Sept. 23 – Thoughts on Song of Solomon 1-3 & Gal. 2

The Song of Solomon is one of the oddest books to be included in the bible.  From the fact that to this day we can’t agree on a name (“Song of Solomon?”  “Song of Songs?” or even “Canticle of Canticles?”), to the fact that it is hard to find any teaching about God in it, this book is often ignored in preaching, bible studies, and discussion.  So we have to ask why it is in there at all.

Many have posited that it is a rather risque description of the deep love we have for God and that God has for us.  We collectively are the “she” of these verses and God is the “he”.  But even this feels forced, like we’re trying to Christianize (though being OT, it’s probably more accurate to say, “Yahweh-ize”) a Jewish love letter.

Many find it hard to preach this text due to its “PG-13” elements, frank discussion of lovers in love, and romanticism of our holy relationship with God.  But in reality, I believe that it is simply hard to find moral lessons in this book, and without a moral, it is neither parable, proverb, nor teachable poem.  So how does one preach it to a congregation looking for one more moral lesson to work on through the week?

The truth is, I don’t know.  But I do love things that shake up our traditional, staid and stoic view of God and faith, so we’re going to talk about it in the days to come, learn what we may.