If you have spent much time in church you have probably sung
some songs with lyrics like these:
“He leads me to his
banqueting table, his banner over me is love…
Jesus is the rock of
my salvation, his banner over me is love.”
“Sweetest rose of
Sharon, come to set us free.”
“He’s the lily of the
valley, the bright and morning star…”
But are those songs biblical? They come out of the writings
of the Song of Solomon, but are we to understand those lines as describing
Christ?
The Song of Solomon is a collection of love poems that were
written between two people who were deeply in love and about to be married.
While we know that King Solomon is one of the writers, the other’s name has
escaped us, and we know her today simply as the Shulamite woman.
Some people believe that since this woman is not named then
she never existed; some teach that this book is pure allegory, only existing to
serve as symbolism. King Solomon, they say, represents Jesus as the Bridegroom,
and this unnamed woman represents the church at large.
Others believe that the Shulamite was a real person, but
that this collection of their writings to each other is included in the canon
simply for the benefit of the aforementioned allegory.
But when it comes to interpreting the Bible, any allegory or
typology can only be preached dogmatically if the Bible presents it as such,
and when it comes to this Song of Songs, the Bible does not present it as
allegory. It is, in fact, simply a collection of love poems.
With that said, if there is imagery of Christ, like an
object lesson, than it is still appropriate as a secondary application. Take,
for example, the verse that says of Solomon, “his banner over me is love.” This
can be said of Christ only because
the Bible makes this claim about him. In Psalm 60:4-5 we read “You have set up a banner for
those who fear you, that they may flee from the bow. That your loved ones may
be delivered, give salvation by your right hand…” So the verses from Song of Solomon
can serve as a secondary interpretation (in these times banners were very
common sights in times of war).
What,
then, is the primary interpretation of Song of Solomon? It is a literal set of
writings that show the beautiful love that a husband and wife should have for
each other. Verses like 2:16 and 6:3 say, “My beloved is mine and I am his.”
This book is the clearest picture of someone living out the command from the
Garden of Eden, that the two should become one flesh.
Is
it still fair to make references to Jesus as the lily of the valley and the
rose of Sharon? Not really.
Remember,
in this allegory Jesus has to be represented by the King (as the Bridegroom)
and the church, the Bride, has to be represented by the Shulamite woman. Did
Solomon say that he was the lily of the valley, or did the woman say those
things about him? No, she said them about herself.
“I
am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley…he brought me to his banqueting
table, his banner over me is love (2:1,4).” As you can see, it is not fair to
apply all of what she said to Solomon (and likewise God); she said half of it
about herself, and the other half about him.
So
what do we do with these lyrics? If we are staying with the imagery, then the
church is the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley.
Sharon
was an actual place that, in the days of Solomon, boasted large fields of
beautiful flowers, and the rose has long been thought of as the symbol of the
perfect flower. Therefore, to be the rose of Sharon would mean that she was the
most beautiful among all the others.
The
same can be said of the lily of the valley. The lily is one of the largest
flowers, and is considered by many to represent femininity.
This
might start to sound like the Shulamite is bragging about herself and her
beauty, but she is not. She is enamored by the thought that out of all the
women in the kingdom Solomon has
chosen her and found her to be the most beautiful.
So
perhaps there is an object lesson about Christ after all. In His sovereignty
God has called us—the church—to be His beautiful Bride. To Jesus, we are the
lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon. We can now say with the Shulamite
woman, “My beloved is mine, and I am His.”
Comments
The rose and lily were things the Shulamite woman said of herself, so the allegorical nature of the Writings would allow those comparisons to be made of the church as well--meaning that we are the rose and lily. This speaks of the affection that our Bridegroom (Jesus) has for us. It would be like saying today, "I am the apple of His eye."