Song of Solomon

Besides the story of Esther, Song of Solomon is the only other book in the Bible that does not mention the word 'God'. So why is it included in the inspired canon of scripture, when a cursory reading seems to suggest that it's a collection of love poems in prose and dialogue form?

The Hebrew title Shir Hashirim—Song of Songs—is superlative among the 1005 songs which Solomon wrote (1 Kings 4:32), despite the debates and contentions regarding its authorship. The name Solomon is mentioned seven times (1:1, 5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11-12) along with a lesser number of queens and concubines (6:8 vs 1 Kings 11:3) at the time this song was written.

While the original text provides no proper delineations to help readers distinguish who is speaking to whom throughout the book, it is not difficult to make out the voices of three parties involved, namely the beloved, the Shulamite girl, and a chorus of female attendees, aptly named 'the daughters of Jerusalem'. And like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this divinely inspired romance piece is played out in stages, beginning with courtship and ending in the consummation of love in marriage.

In this age of sexual promiscuity and moral laxity, Song of Solomon is perhaps the best gift from God that exemplify the excellence of fidelity in love and marriage in which a man and woman celebrate their sexual intimacy and union. But much more than that, it depicts the mystery of the marriage relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church, of which the songwriter Samuel John Stone wrote:

The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;

She is His new creation by water and the Word.

From heav'n he came and sought her to be his holy bride;

With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died.

Indeed—love divine, all loves exceling!

OUTLINE OF SONG OF SOLOMON

1. The Courtship of Love (1:1-5:1)

a. Act I—Falling in Love (1:1-2:7)

Shulamite girl in love

Inside the king's private chambers

Friends' response

Shulamite girl defends her look

Beloved's captivation

Mutual admiration

b. Act II—Longing in Love (2:8-3:5)

Beloved's visitation

Shulamite girl's hesitation

Search in desperation

c. Act III—Uniting in Love (3:6-5:1)

Beloved's true identity revealed

Beloved's expression of love

Beloved's marriage proposal

2. The Consummation of Love (5:2-8:14)

a. Act IV—Struggling in Love (5:2-6:3)

Missed opportunity

Shulamite girl's lovesickness

Friends' query

Shulamite girl's praise of her Beloved

b. Act V—Maturing in Love (6:4-8:14)

Beloved's desire for intimacy

Shulamite girl's acceptance

Shulamite girl's declaration of love

Friends' promise to protect

United in love—at last!

 

The Five Scrolls

The five scrolls, commonly known to Jews as the Megillot, is made up of Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther. These short books are also regarded as festival scrolls and read with cantillation (ritualistic chanting) during important festivals in Jewish synagogues.

Song of Solomon is read during Passover, the spring feast, as it has a spring setting (2:11-13) where love—like the flowers—is in full bloom.

The heartwarming story of Ruth, with its late spring theme, is usually read on Pentecost during the barley and wheat harvest period, known as the 'feast of weeks' or 'harvest of firstfruits' (Exodus 34:22).

Lamentations, attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, is read aloud on the fast of day nine in the month Ab, when Jews mourn the destruction of Solomon's temple by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC and the second temple by the Romans in 70 AD. Interestingly, both events occurred on the same date!

Ecclesiastes is read during the Feast of Tabernacles as a firm reminder that life is meaningless without God, just as Solomon found out the painful way despite being the wisest man ever to live and rule in a golden age of peace and prosperity.

Esther is read at the feast of Purim, a Jewish national holiday to commemorate great deliverance from genocidal annihilation. Though the word 'God' is not mentioned in this book, His fingerprint can be clearly seen as He intervened behind the scene in the history of the exiled nation.

Let us immerse ourselves in the exhilaration of love, sweetness of loyalty, sorrows of desolation, contemplation of life's futility, and wonder of divine provision and protection!

 

Job

Perhaps no other books in the Bible is more personal and yet perplexing in addressing questions that relate to suffering like Job's story. What is God like? Why does He allow suffering? How should we respond to trials or help those who are going through one? 

As a literary piece, the brief prologue and epilogue are written in prose while the rest of the book are in poetic form. From a theatrical standpoint, it seems to be a bet between God and Satan—Job being the unfortunate deck on which the cosmic gamble is played out. From a philosophical perspective, the debates between Job and his friends brought out the futility and limitations of human reasoning, secular wisdom, and even scholastic theology.

Job's friends meant well but their advices were more harmful than helpful to Job, and led to three cycles of theological debate over God's justice and mercy. Despite his bitter rantings, Job never repudiated his faith and trust in the LORD, and though he misunderstood God's mercy, it did not tarnish His name or nature. Conversely, Job's three friends oversimplified God's justice in view of the former's misfortune and as a consequence represented Him as the author of suffering. Theological truth spoken without compassion for the sufferer always distort the image of God.

