The Song of Solomon and a Biblical View of Sexuality

Perversion is probably humanity's most developed talent. Though it now carries sexual connotations, perversion is merely a twisting of something good into something bad. [1] Eve, for instance, was acting perversely in the eating of the fruit, which was not meant to be eaten (Gen. 2:17). It seems that it was meant only to be looked upon (Gen. 2:9). There was nothing inherently wrong with the fruit, because God created nothing that was not good. (Gen. 1:31) It's just that it was not meant to be eaten. Perversion is taking a normal (good) thing and making abnormal (bad) use of it.

Humans have perverted many of God's good gifts. Knowledge has been twisted into vain and hollow philosophies. (Col. 2:8) Physical beauty has been tainted with vanity. (Prov. 31:30) Wealth has been corrupted by greed. (Luke 12:15) And, sanctified sexuality has been perverted to the highest degree.

This beautiful passage suggests a sexual exclusivity within the marriage.

This proclivity for perversion is likely why Christians are sometimes nervous to approach the topic of erotic love. Even the word "erotic" [2] has been utterly tarnished by our perverted culture--a word denoting sexual attraction and pleasure that has been attached as a descriptor to pornographic products.

This total cultural saturation in the corruption of sexual love is what makes the Song of Solomon so freeing. This book of the Bible is the one book in which God explicitly reveals that he created humans as sexual beings who are meant to benefit from their sexuality. Sexuality, like the fruit of the garden, is not a bad thing. But, as was done in the Garden and in all our hearts since then, sexuality has been perverted and used in ways that are not God's design (i.e. extra-marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, polygamy, pornography, lustful fantasizing, etc...)

Should the Song of Solomon be read and studied?

Some may fear that exposure to the Song of Solomon, if understood, could awaken fleshly passions and lusts. Quite to the contrary, however. If taught and understood at appropriate levels of age and maturity, it is a refreshing antidote to the gross perversion of contemporary culture. It is a reminder that our sexual desires are not inherently wrong; they merely need to be directed and disciplined to fit God's design for them. Sexuality is a good and beautiful function of the marriage bond.

The language of the Song of Solomon is sufficiently poetic and symbolic to make it suitable for younger readers who will discern the beauty and intimacy of marriage without yet discerning the somewhat graphic nature of the images behind the symbols. (So. 4:5; 4:11; 5:3; 7:2, etc...)

The narrative of Song of Solomon

Evidence suggests that this work of poetry was written by King Solomon--the very same king Solomon who had seven-hundred wives and three-hundred concubines. (1 Kings 11:3). The work is a song, which tells the story of of the flowering love between King Solomon and an unnamed maiden of a lower estate. The relationship advances as a poetic narrative--from attraction to courting to marriage and sexual consummation. An outline is provided below:

• The two express their affection for another. (So. 1:2-2:7)
• They seek out one another. (So. 2:8-3:5)
• The couple gets married. (So. 3:6-11)
• The lovers consummate their marriage sexually. (So. 4:1-5:1)
• The lovers experience conflict and restoration. (So. 5:2-8:4)
• The lovers express their true love for one another. (So. 8:5-14)

How does this apply today?

Below are some points that the modern reader can take away from this ancient song: [4]

