A Love Song

February is a month of love. February 14 is approaching. For the people of God, everyday is a day of love. It is good that we have such an occasion to remind us about the importance of love relationship between a man and a woman. However, our thoughts should be directed to a higher kind of love. And that is why I decided to rewrite an old message about love to serve as an online gift both to my real and virtual friends.

This gift is taken from the poetical books in the Bible -Solomon’s Song of Songs! Among the many songs of Solomon, this song was rated number one. This is the most beautiful song of Solomon. And this song is a love song. The most beautiful song of Solomon is a love song.

This song speaks about the beauty of love relationship between a man and a woman. However, in this song, we must see something beyond the beauty of love relationship between a man and a woman. Since this song is found in the Bible, which speaks primarily about “what man is to believe concerning God” and “what duty God requires of man,” the beauty of love relationship between a man and a woman should direct our minds to see a spiritual reality of man’s quest for intimacy that only finds ultimate satisfaction in God.

Let me share with you four “sweet themes” from this love song taken from 1:1-4a.

1. The Sweetness of the Kiss of the Lover – “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth…”

Based on the testimony of the beloved, the kiss of the lover is so sweet. In reading the word “kiss”, it is easy to put our own ideas into this word. The original meaning would give us insights. The Hebrew word for kiss is nashak (naw-shak). This word means “to catch fire, to burn, to kindle.” It is interesting that experience affirms that there is a kind of “fire” caught, burned and kindled through the act of kissing. Moreover, the word would also mean either a literal kiss or a figurative kiss -to touch. Kiss is a mode of attachment. Kiss is a concrete physical expression of intimacy. And this intimacy exists between lovers.

2. The Sweetness of the Love of the Lover – “…for your love is more delightful than wine.”

We read so far two romantic words: kiss and love. It is interesting to observe that in hearing these words, lovers always find sweetness and freshness. It is, as if the words are so dear to us and we delight in hearing them. Even though there are times, we feel ashamed to hear them due to the intimacies associated with these words.

As I reflect, I observe two relationships between kiss and love.

First, a kiss could exist even without love.

Second, love is expressed through a kiss.

A kiss without love is a betrayal of the word. It is a denial of the very existence of the word “kiss.” Kiss without love would be sinful, immoral and an act of deception and hypocrisy. This happens in human relationships that are purely physical and sensual. This happens in any marital relationship that has no more love but continues for necessary reasons.

Kiss exists not apart from love. A person in love could not help himself but kiss the object of his love. This is the external manifestation of love. There are many external ways to show our love but kiss is the sweetest.

If kiss is true to itself, as an expression of love, such kind of kiss is more delightful than wine. The Bible says, that wine is delightful. It praises the gift of nature. But there is something greater than the delight of wine. This is the delight tasted by the beloved from the love of her lover expressed through a kiss. Kiss out of love is more delightful than wine.

What would happen if the expected greater delight in love is no longer there? Instead, the taste of wine is greater than love. I think the person would be more hooked in wine. This would mean that he would spend more time drinking wine. When this happens, wine is more appreciated than the lover.

Perhaps the social problem of drunkenness is not only a symptom of economic depression. Rather, it is an indication of emotional depression or relational problem – a love problem.

This greater delight for wine would later result into drunkenness. Drunkenness as in the case of idolatry, is not confined in having a physical object of worship but in having anything or anyone that replaces God in our life. Drunkenness is not confined to literal wine. There are many things that intoxicate man.

When there is a love problem, man looks for a way of escape to ease the pain, to cover the emptiness within, to hide the longing for love. The way of escape could be a career, a business, pleasure or anything. The aim is to fill our hearts with something just to deny the need for love.

