Song of Songs Chapter 8 -- John Karmelich
1.
At most weddings one can attend, it usually ends with
the pastor or priest presenting the bride and the groom to the audience as a
married couple. A common expression to
end the ceremony is, “I now present Mr. & Mrs…” It is a way for the audience to know that the ceremony is over
and they are now a married couple.
a)
I bring this up because the main topic of Chapter 8 (in
my humble opinion J) is the public
acceptance of this couple, i.e., King Solomon and his bride.
b)
Through seven wonderful chapters of Song of Songs we
have gone through issues leading up to marriage, the marriage itself,
post-marital problems and the restoration of the marriage. Chapter 8 deals with the last issue of
public acceptance.
2.
Throughout these Bible lessons, I have gone back and
forth between describing Song of Songs as a love poem between a happy couple and
a description of our relationship with God.
a)
Song of Songs on the surface is about love in marriage.
i)
It is a wonderful owner’s manual on how to have a happy
marriage.
b)
Underneath the surface, it is an allegory of our
relationship with God.
i)
Back in the first lesson, I discussed how religious Jews
see this book as a relationship between the nation of Israel and God. This book was written prior to the coming of
Jesus and it is an acceptable view, even among Christian scholars.
a)
In the book of Hosea, his wife committed harlotry and
was sold into slavery. God tells Hosea
to purchase his ex-wife at the slave market.
God tells Hosea to buy her back as a word-picture of how God still loves
Israel as a nation. He refers to Israel
as a wife. (See Hosea 1:2 and
3:1-2)
ii)
Christians are described as the “bride of Christ” in Revelation
19:7
iii)
The point is one can allegorize Song of Songs as a
relationship between God and believers and have biblical support for this view.
3.
With that all said, it’s time for the bad news. J Let me quote something Jesus said:
a)
“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell
you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against
each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided,
father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter
against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law
against mother-in-law.” Luke 12:51-53,
NIV
i)
Well now, that it not good. J If you go to a Christian book store and pick
up a little topical book called “God’s Promises®”, I suspect they
probably forget to include this little promise by Jesus. J I should add in all fairness say that
I happen to own, and like that book, but you get the point I’m trying to make.
ii)
Why did I mention this?
Because the issue at hand here in Song of Songs Chapter 8 is public
acceptance of their marriage.
iii)
That is why I tied this prediction Jesus made with the
Song of Songs. There is an issue of
public acceptance and often a lack thereof.
This will become clearer as we actually get into the text itself.
iv)
Why is that? Why
is it say, when you publicly declare your allegiance to God and publicly
declare that you are trusting in Jesus for your salvation, the world does not
stand up and applaud? In an indirect
way, that is the same question as asking why is there division over Jesus.
v)
The first answer is “spiritual”. Remember Satan’s purpose is to delay and
prevent as long as possible the return of Jesus. There are a fixed number of people who will become believers
before Jesus’ second coming (See Romans 11:25). Nobody but God the Father knows that specific number. Every new person that declares Jesus as
their Savior makes that specific number one person closer to that reality. Therefore, Satan isn’t too crazy about new
people becoming Christians.
a)
Therefore, there is spiritual hostility to you becoming
a Christian.
vi)
That spiritual hostility manifests itself with
opposition to your faith, often times through family members, thus the “family
division” that Jesus spoke about.
vii)
Further, even without Satan behind it, one of the
functions of the Holy Spirit is to convict people of their sins. If others around you see you changing your
life to serve Jesus, there is guilt (conviction) within them, often stated
aloud as saying, “What’s wrong with me?” or “Are you some holier-than-thou
person who is now better than me? The
correct answer is “No, just forgiven.
Out of gratitude of that forgiveness I choose to live my life
differently”.
4.
Let’s get back to Song of Songs. As I read through Chapter 8 over and over
again, I kept seeing an interpretation of Chapter 8 to fit this biblical
truth. One can read this chapter and
see how it deals with the issue of public acceptance.
a)
Yes there are other interpretations. Many of them are excellent and biblically
supported.
b)
One thing that one has to remember about bible studies
is that one cannot exhaust the Word of God.
