Song of Songs

David Bachman[1]

 

Part I

 

My Life Context                      

 

            Growing up Caucasian in the affluent suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, I have spent most of my life surrounded by people who are similar to me ethnically, socially, economically, and even spiritually.  Though I had been very integrated into the traditional Methodist mega-church that my parents took me to on Sunday mornings, I came to know the Lord personally during my freshmen year in high school after a challenging time in my faith journey of actively avoiding God.  I had been fearful to submit to the calling that I felt was being impressed upon my heart to become a minister.  After I accepted the calling and began to count it as joy, I became very active in Christian leadership as president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at my high school, college ministry director at my church, founding father of a Christian fraternity at Vanderbilt University, founding team member of a church plant in Seattle, Washington, and leadership staff for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at the University of Washington.  Pursuing a degree in Human and Organizational Development with a focus in Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness has also led to increased knowledge and skill in understanding religious leadership and organizations.  Through both positive and negative leadership experiences in various churches and on many campuses, I have developed an attitude of indifference towards denominational affiliation.  Though I count myself as a protestant, I prefer to consider myself as a “Christ-follower” denoting relationship and action.  I have become a strong advocate of the belief that organizational involvement in churches and parachurches at any level cannot supercede or become a surrogate for the sweetness of a personal and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  With the conviction of such emphasis on a personal, mysterious relationship with God, I have become very conservative in my understanding of Scripture and its role in the lives of believers, but quite liberal in the methods that believers may use to reach unbelievers (Acts 15:19).  It is also important to point out that I have recently become engaged to be married.  Understanding some of the depths of love is a current pursuit of mine as I prepare to marry the woman that I am in love with.

 

Life Context of Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon

 

            Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon is a professor at Gurukul Lutheran Theological College in Chennai, India.  Her life context is heavily seated in women’s studies at the school mentioned as well as involvement at the Asian Women’s Resource Center for Culture and Theology.  In the midst of an oppressive patriarchal society in India, Monica Melanchton and others in her context are attempting to develop an alternate understanding of women’s sexuality particularly concerning freedom, beauty, and expression.  She is seeking to help women become sexually free from political and religious oppression.  Monica Melanchton has a passion to see women move from submissive roles to becoming active, assertive sexual agents and thereby being building blocks for cultural change in India.  Noticing that even the Bible is used by Christians to reinforce the oppression of women’s sexuality in India, Monica Melanchton reads Scripture looking for interpretations that could free women from this misunderstanding.  

 

Comparison of My Life Context with Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon’s Context

 

            Monica Melanchton’s life context is different than mine in great ways culturally but similar in some ways as well.  As an educated female living in a overtly sexually oppressive social system, Monica Melanchton is regularly and directly affected by issues that harness power of her gender.  Working at the Women’s Resource Center allows her to come in contact continually with women who express the same frustrations and disillusionment about their social position.  As an upper-middle class white male living in the United States, I find myself among a demographic that has a history of being oppressive towards women.  I have made strides to understand the dynamic of patriarchy in my culture and have sought understanding from God through reading and interpreting Scripture.  Though many of the issues concern me greatly, I personally feel somewhat disconnected from issues of women’s rights that extend past the obvious.

 

Questions Raised by my Context to the Text

 

What is a real and personal relationship with God supposed to look like?  Can we really look at our relationship with God as similar to the relationship between the lover and the beloved?  From a literal interpretation of the book, what truths does this poem explore about deep, passionate love?  How do college students interpret this book to explain love and sexuality?  What does this Scripture have to say about sexuality as understood by young Americans? 

 

Questions Raised by the Text about my Context  

 

How many of us actually experience love at this depth?  What is the difference between love and lust?  Does love between a man and woman look like this in our culture?  How do college students understand sexuality?  How do Americans understand sexuality?  Has American culture perverted the beauty of sexuality?  How can we reclaim the sacredness of sexuality?

 

Personal Definition of The People of God

 

            I believe that all of the people of God are God’s creation, but not all of God’s creation are his people.  In the Hebrew Bible, the people of God are considered largely to be the Israelites who are descended from Abraham who received the covenant of relationship with God detailed in Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:5.  I consider the people of God today to be those who are also Abraham’s seed in that they “belong to Christ” and are “heirs according to the promise” as explained in Galatians 3:16 and 3:29.  Those who “belong to Christ” are people who have received his gift of forgiveness for their sins by calling out to Jesus and believing in His life and death as I understand from various verses in the New Testament such as Romans 6:23 and 10:9.  Christ has bought with his blood through the sacrifice that he made on the cross all those who both receive and believe in the Him as explained in John 1:12.  Those who belong to Christ and are the children of God are the ones who have received salvation and are recipients of infinite mercies including a place in Heaven where Revelation 21:3 says, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”  The key concept in my understanding of the people of God is a people who have a personal and real relationship with God through Jesus Christ.   