No person, no matter how ideal he is can give us that kind of love that will satisfy the longing of our soul. To look for this in human relationship is bound to fail from the very beginning. Human love is not destined to meet such a need. Only the love of God can fill that need. Yes, we are called to love one another, to love our espouses, our kids and our parents. That is true. But we should not be mistaken to think that human love can give us ultimate satisfaction in life. If you do this, you will be disappointed. You are expecting to achieve an unrealistic goal. Human love is limited no matter how it strives to be ideal. That is why it is good to see that human love points to a higher kind of love – the love of God.

3. The Fragrance of the Lover and the Sound of his Name are Pleasing to the Physical Senses of the Beloved. – “Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes…your name is like perfume poured out.”

We understand through this poetical expression the interconnection between the smell of the lover and the sound of his name. Both smelling the lover and hearing his name are frangrant to the beloved and pleasing to her ears. Added to feeling, touching and tasting the kiss of the lover, smelling his fragrance and hearing his name increase the romantic encounter between lovers.

The ancients have much to teach us especially concerning sensitivity to the hearing of the sound. In a technological age overwhelmed by too much noise, we fail to appreciate the pleasures of sound as was ancient humanity. But when it comes to hearing the sound of the name of our lover, we are still sensitive and receptive. It is not the hearing of any sound that is important but the hearing of the sound of a name that is personal and dear to us.

4. The Sense of Time and the Sense of Space of the Beloved is Radically Changed Due to Her Longing for the Intimate Presence of Her Lover. – “Take me away with you –let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.”

Common human experience testifies to the fact that when a person is in love, his sense of time is changed. When he is with his beloved, it seems that his sense of time stops and is no longer concern with what is going on around him. All his attention is focused on the person he loves.

On the other hand, if the lover is not with his beloved, time for him seems too long. He longs to see again his beloved. There is this sense of urgency to meet his beloved.

Many people cannot tolerate this sense of urgency and look for love in all the wrong places. As a result they find themselves more dissatisfied and empty than before.

Not only the sense of time is changed, but also the sense of space – “with you,” “chambers”. At first, the love encounter in this song begins with a kiss. Now , it will conclude into the king’s chambers. These are expressions of celebration of human sexuality. However, if we see nothing in this passage but pure sexuality, then we fail to see this passage in its biblical context.

This celebration of human sexuality should teach us to see a higher kind of reality, which is human spirituality. In the Bible we see sexual expressions such as adultery and harlotry pointing to the reality of man’s unfaithfulness to sustain his relationship with God. Such vocabulary is abundant in the language of the prophets. But here in Song of Songs, we see sexual terminology used not to condemn people but to show human capacity for intimacy as a result of the saving act of God.

The most surprising characteristic of the Song of Songs is its use of erotic language. As a result, Bible interpreters are divided in their interpretation and evaluation of the book. Modern interpreters see nothing in it but erotic vocabulary. They see nothing in it but its purely secular character with no apparent theological, religious, or moral content.

However, the history of its interpretation is always associated as a devotional inspiration. One Jewish Rabbi said, “For all the world is not as worthy as the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.” The common practice in the Christian church in history to use the language of romantic love in the Song as a way of understanding and developing a daily life of intimacy with God is not at all outmoded.

Sexuality and spirituality are interconnected. They are interconnected “because they are dealing with the basic elements of intimacy…” Modern interpreters who dismissed the approach of the ancients as improper spiritualization “do not understand the ancient mind or the poetic mind for that matter, which is aware of the deep inner connections between the sexual and the spiritual.” The erotic content must be read in its theological context.

Christian ministry is a ministry of love. The people of God is also a people of love for we worship the God of love. And in our encounter with God in worship we grow in love for us to be equipped to be channels of love to the world that is in need of God’s love. And this love of God displayed in the giving of the life of the Son of God, which is the Gospel of love made effective by the Spirit of love has the power to transform people’s lives. And as we see people being truly transformed by the love of God, we will also see societies and nations being transformed. This is a challenge to the people of God to live who we really are – a family or a community of lovers –lovers of God and lovers of men.

Note: This post is a reconstruction of the original idea found in Eugene Peterson’s book on Song of Songs.