Verse 1
The maiden here stands for all mankind before the coming of Christ. Her longing for her true love to come and take her away from that evil, hopeless place stands for the longing of all righteous people for the coming of the Messiah. The criticism of the harem women stands for the hatred of the world for those who desire to serve God. The maiden's unhappiness in the harem shows the inability of the secular world to satisfy our souls.
"The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's."
It is stated in 1 Kings 4:32 that Solomon wrote a thousand and five songs; yet only one of them is found in the Bible; and through the ages there have often been questions as to whether or not this one really belongs in the Canon. Most of the interpretations (especially the allegorical explanations) are clearly designed to justify the presence of this book in the Bible; and the utter inability of the scholars of two thousand years to reach an even approximate agreement on what the book teaches leaves the question unanswered.
The only reason that this writer accepts the Song of Solomon's place in the Holy Bible is that God Himself commissioned Israel to be the trustees of "the oracles of God" (Romans 3:2); and there can be no doubt that the unchallenged opinion of ancient Israel placed it there (in the Canon). Could Israel have made a mistake in this instance? Even if they did (and we do not charge that they did) make a mistake in this matter, it is of no consequence in reference to their major assignment of recognizing, receiving and advocating the worldwide acceptance of the Messiah in his First Advent. In the person of the holy Apostles of Christ and the righteous remnant of the apostate Israel, they gloriously achieved that assignment.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of Israel was blind in their loving adoration of Solomon; and they considered his evil kingdom a type of the Kingdom of God that the Messiah would organize when he came. They desired nothing, either in heaven or on earth, any more than the restoration of that reprobate kingdom of Solomon; and the only reason they crucified Christ came from their recognition that Jesus Christ would never restore anything like Solomon's kingdom. There is a possibility, although we do not see it as a fact, that Israel might have included in the Bible one of Solomon's 1,005 songs merely because of their infatuation. We cannot answer this question, nor can we deny the existence of it.
As we explore what the text says, the reader must make up his own mind.
The literal words here are erotic; of that, there is not any doubt.
Be the first to react on this!