• God can illustrate his perfect truth (monogamous sexual marriage) even through imperfect vessels (a polygamist).[3] The story of the creation, fall, and redemption of humanity that is told from Genesis through Revelation is an account of God continually using broken and sinful individuals to communicate himself. Jesus would be the only exception, of course.
• God cares about the physical. A devaluing or even a disdain for the physical can be found in Islam and in some conservative (fundamentalist) veins of Christianity. The roots of this, however, are not found in the Scriptures but, rather, in the philosophy of Plato. This tends to suppress any appreciation of human sexuality. The Song of Solomon reveals that God cares very much about the physical. All that he created was good, and he constructed humanity in two parts -- "male and female he created them." (Gen. 1:27) The binding of the two parts of humanity is accomplished through sexual love.
• It is good to talk about the human body. If sex is a good thing, it is not a bad thing to talk about it, if done in a manner that is mature and dignified. In the case of Solomon, he speaks poetically about it, using metaphors that are both beautiful and tactful. Christians, being the stewards of God's truth on the matter, must not be silent regarding the purpose and preservation of God-given sexuality.
• God designed human sexuality, and it must be used within his design. Just as an exotic sports car is a beautiful thing when used as the owner's manual instructs, sexuality must be used as designed by its creator. Perverting the use of sex by using it outside of monogamous and heterosexual marriage is like pouring grape juice into the tank of a Ferrari. It will ruin it. As Solomon's lover sings, "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." (So. 2:7; 3:5; 8:4)
• Married lovers endanger their bond when they don't respond to one another's loving approaches. (So. 5:2, 6) In a marriage, each person ought to think of his/her own flesh as belonging to his/her spouse. (1 Cor. 7:3-4) It is destructive, for example, for a wife to consider her body to be her own, which she occasionally shares with her husband, or vice versa. [5] Each member's body belongs to the other. A marriage is not a matter of adding two individuals to make two. It is the addition of two halves to make a whole. As C.S. Lewis put it in Mere Christianity, marriage is like a violin and a bow--together they constitute one instrument.
• Marriage love is exclusive. Each partner's sexuality is a treasure that must be shared only with the spouse. Solomon's song describes the lovers' sexuality as a garden--a garden, which belongs each to the other. (So. 4:12) Sexual contact with anyone other than one's own spouse is a giving away of someone else's garden.
• Abstaining until marriage is nothing to be embarrassed about. Abstinence is beautiful, because it provides one the opportunity to give something holy and unique to one's spouse. If a person has had sex outside of their marriage relationship, that person doesn't have the same to give. The Song of Solomon portrays sexual love in marriage as something to be cherished and worth waiting for.

Could this be an analogy for Jesus and his bride, the Church?

[edited 2/10/2013] It is frequently debated whether or not this book is intended to be a metaphor for Christ's pure love for his bride, the Church. After much reading, deliberation, and discussion with other believers, I'm inclined to think that it is not, because there is simply no textual indication that it should be interpreted in this way. However, I have included D.A. Carson's comment on the matter below. He seems to think that, while it may not be intended, it can loosely serve the modern audience as an "illustrative" analogy. [end of edit]

"Used illustratively, the song says some beautiful things about the relation of Christ with his beloved church. We are reminded, among other things, of the strength of Christ’s love (So. 8:7); his delight to hear the prayers of the church (So. 8:13); the sense of yearning for his presence (So. 8:14); the invitation of Christ to share his company (So. 2:13); the dangers of the failure to respond to his knocking (So. 5:2–8; Rev. 3:20)." [6]

Solomon's song is a too-often neglected book, which was inspired by a perfect God to be written by an imperfect man. God wants us to read and understand his words. If they are about sex, then we need to learn to be comfortable talking about sex. Christians ought to approach the topic of sex just as God has--with dignity, beauty, and purpose.

(For more information regarding sex and the Christian life, see my post "Why Christians Care So Much About Sexual Sins.")

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[1] Perhaps "corruption" would be a better word, as it carries less sexual baggage.
[2] "Erotic" is derived from the Greek word eros, which does not appear in the Greek New Testament. It simply meant sexual love and pleasure, with no sinful connotations.
[3] See also the illustration of God's love through the marriage of Hosea to a prostitute (Gomer) in the book of Hosea.
[4] These points are adapted from D.A. Carson's New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. See his "Introduction" to the Song of Songs. (D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, Rev. Ed. of: The New Bible Commentary. 3rd Ed. / Edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994)
[5] For reasons obvious to any married couple, the husband is more likely to have 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 handy as a memory verse than the wife. I'm not suggesting that this passage be used a means of manipulation. However, it is God's communication to wife AND husband, that each belongs to the other in a relationship that has a physical and sexual dimension. Husbands who do remind their wives of this passage would do well to remind themselves that there is also an emotional dimension to the relationship and that they are to love their wives sacrificially as God loved the Church. (Eph. 5:25)
[6] This is a direct quote from Carson's "Introduction" to the Song of Solomon in his New Bible Commentary. See footnote [4].