Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the Song of Songs chapter 8. We’re be narrowing our attention to verses 5-7 this evening.

This is the Word of the Lord,

Who is that coming up from the wilderness,

leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.

There your mother was in labor with you;

there she who bore you was in labor.

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm,

for love is strong as death,

jealousy is fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

>>the very flame of the LORD.<<

7 Many waters

cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

- Prayer -

One of my favorite things about my wife is how much she loves to try new things.

She loves variety.

She loves adventure.

She gets excited to go to a new restaurant, or to go to the same old restaurant and get something that she’s never tried before.

I, however, could not be more different.

I know what I like.

It’s tried and true.

When I go to an ice cream shop, and a hundred flavor options are available to me, guess which one I’ll choose.

Vanilla.

I’ve had Vanilla ice cream with Vanilla cake and Vanilla fronting on my birthday for all but one birthday that I can remember — and that birthday was a huge mistake.

Believe it or not, I’ve ordered the same sub from Subway since I was in Jr. High — I’ve actually only tried one sub, with the exact same toppings.

If I get a pizza, It’s always going to be pepperoni and bacon, a sold choice for sure, but the only one I could ever imagine ordering for myself.

I like the same order at the same coffee shop, the same seat at church, and the same songs while I’m driving.

Why? because I know that I like it.

And why change up something that I like?

You never know, maybe if I try something new, it won’t be as good, and I’ll wish that I was eating Vanilla the whole time.

But there have been times in my life where I’ve been forced out of my rhythm of the ordinary to try new things.

And while there have been times that I’ve been disappointed, for the most part, new things aren’t as bad as I was expecting.

Pineapple on pizza for example, surprisingly good.

I tried ranch instead of ketchup one time for my dipping sauce and now I’m hooked.

There really is a world of flavors and new things out there to be discovered.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be forced to try one or two more of them before I die.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be forced to try one or two more of them before I die.

When it comes to the Song of Solomon, I think that, maybe, many of us feel similarly.

The Song is “something new” for many of us.

It’s strange and unknown.

I think many of us are comfortable just sticking with Paul, and if we want variety we might try a major prophet every once in a while.

But this book, this book is outside of our “vanilla-preference” when it comes to Bible reading.

I doubt anyone here would say in all seriousness that the Song of Solomon is their go-to book when they just open up their Bible, unsure of what to read.

However, surprisingly, while this book is often neglected in pulpits and bible studies, it opens in chapter 1 verse 1 with a declaration, this is the Song of Songs, this is a Hebrew way of saying “this is the greatest song.”

Think about elsewhere in the Bible where this same formula is used like the “holy of holies” or calling Jesus the “king of kings” and “lord of lords.”

The writer claims that of all songs, this one is the greatest.

And it deserves our special attention.

And while this book is often neglected in pulpits and bible studies, it opens in chapter 1 verse 1 with a declaration, this is the Song of Songs, this is a Hebrew way of saying “this is the greatest song.”

Think about elsewhere in the Bible where this same formula is used like the “holy of holies” or calling Jesus the “king of kings” and “lord of lords.”

The writer claims that of all songs, this one is the greatest.

It deserves our special attention.

This book is given to us as wisdom literature, a genre gifted to us by God to help us know how living to the glory of God is carried out in the ins and outs of every day life.

It speaks to us in examples and imagery.

And it seeks to affect us in ways that narratives and epistles never could.

While

And while Proverbs as wisdom literature is given to us to help us to understand what wise-living looks like in all kinds of contexts and situations, this book focuses how to think rightly about love, sex, and marriage.

Wisdom literature is given to us to help us know how living to the glory of God is carried out practically in the ins and outs of every day life.

This book was likely written by Solomon towards the end of his life, as he reflects upon all of the mistakes he’s made in his marriages and sexual partners, and he writes about an idealized couple, not a perfect couple, but a couple who should be a model to all marriages East of Eden.

And while that might at first seem strange to us, to think about God talking to us about our sexuality, actually, it would be strange if God never addressed this topic in Scripture.

