Today in God's Word—August 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
August 23, Song of Solomon 6
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and virgins without number, My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her. The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her. - Song of Solomon 6:9-10
When we watch a movie or a play, we immerse ourselves in the world and situation of the characters in the story for an hour or two. When it's a show with musical numbers in it, the songs express the feelings and emotions of the characters. They are an important part of the experience of seeing and hearing the story. Later, we might listen to the soundtrack album from the show. It does not contain the dialogue from the drama, only the songs. If we already know the story, the music is a powerful reminder not only of its own melody, but of the entire experience of seeing the show. We might enjoy the songs even if we haven't seen the movie or play. But we probably don’t understand the storyline context around them in the original piece.
Song of Solomon reminds me of a soundtrack album in just that way. The words are expressive, almost explicit descriptions of the desire one person feels for another in their heart. But the songs by themselves do not really tell us the details of the story. We (the readers/ audience) must make assumptions about the story from the clues we hear in the songs.
Story-building from emotion-tinged lyrics is a risky business. It is not wise to be dogmatic about your version of the details. Your interpretation of the story makes perfect sense to you. But your neighbor might come away from the song with a very different story, based on his own perception. We all understand that it's about a competition between King Solomon and a shepherd for the Shulamite woman’s hand in marriage. We know she already loves her shepherd. Solomon tries to woo the woman to get her to become one of his wives. He says
she is perfect and the only one. But in the next breath, he says all his wives and concubines agree with his estimate of her beauty.
The neighbors offer to help this beautiful woman find her missing lover. She tells them that she knows where he is — he's out in the field, feeding his flock. The woman goes for a walk on a pleasant spring day to see the budding trees and vines. She wanders into the midst of a military unit. Perhaps that is where and when Solomon makes his final appeal. It seems that the shepherd comes to her rescue and rebukes the others for staring at his Shulamite woman. In the next chapter, he will praise the woman, describing her beauty from head to toe. He will invite her to go with him to share their love.
Yes, the lyrics are here, but the story line is not. The dialogue and the narration of the story are missing. My version of the story may not match yours, but the basic direction of the story is clear from the words of the songs.
If passage headings or other "helps" in your Bible really do help you get the picture, that is just fine. We're thankful for all the help we can get. But let's think for ourselves as we read. It's ok if you hear a different story from the one the publishers of the Bible heard, or the one I’m sharing as we read these chapters. We can all see the big picture, but the details of the story and the exact reason for its inclusion in the Bible are not so clear. Is there an allegorical meaning to it beyond the story itself pointing to Christ and our relationship with him? Use your mind and imagination. Build your own story based on the lyrics in Song of Solomon.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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