 

Personal Definition of The World

 

            I understand the definition of the world to be both physical and metaphysical with the latter having a presiding effect on the former.  Since the Fall (Genesis 2-3), the original spiritual state of human beings has been sinful and separated from God.  I understand the metaphysical nature of the world to be the result of the collection of sinful thoughts and behaviors of many people that make up the general culture or society of the planet.  The world is less than perfect and therefore cannot be connected with a perfect God.  The broken and spiritually fallen state of the people of the world impacts the physical world in that it becomes the environment that encourages sin and entices one away from God’s will.  A certain scripture concerning the world stands out to me in particular, namely 1 John 2:15-17:

 “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

Three specific “ways of the world” are included in this verse to explain the world’s tendency to directly oppose God.  I have seen these “ways” in my world of college life tempting me and trying to pull me down with them.  In conjunction with verse 17, the physical and metaphysical world are temporary but the man who follows God is eternal.  I believe that it is important, however, to discern that God loves his physical creation of the world and the people who live in it.  He loved the people of the world so much that he sent Jesus to us to rescue us from the penalty of sin.

 

Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon’s Definition  of the People of God and the World

 

            Though Monica Melanchthon does not explicitly define her understanding of the People of God or the World, she seems to place an emphasis particularly on the women of India as a serious concern to humanity and to God.  She refers to the destructiveness of the culture’s genitalization of sexuality, which inhibits a woman from recognizing her body as sacred and understanding sex as something to be mutually enjoyed without either partner having more power than the other.  The denial of these two basic sexual rights has led women to accept that they are “unclean, polluting, temptresses, sources and symbols of illicit desire, moral danger, and lust.”  As a result, most women are disenfranchised by churches and deprived of a personal and real relationship with God, other Christians, and society.  Monica Melanchton sees the world as oppressive to women and the people of God are not embracing needed change to meet these women in their societal struggle.  Where I place much emphasis on the people of God having a personal and real relationship with God through Jesus Christ, Monica Melanchton emphasizes the people of God having a responsibility to address the needs and concerns of the world.  She would likely agree with my definition, but takes it to the next level and calls for the people of God to accept their mission into the world as ministers of peace, justice, and equality.

 

Influence of Life Context on Definitions of the People of God and the World

 

            My life context includes themes that lead to a less optimistic view of the organizational church and more optimistic view of an emphasis on individuals and their personal relationship with God being intimate and sacred.  I do not encourage a sense of rebellion against organized religion on a grand scale, but I do see too much emphasis being placed on the importance of church membership and involvement over a dynamic personal relationship with God.  The people of God must first be described as children of God and belonging to Christ before members or this or that church or denomination.  If we place our complete hope and trust in organized religion, we will constantly be hurt because we continue to struggle against our sinful nature and the sinful ways of the world.  Our complete hope and trust can only be placed in God and his promises to us as His children.  As we receive grace from God in our relationship with Him, we must have an attitude of grace towards the church as well. 

            Monica Melanchton’s life context leads her to focus on issues of women’s rights, specifically sexuality, in viewing the people of God as joining the ranks of oppressive power mongers.  She sees the world as a hostile place for women, but she views God as a real source of power for overcoming the struggle.  Through a relationship with God and a proper interpretation of the Bible, women can have confidence, reclaim sexual freedom, and stand up against the sociopolitical systems that limits their role in India and beyond. 

 

Part II

 

Analysis of the Text I (Anchor Bible Dictionary)

 

           The placement of the Song of Songs has varied based on the particular tradition that it finds itself.  In the Hebrew Bible, the book is placed after Job and is designated for Passover readings.  In the Greek Bible, it is placed after Ecclesiastes and is considered to be of the “Wisdom Literature” associated with Solomon.  Though we cannot understand how the book was included in the canon, Jews and Christians both accept the book as a part of the Holy Bible.  Early on much doubt was raised about the book but the great rabbi Akiba commented in the early 2^nd century towards those who wondered if it “defiled the hands.”  He is quoted as saying that the whole world was not worth the day on which the Song was given to Israel. 

