Song
of Solomon – A Handbook For Marriage
Bible Study
Introduction
By Carri Pratt and
Amy Gentry
How it works:
Welcome! We are so
glad if you have chosen to revel in a Summer
of Sizzle and Romance this year.
This is an online study only. It
will be up to you and your schedule as to how often you check in and how much
(or little) you wish to participate. Of
course the more time you invest the greater your reward and the more fun you
will have! Each week we will discuss a
small portion of the book Song of Solomon (aka Song of Songs) and apply it to
one main weekly topic on marriage. One
word of caution, we do not go in chapter/verse order like other traditional
studies, we skip around based on the weekly topic.
The weekly schedule
will remain the same each week as follows:
Monday – Check in to the T2W Song
of Solomon Study group on FaceBook, (https://www.facebook.com/groups/t2wsos/) then go to the printable tab and print the
lesson
- This information will also appear on the Titus 2 Women FaceBook page and Titus2Women.org
- You will be invited to participate in a one to two question survey about the weekly topic
- You will be invited to participate in the Readers Choice Awards
- Click on the Video tab and view the short clip provided
- Complete your worksheet (just a few fill in the blanks)
- Choose whether you will accept the weekly challenge (aka The Fun Stuff)
Tuesday – 2 Cute Tuesday will
showcase romantic items and crafts
you can make that go along with the weekly
topic
BINDER PRINTABLE – On the "Files" tab from the group page
you will be given the opportunity to print the Binder Printable. We highly recommend that you prepare a binder
to keep your notes from the study. This
will give you:
·
Cover Page – to slip in the front of a “view thru” binder – has a box for
you to add a photo of you and your husband – if you are crafty you can even add
cute scrapbook paper for a unique look
·
Study Outline & Calendar – shows the weekly topics and dates for
your review
·
Challenge Journal – spaces for you to write in the weekly
challenges and an area for you to journal your results
ACCOUNTABILITY
PARTNERS
Invite a few of
your married friends to participate in the study with you as your
accountability partners. Discuss your
weekly experiences and what God is doing in your relationship.
THE FUN STUFF!!!
Useful Tips and
the Weekly Challenge
Each week you will
see a challenge for you to do for or with your husband. This is the part that makes your marriage
really sizzle!!! Please do your best to
complete your weekly challenge. This is
where you are going to experience the biggest difference in your marriage
relationship. However, if you miss a
week, just go on to the next week. Don’t
forget to check in with your accountability partners.
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BIBLE STUDY:
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Song of Solomon, also known as Song of Songs is believed by many scholars to be written by King
Solomon, son of King David, early in his reign (approx. 900 BC). It is considered by many to be the best song
he ever wrote.
There are three
ways to interpret this song:
1) The first is allegorical meaning that the characters
are fictional and the man represents God and the woman represents the
Israelites.
2) The second
interpretation is also allegorical
and holds that the man represents Jesus Christ and the woman represents His
church.
3) The third
interpretation is the one we will use for this study, the literal approach. This
approach suggests that the man is actually King Solomon early in his reign and
the Shulammite is the woman he loves. The
Shulammite woman believes that King Solomon is a shepherd. She is in love with him and is concerned
about her dark skin tone (her deep dark tan was a status symbol showing she was
a lower class working woman. She states
that she is ashamed of her skin color which she has because her step brothers
are angry with her and make her work all day in the vineyard. Sounds a little like Cinderella right? King Solomon does not seem to mind but rather
finds her to be quite lovely. He
professes his love to her over and over. By the end of his reign, however, King Solomon
was said to have given his love to approximately 700 wives and 300 concubines.
(that’s a lot of love for any one man!)
This book is very
short, only eight chapters, but heavily laden with sensual overtones. The early church fathers were quite disturbed
by this fact and therefore modern scholars have attributed their need to
explain the graphic language by using the allegorical methods. Hebrew
boys were not allowed to read the Song of Solomon until they had come of age
(13). There is a heated debate
regarding whether this book should even be included in the Old Testament Canon
because of its erotic imagery. However,
William Green quoted Rabbi Akiba from
the Talmud regarding the Jewish opinion of the inspiration of the Song of
Solomon. “‘Silence and Peace! No one in Israel has ever doubted that the
Song of Solomon defiles the hands [i.e. is Scripture]. For no day in the
history of the world is worth the day when the Song of Solomon was given to Israel. For all
the Hagiographa are holy, but the Song of Solomon is a holy of holies.”
The literal
approach claims that God gave us this book of the Bible as a Handbook For Marriage. This seems very logical looking at the fact
that God provided the Ten Commandments to live by and the various laws in
Leviticus for the Israelites to maintain.
He also gave us what Jesus called the greatest command, to “Love the
Lord Your God . . . and love your neighbor as yourself.” Deuteronomy 6:5
The true question
would be; why wouldn’t God give His creation the necessary guidelines for a
successful marriage relationship? Especially
when He so clearly mandated in Genesis
2:24 “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife,
and they become one flesh.” NIV
Coming Up:
2
Cute Tuesday, 5/28 – Personalized Binder Covers for this study
Session
One, 6/3 – First official session of Song of Solomon
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