Hey! In my English class I had to write a paper on an Old Testament book of the Bible. I decided on Song of Songs. Although it was quite challenging I really enjoyed learning more about this book that many tend to look over. I got a perfect A on it so I decided to share it with you in hopes that you will get something out of it!
Here goes:
Song of Songs is the perfect example of how Christians should handle their relationships. This book can be viewed in an allegorical way, a relationship between man and God, or in a literal way, a relationship between a man and a woman. By looking at both views, one can learn how to treat all of their relationships in a way that would please God. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching…”; Song of Songs included.Song of Songs is a unique book of the Bible because it is a poem, where many of the other books of the Bible are in a story or letter form. It was written by King Solomon, and because of its title, many believe that it is the greatest out of the 1,005 songs or poems the he wrote. The book was most likely written during 10th Century B.C., a time when Solomon was close to God and before his seven hundred wives and three hundred girlfriends. It tells the story of Solomon and his beloved. It is like a romance novel with topics like sexuality and faithfulness in marriage. Although numerous people tend to skip over this book, it cannot be ignored or one will fail to see the message that God has given us. He didn’t leave us without any guidance on how to find continual joy in relationships with others (Cole).
In Song of Songs, Solomon speaks of how his wife has “locked up her garden”, which means that she has stayed sexually pure outside of marriage. This created for complete and total oneness between them. Their romance is completely pure because it is not held back by sexual addictions or selfish desires. It is within the boundaries God has set, and God was pleased with them. Sex inside of marriage can serve for pleasure, children, comfort, protection, and oneness; outside of marriage, however, can create many problems (Mark Driscoll).Christians who want to live their lives honoring God shouldn’t be asking how far they can go before crossing the line but instead how close they can get to Christ. God is very serious about the fact that you need to stay sexually pure until marriage, and to show how serious He is, He has created tons of earthly consequences if you decide to go against His will. More than 50 million Americans have been infected with STDs. “The only true safe sex is that within the context of marriage” (St. James 51). Every day 33,000 Americans become infected with STDs. There are more than fifty known STDs and some are incurable and even deadly. Each day 2,700 teens become pregnant, concluding to about one million teen pregnancies each year. A little over three in ten of those teens choose to abort their baby, which would mean over 300,000 abortions each year, just from teens. Other than the physical consequences there are plenty of emotional results of sex before marriage. People who have sex before marriage suffer from feelings of being used, regret, guilt, fear of commitment, low self-esteem, extreme feelings of hopelessness, depression, and even suicide. For Christians who make this mistake, besides those effects, one might feel like they don’t deserve a relationship with God, like they can’t approach Him. It can also impact one’s witness, lower one’s standards, and will affect your marriage and relationship with your kids. Rebecca St. James was right on when she said, “God made sex to be wonderful, joyful, uniting, beautiful, and good. But outside of marriage it can be exactly the opposite—a sad, cheap, damaging, loveless, and disappointing rendition of the real thing. Don’t settle for the agony; wait for the ecstasy of sex God’s way.” (St. James 52)True the Bible teaches abstinence until marriage, but it also teaches devotedness in marriage. Solomon and the Shulammite woman’s love are completely mutual and both sides serve and love each other equally. They are important to each other, and provide for each other. She feels safe with him because he makes an effort to protect her. Their love is beautiful and pure because they are completely in love and devoted to each other. They know what the other likes and try to give them that. They are constantly professing their love for each other, which keeps away doubt. They pour their hearts out in such a way that they always find joy in the other (Laura Rosa). They make each other their standards of beauty which makes even each other’s flaws seem beautiful (Mark Driscoll).There are two other factors which will create for a good marriage. One is having good friends around you. A good friend will support you in your marriage and will encourage you to spend time with each other (Laura Rosa). Another thing is to get rid of your “foxes.” Song of Songs chapter two, verse fifteen tells of “foxes that ruin the vineyards.” These would be problems that keep you from one another. Ways to get rid of them would be to make sure that you, for the most part, agree with your spouse, (if you don’t the differences with drive you crazy), speak positively and kindly to one another, (don’t always be blaming and criticizing each other) and most importantly make sure that your priorities are right (Jesus first, spouse second, and children third). “Without Jesus, your marriage is doomed” (Mark Driscoll).When we look at Song of Songs in the allegorical sense, it helps us to see God’s value for us. When we see how much He loves us we can’t help but fall back in love with Him. In Song of Songs, the Shulammite woman feels insecure about herself and doesn’t seem to think she’s good enough for her lover. We often feel the same way, that we’re not attractive enough or like God won’t value us because we are so sinful. The truth is that God loves us so much that it’s unfathomable. He treasures us and thinks that we are the most amazing things ever. He cares for us immensely and if we trust in Him he will protect us through whatever happens. When we see this we can feel like we’re worth something. God doesn’t love us just because of how we look, but because we are His. We often try to base our worth on other people’s views of us when we actually need to find our value in Christ (Laura Rosa).Song of Songs can change your entire way of life. It makes you see the importance of waiting until marriage to have sex, the ways to have good relationships with someone you’re dating or your spouse, and most importantly, the value that God had for you. If one bases their life on these things, they will be living the way God intended us to live and be forever joyful. If more people would take the time to see what Song of Songs has to teach, instead of just skipping over it, and truly apply it to their lives, there’s no doubt that there would be multiple more healthy and Godly relationships.