God created us by design as sexual beings, with desires and cravings that didn’t come to us after , but before it.

And God in his kindness has given us 8 chapters of wise counsel on how to think about this important and all pervasive topic.

This book was likely written by Solomon towards the end of his life, as he reflects upon all of the mistakes he’s made in his marriages and sexual partners, and he writes about an idealized couple, not a perfect couple, but a couple who should be a model to all marriages East of Eden.

And more than that, this greatest of all songs, when we look at it in the context of the whole Bible’s storyline, while the story of Scripture looks forward to the reconciliation of all relationships broken in , the Song of Solomon celebrates the amazing reality that a foretaste of that restored intimacy can be experienced and enjoyed today in the context and commitment of marriage between a man and a woman.

This book was likely written by Solomon towards the end of his life, as he reflects upon all of the mistakes he’s made in his marriages and sexual partners, and he writes about an idealized couple, not a perfect couple, but a couple who should be a model to all marriages East of Eden.

Yes, this book is not Vanilla flavored, but it is very good, and it’s worth our attention.

Funnel to Context

Our specific text this evening comes at the highpoint, the climax of our book, and in it, our Lord gently confronts us and shepherds us towards his ideal for love in our lives.

To the married, this text confronts us in our discouragement in our marriage and thoughts of unfaithfulness.

And it gently reminds us of truths that will bolster love and commitment even in the hardest of times.

To the single, it provides a helpful example of faithful commitment and gives further reason to listen to the advice of the woman in this song to “not awaken or stir up love until it pleases.”

To all of us, it reminds us that marriage and love are good gifts from God, gifts that he both bestows and protects by his sovereign will.

The God who, as John reminds us, is love, graciously invites people to experience love and to persevere in love.

So let’s come to this text expecting God to meet us in whatever context we find ourselves, and let’s anticipate his gracious prevision of green pastures and still waters.

And as we do, we’ll find that this text has three specific themes that are repeated over and over again, in no specific order, and the repetition of these themes work together to give us a grand picture of love.

First, we’ll see pictures of love being strengthened and preserved in suffering

Second, we’ll see that love is bigger than any couple.

And third, we’ll see pictures of love calling for exclusive fidelity.

Let’s begin in verse 5.

“Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?”

This climatic verse of the Song of Songs opens with a choir who have been referred to as the Daughters of Jerusalem throughout this song have observed and celebrated the love this couple have for one another.

And as they open up this verse, they draw our attention once again to the man and woman who have been featured throughout this song.

And in this picture, the Daughters observe this couple coming up together out of the wilderness accompanying one another.

The composer here uses Exodus imagery to paint a picture of these two lovers.

For Israel, the wilderness was a place which both tested and sealed their relationship with God.

It was in the wilderness that Israel both doubted the goodness of the Lord, and they entered into a covenant with the Lord.

It was the place where they suffered, and where they first were united with the Lord who came to dwell in their midst.

And after their long and treacherous journey together, the Lord and Israel both came up out of the wilderness together into the promised land.

And while this wilderness was a difficult place of testing for Israel, God through the prophet Hosea would look back on this time and say that it was in the wilderness that he allured her and spoke tenderly to her.

And afterwords, both Israel and the Lord together came up from the wilderness and entered into the promised land, not as strangers, but as covenant partners.

And the same is true of this couple.

They too have come out of a wilderness, the place of wondering and danger, and into the safety of the promised land together.

This is reminiscent of chapter 5 verse 1 of the Song where the couples describes their coming together in sexual union as coming into “a garden” where they shared a meal of milk and honey.

First, they are coming up from the wilderness.

But let us not forget that for this couple, like Israel, this entrance into the promised land together has come because of and through the hardships of the wilderness.

This mentioning of the wilderness, it begins a themes which will continue through this section of suffering in marriage.

This verse gives us eyes of faith to see that the trials and sufferings that come into our lives because of our marriage do not come to divide us, they don’t come from a God who seeks our harm and heartache, but they come that we would experience deeper affection and deeper union with one another.