Each week before I start I ask God to show me the things he wants me to
learn and what things he wants me to pass on to the reader. I write about 10-12 pages each week. That is not enough to exhaust every
possibility. Therefore, I limit what I
write based on that weekly prayer.
c)
Remember also that Song of Songs is considered one of
the toughest books in the Bible to interpret.
About 10% of the words used in Song of Songs are not used anywhere else
in the Bible. Good biblical expositors
vary widely on their views, and usually have other text in the Bible to back up
that view.
d)
Bottom line, take what I say with a grain of salt, and
read the Bible for yourself and see if you agree. Now that I’ve gotten all my disclaimers out of my system, let’s
start. J
5.
Chapter 8, Verse 1:
If only
you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother's breasts! Then, if
I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.
a)
The
bride is speaking. To understand this
verse, you have to understand the culture of that time.
i)
It
was considered unacceptable to kiss your wife or husband in public.
ii)
Any
sort of public affection, even hand holding by a husband and wife is taboo.
iii)
Yet,
public affection between brother and sister was considered acceptable.
iv)
Part
of the reason has to do with the belief that that affection between husband and
wife is to be best left in private. If
a brother and sister are showing some sort of affection, “That’s ok, because
nothing will become of it, well, because they’re brother and sister.”
v)
The
other reason is the importance of family structure. The family or “clan” is considered superior to the
individual. Therefore, public display
between two family members glories that family over the individual.
vi)
Therefore, when the bride is speaking here, she is
saying in effect, “Oh my darling husband, how I want to express my love to you
publicly. I wish you were like a
brother, where it is culturally acceptable to kiss you publicly.”
vii)
If you reread verses 1 and 2, this should now make more
sense.
b)
Let’s go back to my opening theme of public
acceptance. She loves her man so much
she wants to show publicly how much she loves him. She can’t because it is not socially acceptable to show your
love.
i)
Boy, does that ever describe our Christian life.
ii)
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the
expression, “Well, its ok to love Jesus, just don’t go around telling
people. It’s not polite you know. It’s not socially acceptable.” At this verse she is hoping it was
possible to be socially acceptable.
iii)
You can see how this verse is not only about publicly
showing love for your husband in a culture that is not socially acceptable, but
to publicly show your love for Jesus in a world that does not want more
people to accept Jesus.
6.
Verse 2: I would lead you and bring
you to my mother's house-- she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine
to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.
a)
In
Verse 2, the bride is still describing her desire to want to show public
affection for her man. She is
describing her desire to bring Solomon back to the house she grew up and make
love to him there. (It sounds somewhat
creepy in our culture, but I’ll explain further. J)
i)
Remember
from Chapter 7 that she is making love somewhere with Solomon and she is
describing her desire to go away with him on some romantic adventure.
ii)
The
thought continues into Chapter 8.
Remember that she is a farm girl who grew up working in the
vineyards. To paraphrase the end of
Chapter 7 and these two verses, she is saying in effect “Hey Solomon, let’s get
away from the royal palaces and have a romantic trip out to the country. Let’s go to the vineyards and see if the
grapes are blooming and the pomegranates are budding. While the fruit is blooming, we can make our love bloom too! In fact, let’s go back to my parents
house. There I wish I could show public
affection like I could for my brothers”.
b)
Remember
that for a Jewish girl, one’s education comes from two sources: First, from her mother, and then from her
husband.
i)
A
woman grows and matures by an education from her family and then her husband..
ii)
In
Verse 2 she describes her mother as “one who has taught her”.
a)
She
is now asking Solomon to pick up where her mother left off.
b)
There
is the possibility that we are talking about lovemaking itself. Perhaps her mother trained her in how to
please her man. Now she is ready to
take that training on to the next step!
J
c)
Maybe
that’s why she wants to go back to the house of her parents. That’s the area where she was trained in
this area and it is a place of comfort to her to make love to her man.
d)
Again
it is important to emphasize that this sounds a little disgusting to our modern
western culture, but you have to remember the eastern style and culture of
which this story takes place.
c)
The
last part of this verse says that she will give Solomon “spiced wine to drink,
the nectar of my pomegranates”.
i)
“Spiced
wine” is a reference to hardened liquor.
ii)
The
topic of Christians and drinking is a long, open discussion.
a)
There
are many Christians who can argue from the Bible it is never right for a
Christian to drink wine ever.
b)
There
are many Christians who can argue from the Bible that is ok to drink, but not
to get drunk. The question is where to
draw the line.
iii)
The
problem is that Solomon himself that that it is not appropriate for
kings to drink hard liquor:
a)
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, (a nickname for
Solomon), It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating
drink; Lest they drink and forget the
law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted.”
