Page 145 - The Poetic Books - Student Text

wealth and position of the king. The Song is thus “the victory of true love over all temptations to
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fidelity.”

Solomon taught powerfully about the blessing of faithful marital life in Proverbs. “May your fountain be
blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer – may her breasts
satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Why, my son, be intoxicated with another
man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman (5:18-20)?” Later in life “his wives led him
astray” (1 Kings 11:3). How fitting that he would write the Song of Solomon either in his prime when he
walked with God or later in life knowing the bitterness of the temptations he tasted! Are not love and
lust crucially different?

Taken in this manner, the experience of the people in the Song has much to say to every generation of
men and women attracted to one another. God’s gift of sexuality is powerful, intended to bond two
people together in an incredibly strong way. “They become one flesh Gen. 2:24).” Apparently a one flesh
relationship can be constructed improperly in a fashion that will cause all kinds of trouble in the future. A
“Twisted Metaphor” speaks of a twisted relationship with selfish lust dominating. The power of desire is
transformed into something destructive.

We can only make a beginning in understanding the story line of the Song. A thorough discussion of all
the metaphors and interplay of conversations would take a full commentary and a much longer class.
Using common paragraph divisions identified by many modern editions, we can follow the temptations
and decisions made by three people in a romantic situation. This approach is admittedly not the most
popular, yet, as we shall see, it works best with the theme of the Song expressed in the last chapter.

In the king’s palace (1:2-11): The woman remembers the joy she had with her beloved. He is a man of
good character, attractive to most young women. She would like nothing better than to run away with
him from the king’s chambers. Around her are harem women enlisted by the king to help seduce her.
She protests their praise of her. The time she has spent in the vineyards has made her complexion dark.
She wonders where her beloved might be, feeling the danger in her situation. The harem women do not
understand and respond inappropriately. Then the king enters and makes his first pitch by offering
jewels, gold, and silver. He gives himself away, however, in expressing his uncontrollable desire. She is to
him like a mare let loose in wartime to distract the stallions that are pulling chariots in the enemy army.

Memories of days gone by (1:12-2:7): The woman forgets about Solomon sitting across the table and
thinks instead of her beloved. They have shared delightful, intimate moments in the past. They have
spoken words of affection for one another in a country setting. She is like a lily. In contrast to other
women she would never harm her beloved. He is like an apple tree offering his shade-protection and
sweet fruit. Theirs is a gourmet relationship, face-to-face unafraid in intimacy. For this reason, the
woman chides the harem “friends” not to try to awaken love inappropriately. Their ploys will not work.

A brief visit (2:8-17): The woman sees her beloved coming. He is eager to find her and talk with her. She
can only see him from behind the compound wall, peering through the lattice-work. She can hear him
calling to her, reminding her of the springtime they have so much enjoyed in the past. He speaks of

236 Arthur G. Clarke, The Song of Songs (Kansas City: Walterick Publishers, nd. ) 31.
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