Listen up, little ones
Listen for the word love.
Reading
Song of Solomon 1:1-4—Your Love is Better than Wine
Keys for kids
- God designed human love.
- Husbands and wives should love to kiss each other.
- God wants human intimate love only in marriage.
Questions
- What form of writing is this book?
- What is this book about?
- How is this book about Jesus?
Notes
Today’s notes are from a commentary on the Song of Songs by Douglas Sean O’Donnell
Song of Songs … can be a difficult book to comprehend. The ninth-century Jewish rabbi Saadia likened the Song to “a lock for which the key had been lost.” …
Scholars who disagree on much of the Song all agree it’s a tough text. Thus the need for a guide to uncoil its complexities, solve its riddles, and find that lost key to unlock its door. In this first study I seek to offer some basic directions to help us navigate through the often dark (but so beautiful) waters of Solomon’s Song. By means of setting four guideposts in place, I hope to open God’s Word, as Philip did, and “beginning with this Scripture,” teach you “the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35), revealing to you something of the meaning of the “mystery” of marriage (Ephesians 5:32).
We start with the first guidepost: This is a song. … And a song (this is what I’ve learned after many years of study) is written to be sung. (Aren’t you glad I’m your guide?)
Perhaps this Song was originally written to be sung during the seven-day marriage festival.
Here’s the second guidepost: this is a song about human love set in the context of marriage. … So we know this is a wedding song from the cultural context (i.e., in Israel only sex within marriage was celebrated), but also from the language of the Song itself.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 45b, 34a
Prayer
- Give thanks for God designing human love.
- Pray for the preparation for preaching God’s word this Sunday.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.