The Song of Songs has often been looked upon as a strange little book and many over the centuries have wondered why it is even in the scriptures. It was even disputed somewhat as late as 90 AD, at the Council of Jamnia. As for the time of its composition dates range from about 980 BC all the way down to the late date of 220 BC. It is also a book that seems to have many interpretations that differ so much that many just pass it over to avoid the problems and its flowery language. It does seem to have about 4 main interpretations and these I will list below:
*It is an allegory where the groom/prince represents God and his love for his bride Israel. Many educated Jews have held this position for generations and there is no doubt that Israel is often presented as a bride to God, wayward or loyal. (Jeremiah 3:20, Isaiah 54...) and some will give elaborate interpretations for each verse.
*Related to the above is the position that Songs is an allegory portraying the love of Yeshua Christ for his bride the church. (Revelations 21:2-11).
*Some hold a position that it is portraying, in extended metaphor, the love of God/Christ for the human soul, of each individual.
*Some say that it is simply the poetic meetings between Solomon and a Shulamite maiden, put into flowery language, and nothing more..
These are some common views held and sometimes they are found mixed but what if the book is multi-dimensional, in the sense that God designed it through various writers to touch on many things or to point to many things. I think Song of Songs teaches that love is higher than materialism. Note the the second verse…where “wine” represents (?) material things. This possibly indicates a design like the Psalms, where the very first psalm illustrates the two paths: following God or you can follow Evil, thus setting the tempo for the rest of the Psalms? This is something to think about.
pastor zomok
