Music of Songs contains references to fruit and vineyards and titles (e.g., “my beloved”), the passage you simply learn is not from the Music of Songs. However it seems like it could be! It’s really from Isaiah 5:1–2. And the essential factor to note about Isaiah 5:1–2 is the interpretation the passage provides: “For the winery of the Lord of hosts is the home of Israel, and the lads of Judah are his nice planting” (5:7 ESV).
God’s covenant relationship with Israel offers the rationale for this language in Isaiah 5:1–2. In Exodus 24, the Lord entered right into a covenant with Israel at Sinai. A technique the Bible depicts their relationship is with marital phrases. God was the “husband” within the covenant (Jer 2:2; 31:32). The Israelites have been the company spouse (Hos 2:1–5). Although God had redeemed the Israelites and made them his personal, they departed from their covenant obligations and selected the methods of idolatry and immorality (Ezek 16:8–22). They have been spiritually untrue, like an adulterous partner who forsook the covenant (Hos 1:2–3; 2:2).
The establishment of marriage serves as a parable of a higher and lasting union—the union between Christ and his church.
Earthly marriage exists as a parable of God’s covenant relationship along with his individuals. Not solely is that this reality evident within the Previous Testomony, the New Testomony teaches it, as nicely. Framing the matter christologically, Paul says the marital union’s “thriller is profound, and I’m saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Eph 5:32 ESV). The Lord Jesus is the bridegroom who got here for his bride, the church (John 3:29; Eph 5:23, 25). He’s the Final Adam (1 Cor 15:45), and his church is the company Eve.
The covenant between Christ and his individuals, nevertheless, just isn’t the Sinai covenant of the Previous Testomony. A brand new covenant exists due to Christ’s excellent and sacrificial work upon the cross (Luke 22:19–20). For the reason that Previous Testomony prepares the way in which for and factors towards Christ and the brand new covenant realities he would carry, we shouldn’t be stunned that the establishment of marriage serves as a parable of a higher and lasting union—the union between Christ and his church.
This perception is essential for understanding how the Music of Songs suits into the biblical story. Seeing the marital union within the Music as typological of Christ and his church is in line with how marital language is used elsewhere within the Previous Testomony to talk of God’s relationship along with his individuals. Actually, while you peruse commentaries on the Music of Songs, you understand that the dominant interpretation of the Music all through church historical past sees the couple’s covenant love as pointing boldly towards the unbreakable union between the Lord and his new covenant individuals.
Connections to Israel’s story
Along with the hyperlink between a wedding covenant and the Christ–church union, we see different connections within the Music of Songs to Israel’s tales and Scriptures. Solomon writes with an consciousness of earlier biblical revelation, and this leads to a collection of “contact factors” between his Music and earlier revelation.
As a result of the Music is in contact with higher themes and tales of the Previous Testomony, and since the New Testomony authors see the Previous Testomony as anticipating the individual and work of Christ, we will see the next hyperlinks as strengthening the case that we must learn the Music’s lyrics in a canonical gentle and never as a standalone doc unrelated to prior or subsequent revelation.
Let’s briefly stroll by means of the Music and establish 5 such connections.
1. The position of the wilderness
Music of Songs 3:6 describes columns of smoke within the wilderness as Solomon arrives for his wedding ceremony (3:6–11); 8:5 refers back to the couple “developing from the wilderness” (ESV), the place the girl is leaning on her beloved.
The Israelites traveled by means of wilderness between Egypt and Sinai, after which between Sinai and the promised land. Wilderness journeying, in different phrases, was integral to their expertise as God’s individuals. The exodus was the redemptive occasion that set these wilderness journeys in movement. Jewish custom appears to substantiate these connections as a result of it employs the Music for studying in the course of the annual Passover feast.
2. The thing carried by means of the wilderness
In Music of Songs 3:7, Solomon’s arrival for his wedding ceremony is accompanied by pomp and circumstance—sixty mighty males who’re armed and who’re transporting the king (3:7–8). His uplifted standing indicators his significance. His carriage is fabricated from wooden, silver, and gold (3:9–10).
This scene of the uplifted king, and the weather which comprise the carriage, echo the transportation of the tabernacle and, particularly, the ark of the covenant. The writer is exhibiting us that so as to perceive what’s occurring within the Music, we want assist from exterior the Music that may inform its imagery and actions. The bigger context of biblical revelation is that this context.