(Proverbs 31:4-5, NKJV)
b)
This verse was given as advice from Solomon’s mother to
Solomon and written by Solomon in Chapter 31 of Proverbs.
c)
It argues that kings shouldn’t get drunk because it
impairs their judgment as a king.
d)
So how does one reconcile that fact with Solomon, the
author of Song of Songs describing through the girl in effect, “Hey honey,
let’s go over to mom and dad’s and I’ll pour you a strong one”? J
e)
The answer is I don’t believe she is talking about
alcohol here, but her love.
Notice the last part of Verse 2 says “nectar of my pomegranates”.
(1)
She is comparing her love as sweet and joyful.
(2)
The love between a husband and wife should be as
intoxicating as strong drink. It is to
say, “Honey, I’m drunk with love over you!”
(3)
Remember Song of Songs Chapter 1, Verse 2:
(a)
“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your
love is more delightful than wine.”
(Songs 1:2, NIV)
7.
Verse 3: His left arm is under my
head and his right arm embraces me.
a)
This
is a word-for-word repeat of Chapter 2, Verse 6.
i)
In
fact, Verse 4 is a word-for-word repeat of Chapter 2 Verse 7. We’ll get to that one in a minute. J
b)
In
Verse 3, this is a sexual desire by the bride.
It is a desire for Solomon’s arm to be under her head while his other
arm sexually embraces her.
i)
Guys,
take note here. Women love this
stuff. J
ii)
Remember
to read this in context of the surrounding verses. In Verses 1 and 2 she is describing her desire to be with her man
at her parents house.
iii)
I
believe in Verse 3 she is visualizing (desiring) the actual embrace of Solomon.
iv)
She is telling Solomon of her love by him by telling him
how she desires to be held and fondled.
a)
Girls, this verse is a reminder that men need a
clue. J
b)
Gently, and lovingly tell them how you like to
make love prior to starting. It is
important and essentially to share your needs and desires with your spouse so
they can fulfill those needs. We as
men, are not mind readers. We need to
be told over and over again until it sinks in.
J
c)
Going back to our analogy of us and God, tell God
your desires. Yes God can read your
mind and He knows your thoughts. Still,
He desires that you express those desires to Him. This way, it glorifies God when those prayers are fulfilled.
8.
Verse 4: Daughters of Jerusalem, I
charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
a)
Not
only is this verse a word-for-word repeat of Songs 2:7, but also of Songs 3:5.
b)
So
the big question is why is it repeated?
c)
The text doesn’t give answers, so we are free to
speculate. J
d)
In Chapter 2, this is about the courtship leading
up to the marriage.
i)
I believe that reference is a warning about pre-martial
sex. The bible is real clear on
this. If one surveys couples who have
been married a long time, you will find that couples who waited to be married
are far happier sexually than those who don’t.
Yes there are exceptions, but they are just that. Those exceptions usually stem from other
problems that can be worked out through good biblical counseling. The point is that the bride is the
one charging to the other maidens in this play to wait for the proper
time.
ii)
The reason she is making this statement is that she is
talking with sexual overtones and it is arousing those around her. Therefore, the necessity of making this
charge before them.
e)
In Chapter 3, we are dealing with the pre-martial
relationship, shortly before the wedding.
i)
Thus, with all the talk of wedding night and lovemaking,
the “charge” is repeated to not stir up the desire for lovemaking before the
proper time.
ii)
It is saying in effect, “Just hang in there a little
while longer. Don’t ruin the wedding
night”.
f)
Now here in Chapter 8, close to the end of the book, we
have the charge repeated again.
i)
A lot of opinions are given, so I’ll just add mine to
the collection. J
ii)
A common view is that it is a warning against adultery. Here is this couple, already married and now
in the post-martial relationship, with a now-completed long discussion on
restoration of the marriage. Some see
this charge in this view to keep the relationship fresh by not being tempted
into adultery at this time.
a)
As one can imagine, this is a biblical view. To not commit adultery is one of the 10
commandments. The problem is (in my
humble opinion), while it is a good point, that concept doesn’t fit into the
surrounding text. So with that, let me
throw a more wild idea at you. J
iii)
When you read chapter 8 as a whole, you can see it as a
desire for public acceptance of this relationship.
a)
In direct context, it is about a simple farm girl
marrying a king. A lot of people,
including those of the royal court would think she doesn’t deserve to marry a
king. Thus, there is difficulty in
public acceptance.