THE END!
Did you like it? Let me know!
~Amy
Here goes:
Song of Songs is the perfect example of how Christians should handle their relationships. This book can be viewed in an allegorical way, a relationship between man and God, or in a literal way, a relationship between a man and a woman. By looking at both views, one can learn how to treat all of their relationships in a way that would please God. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching…”; Song of Songs included.Song of Songs is a unique book of the Bible because it is a poem, where many of the other books of the Bible are in a story or letter form. It was written by King Solomon, and because of its title, many believe that it is the greatest out of the 1,005 songs or poems the he wrote. The book was most likely written during 10th Century B.C., a time when Solomon was close to God and before his seven hundred wives and three hundred girlfriends. It tells the story of Solomon and his beloved. It is like a romance novel with topics like sexuality and faithfulness in marriage. Although numerous people tend to skip over this book, it cannot be ignored or one will fail to see the message that God has given us. He didn’t leave us without any guidance on how to find continual joy in relationships with others (Cole).
In Song of Songs, Solomon speaks of how his wife has “locked up her garden”, which means that she has stayed sexually pure outside of marriage. This created for complete and total oneness between them. Their romance is completely pure because it is not held back by sexual addictions or selfish desires. It is within the boundaries God has set, and God was pleased with them. Sex inside of marriage can serve for pleasure, children, comfort, protection, and oneness; outside of marriage, however, can create many problems (Mark Driscoll).Christians who want to live their lives honoring God shouldn’t be asking how far they can go before crossing the line but instead how close they can get to Christ. God is very serious about the fact that you need to stay sexually pure until marriage, and to show how serious He is, He has created tons of earthly consequences if you decide to go against His will. More than 50 million Americans have been infected with STDs. “The only true safe sex is that within the context of marriage” (St. James 51). Every day 33,000 Americans become infected with STDs. There are more than fifty known STDs and some are incurable and even deadly. Each day 2,700 teens become pregnant, concluding to about one million teen pregnancies each year. A little over three in ten of those teens choose to abort their baby, which would mean over 300,000 abortions each year, just from teens. Other than the physical consequences there are plenty of emotional results of sex before marriage. People who have sex before marriage suffer from feelings of being used, regret, guilt, fear of commitment, low self-esteem, extreme feelings of hopelessness, depression, and even suicide. For Christians who make this mistake, besides those effects, one might feel like they don’t deserve a relationship with God, like they can’t approach Him. It can also impact one’s witness, lower one’s standards, and will affect your marriage and relationship with your kids. Rebecca St. James was right on when she said, “God made sex to be wonderful, joyful, uniting, beautiful, and good. But outside of marriage it can be exactly the opposite—a sad, cheap, damaging, loveless, and disappointing rendition of the real thing. Don’t settle for the agony; wait for the ecstasy of sex God’s way.” (St. James 52)True the Bible teaches abstinence until marriage, but it also teaches devotedness in marriage. Solomon and the Shulammite woman’s love are completely mutual and both sides serve and love each other equally. They are important to each other, and provide for each other. She feels safe with him because he makes an effort to protect her. Their love is beautiful and pure because they are completely in love and devoted to each other. They know what the other likes and try to give them that. They are constantly professing their love for each other, which keeps away doubt. They pour their hearts out in such a way that they always find joy in the other (Laura Rosa). They make each other their standards of beauty which makes even each other’s flaws seem beautiful (Mark Driscoll).There are two other factors which will create for a good marriage. One is having good friends around you. A good friend will support you in your marriage and will encourage you to spend time with each other (Laura Rosa). Another thing is to get rid of your “foxes.” Song of Songs chapter two, verse fifteen tells of “foxes that ruin the vineyards.” These would be problems that keep you from one another. Ways to get rid of them would be to make sure that you, for the most part, agree with your spouse, (if you don’t the differences with drive you crazy), speak positively and kindly to one another, (don’t always be blaming and criticizing each other) and most importantly make sure that your priorities are right (Jesus first, spouse second, and children third). “Without Jesus, your marriage is doomed” (Mark Driscoll).When we look at Song of Songs in the allegorical sense, it helps us to see God’s value for us. When we see how much He loves us we can’t help but fall back in love with Him. In Song of Songs, the Shulammite woman feels insecure about herself and doesn’t seem to think she’s good enough for her lover. We often feel the same way, that we’re not attractive enough or like God won’t value us because we are so sinful. The truth is that God loves us so much that it’s unfathomable. He treasures us and thinks that we are the most amazing things ever. He cares for us immensely and if we trust in Him he will protect us through whatever happens. When we see this we can feel like we’re worth something. God doesn’t love us just because of how we look, but because we are His. We often try to base our worth on other people’s views of us when we actually need to find our value in Christ (Laura Rosa).Song of Songs can change your entire way of life. It makes you see the importance of waiting until marriage to have sex, the ways to have good relationships with someone you’re dating or your spouse, and most importantly, the value that God had for you. If one bases their life on these things, they will be living the way God intended us to live and be forever joyful. If more people would take the time to see what Song of Songs has to teach, instead of just skipping over it, and truly apply it to their lives, there’s no doubt that there would be multiple more healthy and Godly relationships.
THE END!
Did you like it? Let me know!
~Amy
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