The best and safest stance is that of Elihu's view—that there is no straight answer to the question of suffering, but anyone undergoing it ought to be humble and submit to God's process of purifying his life and faith through the crucible of fire.

Job could not see the why, but he knew the who and refused to let the present suffering cloud his mind and displace his focus. And he passed the test with flying colors. Indeed, the fear of the LORD is wisdom (Job 28:28).

OUTLINE OF JOB

1. Prologue (1:1-5)

Job's fortune | fame | faith

2. Dialogue in Heaven (1:6-2:10)

a. Satan's first accusation (1:6-22)

Job's wealth is taken away

b. Satan's second accusation (2:1-10)

Job's health is taken away

3. Dialogue on Earth (2:11-37:24)

Sympathy from Job's friends (2:11-13)

Squabbles with Job's friends (3:1-37:24)

Job broke his silence (3:1-26)

a. First cycle of debate (4:1-14:22)

Eliphaz vs Job | Bildad vs Job | Zophar vs Job

b. Second cycle of debate (15:1-21:34)

Eliphaz vs Job | Bildad vs Job | Zophar vs Job

c. Third cycle of debate (22:1-26:14)

Eliphaz vs Job | Bildad vs Job

Job's final defense (27:1-31:48)

Elihu's Rebuttals (32:1-37:24)

First | Second | Third | Conclusion

4. Dialogue with God (38:1-42:17)

a. First cycle of Q&A (38:1-40:5)

God questions Job regarding creation

Job's first reply—admits ignorance | insignificance

b. Second cycle of Q&A (40:6-42:6)

God challenges Job to take on the champions

of His creation: behemoth | leviathan

Job's second reply—humility | repentance 

5. Epilogue (42:7-17)

Job's friends reprimanded

Job's fortune restored

 

Proverbs

The book of Proverbs contains an assortment of wise sayings mainly by king Solomon and a few anonymous, with the last two chapters attributed to Agur and king Lemuel, respectively.

A proverb is a concise statement that expresses a certain truth. In Hebrew form, it usually takes on a poetic prose using the following parallelism structures:

 synonymous—the second line repeats the thought of the first using similar words or ideas (1:2)

 antithetic—the second line reinforces the first by stating the opposite (10:1)

 synthetic—the second line completes the first (3:6)

 climatic—the second line takes up the same words as the first with the exception of the last word (31:4)

 emblematic—one line conveys the main thought and the other illustrates (25:25)

 formal—two dissimilar thoughts are joined in parallel expression (15:33)

Wisdom (Hebrew, hokhmah) is more than just shrewdness or intelligence; it is the ability to make good judgments and take decisive actions based on sound moral values that leads to the practical outworking of righteous living. No wonder the queen of Sheba was completely overwhelmed by Solomon when she came all the way from the east to test him with hard questions (1 Kings 10:1-9).

There is an eternal perspective in Proverbs that is often missed (see 12:28; 14:32; 23:17-18). Not all of the promises or truths will be fulfilled in this life—but they WILL be made good in the end when God sets the record straight!

12:28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the path way thereof there is no death.

OUTLINE OF PROVERBS

1. The Virtues of Wisdom (1-9)

a. Threefold 'My Son' Instructions (1:1-19)

b. The Call of Wisdom (1:20-33)

c. Seeking Wisdom

'Aleph' Section (2:1-11)

'Lamed' Section (2:12-22)

d. Wise Living (3:1-35)

e. Avoiding Evil (4:1-22)

f. Adultery vs Fidelity (5:1-23)

g. Surety | Sloth | Seduction (6:1-7:27)

h. Wisdom vs Folly (8:1-9:18)

2. The Proverbs of Solomon (10-22:16)

a. The Godly vs The Wicked (10:1-15:33)

b. On Godly Living (16:1-22:16)

3. The Sayings of the Wise (22:17-24:34)

a. Wise words by Anonymous Writers

b. Redeemer hinted (23:11)

4. Proverbs Collated by Hezekiah (25-29)

a. Regulating Relationships (25:1-26:28)

Kings | Neighbors | Enemies | Self

Fools | Sluggards | Gossips

b. Handling Circumstances (27:1-27)

c. Manual for Future Monarchs (28:1-29:27)

5. The Words of Agur (30:1-33)

a. God's Son hinted (30:4)

b. Three-plus-four emphases (six clusters)

6. The Words of King Lemuel (31:1-31)

a. A mother's advice—Avoid evil; do good (31:1-9)

b. The excellent wife (31:10-31)