            The authorship of the book has typically been attributed to Solomon because of the translation of the first verse.  Scholars have also interpreted the book as being written by Solomon because of the fact that his name is mentioned six times as well as references to a king.  However, scholars must admit that the true authorship cannot be fully known.  By the same token, the date cannot be known exactly either.  Many scholars have dated the book to both before and after the Exile but modern scholarship supports the latter over the former.  The book has been viewed as both one unified story and as a collection of smaller poems by different authors of different periods that happen to fit together well. 

            There is no doubt that the Song discusses the sexual love relationship between a man and a woman.  Here sexual love is seen as not something that is secondary to the social role of marriage, but rather as having value in and of itself.  Where some may be appalled that this sexually explicit book made it into the canon, others would say that the book paints the most beautiful picture of intimacy that man can achieve.  Aside from the literal reading of the scripture, throughout history the book has been interpreted as an allegory of God’s relationship with man as a groom and bride.  The scripture can be interpreted from both angles and remain consistent with itself.  In Exodus, sexual love between God and man is inferred in 20:5 where it says, “The Lord is a jealous God.”  Passages in Hosea, Israel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel also highlight the sexual form of love from God.  Though the Song has no explicit indication of the lover representing God and the beloved representing the people of God, these other books of the Bible clearly identify the role of God and man.  In fact, the sexual form of love is more often used in the Bible to explain the relationship of the Lord and his people than in explaining the relationship between humans.  Some have even said that human love can only be experienced through participation in the divine love.   

 

Analysis of the Text 2 (International Bible Commentary)

 

            I view the book of Song of Songs as a picture of deep love and its development between a man and a woman and eventually a bride and groom.  It is a picture and example to lovers of the nature of a passionate mutual relationship.  The poem speaks to the beauty of human sexuality calling for its readers to appreciate the sacred power of sex and love.  I read Song of Songs with other books of the Greek Bible such as Ephesians and 2 Corinthians that refer to Jesus Christ as the groom coming to rescue his bride, the Church. 

 

Relationships: LongingàInsecurityàPraiseàFreedom (1:1-2:2)

1:1-4  The Beloved’s Longing

A maiden is far away from her lover but she longs to be reunited with him and alone.  She notices the way that other women long for him as well.  She wants him to take her away with him and quickly.  She describes the saying of his name as releasing an intoxicating fragrance.

1:5-8  The Beloved’s Insecurity

The beloved expresses her insecurity saying, “Dark am I, yet lovely,” and, “Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun.”  Having dark skin inferred that one worked out in the sun in the fields and was apparently less desirable by cultural standards.  Her brothers made her work in the vineyard because they are angry with her and in the process she says, “My own vineyard I have neglected.”  The concept of the beloved’s vineyard runs throughout the poem and is significant because it is the fruits of the vineyard that she gives to her lover to enjoy. 

1:9-11 The Lover’s Praise

The lover compares his beloved to a mare (female horse) harnessed to one of Pharaoh’s chariots that were all driven by stallions.  This reference to a mare is the only use of the word in the entire Bible.  Though I would never outwardly compare a loved one to a horse today, consider the scene of a mare entering a courtyard filled with male horses.  It is said that an advancing army could be totally thrown into confusion by the presence of a single mare.  I understand this verse referring to the desirableness of the beloved as well as the effect that she has on him.  The lover praises his beloved and speaks of her body being adorned with jewels. 

1:12-2:2  Freedom to Love

The lover and the beloved mutually praise each other’s beauty.  The lover refers to the strength of their house saying, “The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.”  The beloved’s insecurity begins to subside to an acceptance of her identity in the eyes of her lover as she praises him in return.  She becomes more free to love him because she has become confident of her desireableness by her lover.  She returns to identifying herself as a common flower (“a lily of the valleys”), but her lover uses her words to amplify her uniqueness (“like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens”). 

            I believe that this procession reveals the power of love that can only come from Divine Love revealing itself in the hearts of men and women.  Love between two lovers that is passionate, pure, and lasting can only stand on the tenets of sacredness, exclusivity, forgiveness, pursuit, selflessness, and intimate union.  These tenets of love are first seen in the way that God loves his children.  1 John 4:19 shows this saying, “We love because [God] first loved us.”  The story of how Godly love revealed among human beings can have a transforming affect on the recipient is a message to the people of God of how we should love others.  All people desire to be loved.  All people have insecurities.  When affirmed of the love of another through words or actions, insecurities of the recipient pass away and they have the freedom to love others.  When one is not confident in who they are and confident of being loved by someone, their heart is somewhat shackled and it is difficult to love from that position.  The Song shows how selfless love between two people can free the soul to love deeper.

