January 15,1992...The Portland Observer...Page 7
•Portland Observer
Scripture o f the V ’erfc
RELIGION
Galatians 5:1
The Song of Solomon and Human Sexuality
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY
Dean of North Portland Bible College
The text fo r the Sunday School
lesson (International Series) fo r next
Sunday is Song o f Solomon 2:8-17.
This passage deals with a wonderful,
but delicate subject. I welcome read
ers' responses to the views presented,
but let me emphasize that I'm most
interested in presenting the B ible's
position and how it relates to our com
munity.
In our series o f studies on the songs
and prayers o f the Bible, we are only
taking one week to take a sampling of
the beautiful, sensual poetry of the Song
o f Solomon. And that is really too bad,
because these poems about human love
are hard to analyze objectively. The
song o f Solomon teaches a lot about
married love, and about sexuality, but
it does not relate its principles like a
high-school health class, or a modem
sex manual.
B ackground. The Song o f Solo
mon claims to be the work o f King
Solomon, his “ song o f songs,” his
greatest writing. Solomon was famous
for the vast number o f wives and con
cubines he supported in his court (1
Kings 11:3, and Song 6:8). The wives
in particular were royal princesses, and
the marriages were arranged for politi
cal purposes-running contrary to the
w arnings the Lord (Yahweh) had given
Israel (1 Kings 11:2). The prophet,
writing in 1 Kings, em phasizes Solo
m on’s disobedience and the disastrous
consequences for his nation (read all of
ch. 11 for the details). The failures of
Solomon serve as an eloquent warning
for those leaders to d ay -b o th civil and
religious-w h o think that their personal
life (e.g., sexual morality, family life,
financial intergrity) should not effect
their public image and leadership.
But the Song o f Solomon gives us
another view o f Solomon, which some-
what softens the harshness of the prophet.
Most likely we should understand this
song as a set of “ idylls” or love songs,
sung by Solomon and his bride at their
week-long wedding feast. They relive
the joys and passions of their courtship,
and the wonderful pageantry o f their
wedding. This bride he married for
love, not political expediency. Solo-
man recognized the beauty and purity
o f their love surpassed anything he had
known in his previous encounters.
Leland Ryken summarizes the
“ plot” o f the book as follows: “ King
Solomon, visiting his vineyard upon
Mount Lebanon, comes by surprise upon
the fair Shulamite maiden; she flees
from him, and he visits her disguised as
a Shepherd and wins her love; then he
comes in slate to claim her as his queen;
they are being wedded in the royal
palace when the poem opens” (The
Literature o f the Bible, p. 207). Solo
mon does not develop this plot in chrono
logical order, but in separate incidents
tied to the rural home of the Shulamite
or (in a few cases) the court o f Jerusa
lem.
P urpose. The soong o f Solomon
makes no clear reference to God, or to
religious faith, and so some have felt
the need to look below the surface
meaning o f the song to find the “ real”
or “ larger” meaning. The early Jewish
traditions interpreted the Song as an
allegory o f the L ord’s love for the na
tion Israel; the church often takes the
bridegroom and the bride as types of
Christ and his church. Both these im
ages can be found in the Scripture (Ezek
16:1-14; Eph 5:25-32; and several oth
ers), so the concept is not impossible.
But there is no explanation o f the
Song o f Solomon, either in the book or
elsewhere in the Bible, to indicate that
this is an allegory for anything else. For
this reason, I take the Song as it stands,
a celebration o f sexual love under the
Oregon Mother Of The Year
The search is on for the 1992
“ Oregon M other of the Y ear.” The
qualifications are:
1. A t least 45 years o f age.
2. Married in a legally accepted cere
mony.
3. Youngest child must be at least 15
years o f age.
4. Q ualified to represent the Mothers
o f America as an exem plary role
model.
5. Understanding, patient, com pas
sionate, loving, courageous, and
skilled in homemaking arts that
are highly regarded as essential for
mothers.
6. A successful mother and hom e
maker as evidenced by the char
acter and contributions of her in
dividual children in the religious,
educational, civic, and governmen
tal or business worlds.
7. An active mem ber of a religious
body.
8. An active participant in com m u
nity, state, national, or interna
tional activities.
If YOU or someone YOU
KNOW qualifies, please call Sandy
or Sharon at 286-0782 or write Leah
Sauer, 10626 E. Burnside, Portland,
Oreegon 97216. Act NOW because
the deadlone for the return o f appli
cations is February, 1, 1992.
standards ol faithfulness and purity which
the Lord had already established in the
Law.
