Many believers, especially men, have difficulty in understanding and appreciating the revelation the Lord gives us in the Song of Songs. Some of us wonder, does Jesus really want to know us the way a groom knows his bride? How can I see this theme as something healthy instead of something weird? Does the rest of the Bible affirm this kind of inmate relationship with Jesus, or is this message isolated to the Song of Songs? In other words, how seriously should I take this perspective? And how do I apply a seemingly allegorical love poem between a man and a woman to my everyday walk with Yeshua (Jesus)? What, if anything, does the Song have to do with my life today?
I certainly knew Yeshua as my Savior, Redeemer, Messiah, and friend. But I didn’t understand the deeper mystery of His relationship with me as expressed in this book. Serious questions arose as I wondered what the purpose of this book was about. Many others have struggled with the same questions I had and this is why it has been one of the most neglected books in the Bible throughout history and still is today. Some Bible students and scholars even wonder why it is in the Bible! Aside from the fact that they don’t find its flowery, poetic language appealing, they question whether King Solomon can teach us about pure marital love or even divine romance for that matter since he had hundreds of wives and concubines. For these reasons, some sincere believers simply leave the book alone—or just read it through quickly in their Bible-in-a-year plans.
My view of the Song changed rather suddenly, however, when the Lord knitted my heart to this book in a way I never expected. In December some years back, I asked the Lord what I should focus on in His written Word in the coming new year. I was looking to Him for the next level of revelation He wanted to bring into my life. At that time, I sensed the Lord beckoning me to give myself entirely to the study of the Song of Songs. I felt He was going to open up a new mystery to me. So, I studied the book every day for fifty-two whole weeks.
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Through the Song I have come to understand Yeshua’s affections for me in a very meaningful and personal way, beyond where I had been. Especially in regards to God’s beauty and how much He loves us.
Jesus is on a journey of love with each one of us. His deep, personal interest in His beloved ones is never casual or bland. While we may be inclined to keep Jesus at arm’s length (even sometimes while not realizing it), He is content with nothing less than communing with us in the deepest possible way. He stands at the door of our heart knocking, always wanting to come deeper in to each one of us.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me,” (Revelation 3:20).
The good news is that He is totally committed to helping us love Him as fully as He loves us. This is the purpose of the Chrisan life—and the Song of Songs.
Our Prophetic Destiny
The rabbis have taught for centuries that among the wisdom books of the Hebrew Bible:
1. Proverbs is like the outer court of the temple.
2. Ecclesiastes is like the inner court.
3. The Song of Songs is like the holy of holies.
The Song reveals to us the deepest mysteries of divine love. The great rabbis of Judaism also teach that there are many different levels of understanding Scripture. First there is the surface understanding, which is a purely natural reading. But beneath the surface there are often times other layers of revelation that the Holy Spirit brings to light as we keep digging.
On its face, the Song is simply a love letter or love poem Solomon wrote to the woman he was about to marry, called the Shulamite bride. But we are not looking at it simply in the natural. We are interpreting it prophetically; even as the ancient rabbis did.
My belief, and the belief of many others, is that the Holy Spirit gave the Song of Songs to the church to help us understand Jesus’ love for us. It uses the marriage relationship as a paradigm for the relationship we have entered into with Him, both corporately and individually. Because this Song is poetic it cannot be interpreted literally. I believe the Song is ultimately a picture of Christ and the church. How can I say this with confidence? Let’s look at 2 Peter 1:20–21, where the apostle Peter writes this: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Peter affirms that all Scripture is written by the Holy Spirit. And the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Messiah and disclose the deep things of Yeshua to us (see John 16: 12-15). So, it is inconceivable that the Holy Spirit would have given us a book in the Bible that was only about King Solomon’s natural relationship with his wife (especially considering Solomon had a thousand wives and concubines). Rather, Messiah is the end to which Scripture aims.
Yeshua affirmed this in Luke 24. Luke records that immediately after Jesus had been crucified, the downcast disciples were walking to a city called Emmaus about 7 miles outside of Jerusalem. As best as the disciples could tell, Jesus was gone. Their plans and confidence that He was the Messiah were dashed. Then, Jesus appeared to them on the road. And “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (v. 27).
Not only is all Scripture written by the Holy Spirit, but all Scripture points to Messiah! The entire Word of God finds its ultimate purpose in Yeshua. He is the center focus of the whole Bible.
I think that you will find that as you thoroughly study the Song of Songs it will reveals to you the heart and emotions of God more fully than any other book in the Bible.
Rabbi Schneider hosts the impactful television program –Discovering The Jewish Jesus, which is available in more than one hundred million homes in the United States and nearly two hundred nations worldwide. In 2021 he began broadcasting on radio and now airs across America. Rabbi Schneider imparts revelation of Jesus’ Jewish heritage and His fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Questions of how the Old and New Testaments tie together, and how Yeshua completes the unfolding plan of The Almighty Yahweh, are answered with exceptional clarity. www.discoveringthejewishjesus.com/about-2/rabbi-schneider/