(1)
The same could be said about our relationship with
Jesus. Why would a perfect God want to
“marry” a sinful person like us? Think
of the non-believers telling us, “You call yourself a Christian, look at what a
messed up person you are!”
(2)
God sees us and loves us in a perfected state. He sees us through “cross-filtered
lenses”. Although we and others may see
our faults, God has already forgiven all of our faults and defects, past, present
and future. While we may
understand this, the world does not.
Thus the cry for public acceptance.
g)
Which leads back to my theory of the charge to “don’t
stir up love until the proper time”.
i)
Consider the possibility that this may refer to the
second coming of Jesus.
a)
Revelation Chapters 19:7-9 describe the marriage of
Jesus to her church.
(1)
The actual marriage supper banquet is described in these
verses.
b)
In Revelation Chapters 19, Verses 11-16 describe Jesus 2nd
coming.
(1)
I believe that we, as believers come along with Him.
(2)
“The armies of heaven were following him, riding
on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.” (Revelation 19:14 NIV)
(a)
Fine linen is the clothes of the priests. We as described as priests of God in
Revelation 5:10 and 20:6
(3)
By the way, this is another reason why I believe the
rapture of the church happens prior to the 7-year tribulation, commonly known
as the pre-tribulation view. In that
view, the church is in heaven during the whole period of wrath. In the post-tribulation view, the church is
not taken into heaven until right before Jesus comes back to wipe out the
earth. In the post-tribulation view, we
are taken to heaven for the wedding banquet, then right back to earth for Jesus
2nd coming. In that view,
the wedding supper would have to be a snack lunch as Jesus has post wedding
business to attend. J
ii)
Sorry about that deviation. J Back to Song of Songs. Now consider the possibility that the
bride’s charge to “not stir up love before its time” to refer to Jesus coming
back with his “bride” along with him.
a)
Here is this bride.
She made the statement in Chapter 7:
“I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.” (Song 7:10 NIV)
b)
She now realizes that her love is bonded with Solomon
and nothing can break it. She now
desires public acceptance.
c)
Due to the truth of spiritual warfare, that acceptance
won’t happen as long as Satan rules this world. Therefore the charge to don’t stir up love before its time
refers to the time when God can publicly show his love for the church
after Jesus second coming.
h)
Remember that this is John’s theory. J I can’t prove that this is the correct
application of this verse, but at least I can support it with good Christian
end-time theology.
9.
Verse 5: Who is this coming up from
the desert leaning on her lover?
a)
Verse
5 is given by a “chorus”. Some study
bibles have this as the “Daughters of Jerusalem” speaking again. Others say it is somebody else. The point is whoever is talking, it is
neither Solomon nor the bride. Somebody
else is describing them together.
b)
In
our little play of Song of Songs, I see this as the public seeing Solomon
leaning on her bride. In this
post-wedding period, it is the public acknowledgement of the bride and
groom walking together.
c)
Remember
a few verses back how she was saying, “I wish you were like a brother so I
could be openly affectionate with you?”
i)
This
verse is an answer. To paraphrase,
“Wow, look, its Solomon and his bride.