It is said that Jewish rabbis before
the lime o f Christ forbade youth under
30 from reading the Song o f Solomon.
However, in the preserved history of the
Jews and their religious practices, we
read that the Song was read aloud every
year by each family during the Feast of
Passover. The children would hearthese
love songs at least once a year, and as
they grew older the meanings would
become more clear from their experi
ence. They would learn naturally that
sexual love is a wonderful, mysterous
part o f life, and it’s not to be taken
lightly. There is nothing coarse or vile
about the language used; the lover and
his beloved frankly describe the beauty
o f each other’s bodies, and affirm their
longing and com m itm ent to each other.
Young women are addressed re
peatedly as “ daughters o f Jerusalem ,”
and the message to them is explicit:
there is a right time for this kind of
love—don’t get aroused for love until
that time arrives (Song 2:7; 3:5; 8:4).
Young men are taught an equally im
portant, practical message in Proverbs
(Prov 2:16-19; 5:15-20; 6:24-29; 7:1-
27): d o n ’tchaseafterother m en’s wives;
be faithful to the wife o f your youth; and
run lrom those wayward women who
would gladly chase you.
A pplication. We live in a sexually
saturated society, where the very idea o f
self-control in sexual conduct is laughed
at. The answ er is not ju st to give up or
give in. And it is surely not going to help
to hide our children from any know l
edge of our sexual nature, as if it is
somehow dirty or lewd.
The Song o f solomon gives us some
great guidelines for our own lives, as
well as the instruction of our teens and
young adults. Here arc a few thoughts I
would suggest, knowing that there is a
10th Annual Black
Womens’ Gathering
Volunteers arc needed to help plan
the 10th annual celebration o f Port
land’s Black W omen's Gathering
Help is needed on the following
committees:
Fundraising & booths, public rela
tions & media, program, entertainment,
childcare, hostess, food, and brochure.
For more information call D ’nor-
gia Price at 286-9089 or Deborah
Marshall 236-9687.
CME Ch urch
Psalm 34:3
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 287-0261
The Senior Usher Board of Bethel
A.M.E. Church, cordially invites you
to attend our “ Annual D ay,” Sun
day, January 19, 1992, a t4 :0 0 p .m „
“ featuring” Dr. Scholastica Ibari
Njoku, noted African speaker, au
thor and poet. For more information
please call Bethel A.M.E. Church,
(503) 288-5429 or 288-5420.
Study Phon«: 2 8 9 -1 9 11
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Christian Church
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I Pet«r hr.11
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3908
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Church Phon«: 2 S 9 -0 1 4 7
Cleodus Vann
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There is a place and a work here for you.
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A l l e n T e m p le
lot more in the Bible on this important
subject.
(1) God created humans as male
and female, and he called it very good
(Gen 1:31). So we can be thankful to
God for our sexuality, and enjoy it
• fully, without shame or guilt. (2) For
our own good, and for the full enjoy
ment o f our sexuality, we must follow
God’s plan for love, marriage and family.
This means a period o f self-control,
waiting for the right time and the right
person to give all one’s love to (read 1
Cor 6:18; 7:2). And then it means life
long faithfulness and respect for that
lover, which is the whole point of the
marriage vows (read 1 C or 7:3-4; 1
Thess 4:3-7).
(3) Those who transgress G od’s
plan for marriage will fall under the
judgment o f God, which is the natural
result o f their sin. This includes forni
cation (sexual relations prior to the
public marriage vows) and adultery
(unfaithfulness to one’s spouse) and all
homosexual acts (for all these, read 1
cor 6:9-10).
In today’s American society, we
can see the effects o f the “ sexual revo
lution.” Diseases, including AIDS,
but also including many other painful
and permanent conditions, are spread
ing at epidemic rates. [The “ sa fe se x ”
myth must be abandoned; in practice,
the only safe sex is within marriage.
Emotional and social upheaval also
follow in the wake of sexual promiscu
ity.
The prevailing attitudes toward
sexual relations promise freedom, but
produce emptiness, pain, and disap
pointment. G od’s standards may seem
too lim iting-they do require com m it
ment and self-control-but his ways
lead to real freedom, the freedom to
enjoy our sexuality without fear or rcgret.
It’s that freedom that the Song o f Solo
mon celebrates.
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Denise Fi. Bell, Postor
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Dr. James E. Martin. Senior Pastor
Church Office 116 N.E Schuyler,