 

Sacredness of Sexuality

Exclusive Love

2:6 & 6:3 “My love is mine and I am his.”

7:10 “I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.”

A commonly repeated phrase throughout the poem is the statement of mutual desire and possession of one another between the lover and beloved.  The two lovers are wildly devoted to one another.  The language that they use to affirm their love and the continual pursuit of one another seems to leave no room for anything but an exclusive relationship. 

The Body

4:1-15 The Beloved’s Body

5:10-12 The Lover’s Body

4:12 “You are a garden locked up…my bride; a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.”

Again, the theme of exclusivity comes into play here but even more specifically referring to the beloved’s body.  She is to remain pure and devoted to her lover and he to her.  Chapter 3 beginning in verse 7 has historically been interpreted as the wedding procession where the two lovers are united in marriage. Chapter 4 is almost entirely devoted to the groom praising the mysterious and miraculous body of the bride from the top of her head down to her breasts.  The terms being used to describe her body are all metaphors serving as a way to attribute her physical beauty to the spectacular.  He desires to love, enjoy, and protect the paradise garden and she surrenders it to him, inviting him to come into “his garden” and eat (4:16).  In chapter 5, the friends of the bride ask her what makes her lover so special that they should help her look for him.  She responds by praising his strength and beauty from head to toe.  The friends are convinced by her that he is a great man and willingly join the bride in looking for her lover. 

            The average college student cannot go throughout their collegiate years without hearing of the immense sexual activity that goes on around their campus.  College has been seen by many as a time to really explore their sexuality through interaction with many partners and perhaps even little or no long-term commitment.  A reading of the Song of Songs hopes to restore the sacredness and exclusivity of sexuality to the covenant of marriage.  The world apart from God often romanticizes a form of love that is counterfeit—always leaving one feeling insecure in the long run.  The love poem of Song of Songs can drastically change the way that one thinks of a love relationship both sexually and non-sexually.  In reference to the fracture in first love story in the Garden between God and man, one commentator stated that “within this drama of brokenness we find the Song of Songs echoing the language of Eden and containing the promise of love redeemed.”

 

Relationship with God

            One of the most fascinating elements of this book is the way that the beloved begins to describe her lover with traits that he describe her with earlier.  The two lives are beginning to look like one.  The author uses this element to show the union between the couple.  For instance, in 5:12, the beloved speaks of her lover’s eyes being doves while just prior the lover had given her the name, “my dove.”  She is saying that her image is reflected in him like a mirror.  The two have become one flesh.  I believe that this is the true sign of a relationship with God.  When someone steps into a relationship with God, they are marked by him and begin to look like him by the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them (John 14:15-17, 26; Col. 1:27).  This is the process referred to as sanctification.  The relationship between God and the people of God here is seen as one that is full of desire, passion, and union. 

Conclusions

            I believe that the overall teaching of the Song of Solomon is two-fold: a man and woman can love freely and enjoy each other deeply on a personal, social, and sexual level; God and humans have access to a personal relationship that is similarly free and intimate.  A man and a woman can read the Song and find that their bodies are sacred, their love can be extremely powerful, and selflessness is the key to a strong relationship.  The people of God should feel freedom to interpret this sexually explicit book in a more literal way to remain in discussion of passionate love in human terms.  The Church can read the Song and find that God is a perfect lover who longs to praise and give an identity of oneness to him or her.  Being a Christian is not centrally about serving God or doing certain things to find favor with Him.  Rather, being a Christian is centrally about having a personal, intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ that looks similar to or will look similar to the relationship between the lover and the beloved. 

 

Contextual Character of My Interpretation

 

            My interpretation could be classified as liberation because of my emphasis on how American college students need to be set free from the notion that sex can be casual and nonchalant.  Sexual union and intimacy between two lovers are forces not to be dealt with lightly.  The beloved herself warns the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken love until it so desires.  I desire to see the Song set women on college campuses and elsewhere free from male driven philosophies of “hooking up and hanging out” and “one night stands.”  I also desire to see the Church set free from the idea that Christianity is a religion centrally marked by sacraments, responsibilities, and clergy leadership; I would like to see the Song set Christians free to embrace the pure idea of relational communion found with Christ as the epicenter.