I know its not appropriate for couples to show affection, but here is
the king doing it anyway!
a)
Guys,
take the lead. Show your woman how
proud you are of her. Even if she is
shy and nervous and blaming it on her culture, she wants to feel comfortable
with you in public. Let the “chorus of
your world” see you with your arm around your girl. Grant it, you can overboard on this. J Like Solomon leaning on his
bride in this verse, I believe it is ok to show a simple sign of affection like
holding her hand or putting your arm around her as if to say, “You are mine and
I want the world to know that.”
d)
There
is a whole other level at which one can read this verse.
i)
Remember
that one can see Chapter 8 as a model of the second coming of Christ.
a)
When
I described Revelation Chapter 19 earlier, there is the wedding ceremony of
Christ and his bride, and then is Jesus 2nd coming to earth.
b)
Imagine
the world seeing Jesus coming back and saying “Who is this, and who is this
“bride of Christ” with Him? Compare
that to Verse 5 that says, “Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on
her lover?”
c)
If
you think I’m taking this verse too far, hang in there, because there are more
analogies to come. J You can also “just” see this verse in the application of publicly
supporting the one you love and be fine with it.
10.
Verse
5, Part 2: Under the apple tree I
roused you; there your mother conceived you, there she who was in labor gave
you birth.
a)
Now
in the middle of the verse, we have Solomon speaking again.
i)
We
know it changes because the pronouns change from the impersonal “you” to the
personal “I” in this part of the verse.
b)
Most commentators believe that Solomon is either
describing an apple tree near the bride’s home, or they are actually at this
place. The text says this apple tree is
where the bride was first conceived and born.
i)
There are many theories on this one. The bride may have described a particular
tree where she was first conceived and Solomon was saying “let’s go
there”. (Again, it sounds a little
creepy to our Western culture.)
ii)
Remember the big-theme of this section is about getting
away from the king’s castle in Jerusalem and getting back to the country. Solomon may be using this phrase to
reminisce about her home and a particular place that is special to her.
a)
She probably thinks of that apple tree as something
special. That is the place where she
was conceived. Maybe it arouses her to
think about it. (The more I think about
it, the more I think this girl is a little strange. J)
c)
The application to us guys is to find that romantic
place that our girls love as a getaway.
It may be a fond memory from our past.
It may be a dream place that a young couple desire to be. The talk of going to that place can
cause arousal as much as being there.
i)
Guys, you want to stimulate and excite your girls? Just talk about a romantic trip or
reminisce about a favorite spot. That
association is telling the one you love of your desire to be with her.
d)
On the “God and Us” application, consider this passage
from the Book of Jeremiah:
i)
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I
formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5, NIV).
ii)
God is saying to Jeremiah in effect, “I (God) have
perfect knowledge and I cannot learn.
Before you were ever born Jeremiah, I knew the exact day of your
birth. I have pre-destined you to be a
great prophet.”
iii)
Jeremiah of course, had the free will to say no to
God. God, in his perfect knowledge also
knew that Jeremiah would accept that task.
iv)
With that in mind, let me repeat Solomon’s statement
again: “Under the apple tree I roused
you; there your mother conceived you, there she who was in labor gave you
birth.
v)
It is almost as if Solomon is saying, “I was there when
you were conceived. My love for you is
eternal. I know of that apple
tree. Since the beginning of time, my perfect
and eternal love has existed for you.
It is only know in this time in history that I have revealed that love
to you and you have become aware of that love!”
vi)
That is what happens as we
discover God’s love for us. This is not
news to God.
It is only news to us.
11.
Verse 6, Part 1:
Place me
like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm;
a)
For
the next few verses, we are going to describe what love is like.
b)
For
those of you who know your Bible, this is the Old Testament “equivalent” of
Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13.
i)
That
chapter is known as the “love” chapter.
Paul describes in that chapter what God’s love is like, and how we can
manifest it through our lives.
ii)
This
section of Song of Songs, is a parallel passage. It is describing God’s love for us with an emphasis on love in
marriage. I’ve pounded the point all
through these Song of Songs studies how marriage is a model for us to study on
the ideal love relationship between God and ourselves.
c)
Let’s
get back to the verse itself. The bride
is speaking in this verse and the next verse.
d)
The
girl is describing a seal over her heart, like a seal on the arm, signaling
ownership.
i)
In
the same way we “brand” animals for ownership, there was a seal placed on
objects signifying ownership.
ii)
In
this culture, the concept of a seal means everything that person owns is mine
and everything I have belongs to that person.
That is the desire of the bride.
a)
It
is not about wanting all of King Solomon’s stuff, but all of his
love.
b)
The
desire of the bride is to want all of the love of her man focuses on
her.
c) One can see t