We’re halfway through This Is the Old Testament, our thematic overview of the Old Testament. Each day we’ll read a thematic selection from a different book of the Bible, along with supplemental passages that show how the theme of that day’s main reading is found throughout Scripture. We’ll also read a brief summary of each book and a reflection on how the book fits into the larger story of Scripture. This week, we’ll finish our look at the books of Wisdom Literature and begin the last sections of the Old Testament, the Major and Minor Prophets.
What Is Song of Songs? Song of Songs is a collection of poetry written by King Solomon, or someone writing from his point of view, that celebrates the goodness and beauty of human love and intimacy.
How Song of Songs Fits Into the Story: Songs of Songs inspires a pursuit of the love it so beautifully describes: one of emotional intimacy and desire. The book illustrates respect, integrity, and security; devotion through bleak seasons of winter; and renewal in new seasons of spring. It reflects God’s desire to form pure and devoted love within us. It also shows there is potential bliss in married love, reflective of the greater love the Church experiences as the bride of Christ. Song of Songs helps us anticipate the fullness of our relationship with Christ when He returns for His bride.
Reflection Questions:
1. What does the delight the man and woman express for one another in Song of Songs teach you about God’s affection for His people?
2. How does today’s reading shape your understanding of the story of redemption?
Take time to reflect on your responses and share what you are learning with others in the community in the comments.
Song of Songs to me is like many romance short stories. Some of them very steamy. I would have to say Solomon or whoever wrote them has a way with words. I’m not the romance story type though so I guess that’s why I’m not so excited about them. I need to look at them in a different frame of mind. Help I need to understand them better.
Sisters be blessed.
Song of Songs is like a steamy novel! These verses stood out to me. 7:10 I am my love’s, and his desire is for me. To think we are someone’s only desire is beautiful. And flipping that to know that we are God’s desire. 8:6 Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death. We can become complacent in marriage. Life gets busy and we don’t spend the needed time with our spouse. This is a reminder to remember to put the important things first, those we love.
What are you waiting for by Dannah Gresh is an excellent book on tough issues that are hard to talk about and bring to the light. I took my daughter many yrs ago to one of her events for Moms and Girls and it was outstanding! I recommend this book to single women and young girls heading to college for truths on romance, sex and God’s desire on how it is supposed to be.
Prayers to Traci and Tanner, ERB, Foster Mama, Victoria E and all on SRT. So grateful to be studying and praying with all of you this past 15 months. I prayed for yrs for God to help me stay away / limit social media and I found you! God Bless You and so glad Tina is back and also especially praying for Churchmouse every day. ❤️
I so love Sarah Joys thoughts, if you haven’t read them please do. Thank you Sarah Joy for sharing. ❤️
I became a Christian when I was 24 and had not been too interested in men and had never had a boyfriend before. Then I started hanging around couples that had wonderful relationships and the flame was lit within me. When I became engaged at 29 (still my only boyfriend) this book of the Bible came alive to me. My fiancé left for Alaska for 3 months before our wedding but we planned things before he left and over our once a week calls. We saw our marriage in the light of Christ’s love for his church and some of the proclamations we said to each other at our wedding came from SOS. Also, there is an album by John Michael Talbot called For the Bride that contains lyrics from this book. Several of the songs were sung at our wedding. Every time I read SOS I am taken back to that wonderful time of my life and that blissful state of budding love!
Today’s readings made me think about how passion and spiritually are not odds with each other. God celebrates love, intensity, and beauty. While this will look differently for all of us at different stages in our lives, I think God invites us to delight in these things, too.
Tina, as Mari I am because my thoughts are as yours. At 65 my are more like a weeping cherry tree. But you nailed it girl. I have always said God has a sense of humor. God’s blessing to all my SRT sister’s. ❤️
For me, this reading illustrates just how perverted the world has made the beauty of (physical) love to be and how far the world has fallen from God’s ideal of love. I feel sad today, because I have never loved or been loved like the love described in the reading. I think our very fallen and human experiences of “love” can get in the way of even imagining a love like the one we read about in Song of Songs. I know by faith God loves me and delights in me, but it is something I can’t begin to imagine or feel. If that makes sense?