 

Part III

 

Interpretative Differences with Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon

 

            From the perspective on someone who lives in Indian culture, Melanchthon interprets Song of Songs as a book that frees women from oppressive male dominated sex codes known as the Kamasutra.  The practices of Kamasutra within Indian culture have been defined to be sexually appealing to men at the cost of a woman’s freedom of sexual expression.  In her commentary, Melanchthon focuses on the freedom of the beloved in expressing herself sexually to her lover.  There is a mutual sense of love and freedom towards one another.  The quality of domination is not present in the poem of Song of Songs.  Because a woman’s body belongs to the man to use as he pleases, the women of India have lost the recognition of their bodies as sacred.  Their view of sex has been limited to the act of denying themselves pleasure to give it to their husband.  Though I did emphasize a similar aspect of female sexuality in America, Melanchthon refers to a more extensive ancient practice that has discriminated against women for centuries.  My interpretation focused on the relationship between the lover and the beloved as a process of loving each other that leads to freedom of expression.  The relationship is marked by praising each other and loving each other exclusively.  My interpretation seeks to set both men and women free from a form of love that is shallow and self-centered.  Here, Monica Melanchton and I desire to use the Song as a text that changes the culture to respect the sexuality of both genders and invite women to recognize themselves as active, assertive sexual agents.

            Though she does briefly mention the place of an allegorical interpretation, Monica Melanchton does not highlight the Song as a book showing the mysterious and dramatic love of God for his people.  From my perspective that defines the people of God as those who have a real and personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, the lover’s passion in pursuing the beloved and the beloved’s deep desire for her lover are central to understanding the purpose of the book.  The book highlights the intimate love relationship between God and the church not as a secondary interpretation to the physical human love but an equally essential explanation.  In fact, the allegory is impacted by the literal and vice versa in an especially revealing way.  Monica Melanchthon seems to unanimously place the importance of the book on the relationship between men and women.  Perhaps we have weighted the interpretation of this book differently in this aspect because of her role as a female who works at a women’s resource center and my role as a male who is does not live in regular awareness of gender differences.

            A particular area of interpretation that Monica Melanchton highlights struck me as I had not even thought about the level of metaphor involved.  She makes note that there is a prominent emphasis on the role of nature as the location for freedom to express desire and intimacy.  Monica Melanchton explains how nature is used intentionally to bring out the truth that desire is a natural and beautiful impulse.  Carrying the analogy further, Monica Melanchton sees the Song stressing the fact that a woman’s sexual desire is natural and legitimate and should not be suppressed and controlled.  Again, as a American Caucasian male, I typically take the freedoms that I have been given for granted.  The female desire as natural concept did stand out to me in other parts of the Song but Monica Melanchton’s commentary especially revealed to me that perhaps this idea is more central to the overall meaning than I thought. 

 

 

 

Part IV

 

            The teachings of the book of Song of Solomon are incredibly helpful in the present state of relational breakdown and sexual bankruptcy that faces many collegiate men and women.  Very few people seem to be experiencing or waiting or have faith in a form of love between a man and a woman that can be as deep as the love seen in the Song.  American college students can read the Song and clearly differentiate the difference between lust that so persistently invades our thoughts of relationships and true love which is harder to witness or experience in the wake of human selfishness.  The Song seeks to restore the image of a beautiful and selfless love affair between a man and a woman that is free from the negative and prejudice pressures of culture.  College students can read the Song and begin to have hope that they can give and find the type of love with a mate that is so explicitly described in the Scripture.

            A relationship with God can also be as intimate if not more intimate than what is described in the Song of Songs.  If a relationship with God does not progress past sheep/shepherd and master/servant to friend/friend and even lover/lover, a believer may find himself or herself disillusioned by the responsibilities and duties that institutional churches can place upon them whether explicitly or implicitly.  God desires to be with humans and at the core of the human heart is the desire to be with God.  In addition to addressing the beloved as the Church, the book of Song of Songs can also be interpreted to direct speaks to the individual.  The world always presents to the individual a counterfeit version of love and identity and purpose.  God is inviting the individual to experience the true form of these blessings in the context of a relational journey with the perfect lover.

 

Bibliography

Elliott, M. Timothea

1998. “Song of Songs.” p. 893-907 in The International Bible Commentary. Ed. William R. Farmer, Ed. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press.

 

Melanchthon, Monica

2004. “Song of Songs.” p. 180-185 in The Global Bible Commentary. Ed. Daniel Patte, Ed. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

 

Murphy, Roland.

1992. “Song of Songs, Book of.” p. 150-155 in Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 1, Ed. David Noel Freedman, Ed. New York: Doubleday.