Jensens survey of the old testament adam 184

1. It is one of the most misunderstood
books of the Bible. Its Oriental expressions
of intimate love partly account for this.
2. It is the only book of the Bible where
love between humans is the main plot and
theme. (Other similar passages of love are to
be found in Psalm 45 and the book of Ruth.)
3. There is only one direct reference to
God in the book (“the LORD,” 8:6). (In the
King James Version there is no such
reference. Instead, at 8:6 the Hebrew word
Yah is translated “vehement.” The book of
Esther records no name of God.)
4. There is no speci c or direct reference
to sin.
5. There is no speci c or direct reference
to the religious realm as such.
6. No other Old Testament book is alluded
to here.


7. The book is not alluded to by Christ,
nor is it quoted elsewhere in the New
Testament.14
V. KEY WORDS AND VERSES
Read the key words which are listed on
Chart 77. Add others to the list. Do the same
for the key verses.
VI. APPLICATIONS
This book was written especially to stir up
t h e feelings of God’s people. Ecclesiastes

st r e sse s thinking; the Song of Solomon
stresses feeling, of the meditative type.
Andrew Miller wrote long ago, “There is
nothing which the men of this world dread
more than solitude and re ection. They
would
rather
be
overpressed
with
engagements than have leisure for
thought.”15 Has human nature changed


since then?
The Christological purpose of Canticles is
to inspire Christians to take time to meditate
on Jesus Christ. “The calm, re ective quiet
of the soul in communion with the Person of
the exalted Lord, is what characterises its
sweetest moments while here on earth.”16
Canticles’ teachings about love should be
applied in two ways: typical and literal.
A. TYPICAL

The key to the full meaning and purpose
of the Song of Solomon is Jesus Christ. The
book as a love story is unexcelled only if
Christ is the Lover in its pages—for no one
can surpass His love: “Christ lives in me; and

the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and
delivered Himself up for me” (Gal 2:20, italics
added). In the Song of Solomon it is the
person of Christ, not His work, which is the


prominent characteristic (“He is wholly
desirable,” 5:16). The Christian reader who
involves himself in the book is overwhelmed
by the beautiful and reassuring truth of his
union and communion with such a Saviour.
B. LITERAL

No other book of the Bible gives such an
extended description of the beauties of a
love relationship between a man and a
woman. The inclusion of this human love
story in God’s Book demonstrates the sacred
honor which He has given to the union of
husband and wife. Study the Song of
Solomon to learn its literal teachings about
the kind of human love that honors God.
Below is a partial list of aspects of love
which are referred to in the book.
physical: beauty, purity, body, sexual
instincts, desire, attraction, satisfaction,
giving and receiving, presence and