3. The imagery for the kisses
The husband tells his spouse, “Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are below your tongue” (Music 4:11 ESV). Her mouth flows with milk and honey, just like the promised land the Lord described to Moses (Exod 3:8).
The person’s phrases affiliate the girl with the glory of Canaan. His bride is like that blessed land described with phrases like “milk” and “honey,” thrilling those that are to inherit it. By studying the language of the Music in a bigger biblical context of God’s redemptive acts and guarantees, the imagery’s energy is even stronger than if we learn the Music as an remoted writing.
4. The backyard language
In Music of Songs 4:12, the husband describes his bride as a locked backyard and a sealed fountain. In 4:15 she’s a backyard fountain of dwelling water. She invitations him to this backyard—to her (5:1). She is now not locked, now not sealed.
The love and union of the couple in Solomon’s Music are like a return to Eden. Their marriage is an image of humanity’s restoration to paradise.
The notion of a backyard recollects Eden in Genesis 2–3, the place God locations his image-bearers in a sacred area. However in Genesis 3:22–24, God exiles the couple who had transgressed his command, and the backyard was sealed. The love and union of the couple in Solomon’s Music are like a return to Eden, a reentry right into a sacred area that had as soon as been locked from additional entry. Their marriage is an image of humanity’s restoration to paradise. Since marriage is a parable of the Christ–church union, the edenic echoes in Solomon’s Music stir the hope which the New Testomony authors say is summed up within the Messiah. The Lord Jesus is the king who ushers his bride to paradise—a backyard metropolis, a brand new Jerusalem.
5. The declare about want
In Music of Songs 7:10, the spouse says, “I’m my beloved’s, and his want is for me” (ESV). The Hebrew time period for “want” right here is utilized in just one different Previous Testomony guide—Genesis (particularly Gen 3:16 and 4:7). In Genesis 3:16, when God pronounced judgments upon the couple who had sinned, Eve heard these phrases: “Your want shall be opposite to your husband” (ESV). This could possibly be translated, “Your want shall be in your husband” (NRSV, RSV, NKJV).
Worded this manner, this language of judgment meets its reversal in Music of Songs 7:10. “Your want shall be in your husband” turns into “His want is for me.” The context of Genesis 3:16 is considered one of judgment and consequence; the context of Music of Songs 7:10 is considered one of blessing and safety. In Solomon’s Music, we see a return to Eden and listen to in regards to the reversal of the curse! The curse meets its demise within the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. He’s the king who workouts dominion over sin and demise.
Solomon’s Music presents different echoes of Israel’s tales and Scriptures along with the 5 connections above. However these 5 work to construct a cumulative case that the richest studying of the Music of Songs will occur as we hear its lyrics alongside the messages of different biblical authors.
Unquenchable love
Close to the tip of the Music of Songs, the writer—by means of the girl’s voice—exalts the steadfastness and energy of covenant love (Music 8:6–7). This excellent news just isn’t about mere human love in an earthly sense. We all know that human love can fail. Spouses sin towards each other, and typically marriages finish. The Bible’s story, nevertheless, is about divine love that pursues sinners, and this pursuit establishes a brand new covenant that rivals demise and may by no means be quenched.
The gospel contains the excellent news of an unquenchable love towards his individuals. His mercy provides us dwelling water and restores our communion with God. He has, so to talk, taken us by means of the locked door of Eden. We’re reconciled, safe, and beloved. We’re the moment-by-moment recipients of divine benevolence. Christ is the beloved of his church, and his church is the delight of his coronary heart.
Our reflections on the Music of Songs point out that the guide is layered. There’s a compelling depiction of God’s good design for marriage and intimacy, however the Music means greater than this. A canonical studying turns up the quantity of the Music in order that we will hear every little thing that has been current in these lyrics all alongside. The glory of Eden is there. The delight of the promised land is there. The journey by means of the wilderness is there. The ability of covenant love is there. The enjoyment of intimate fellowship is there. The safety of union with Christ is there.
The disciple of Jesus says, “I’m my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” (Music 6:3).
Associated books Mitch Chase recommends
- Tim Chester, Assembly Christ within the Backyard: A Devotional of Basic Writings on the Music of Songs (Christian Focus, 2023).
- James M. Hamilton Jr, “The Messianic Music of the Music of Songs: A Non-Allegorical Interpretation,” 331-345 in WTJ 68 (2006)
