Life Under the Apple Tree

(Song of Solomon 2:3-14)

Introduction

1. The Beloved's Portrait of the Lover (SoS 2:3-6)

2. The Beloved Encourages Others about the Lover (SoS 2:7-9)

3. Lover is like no other and wants to hear your voice (SoS 2:10-15)

Recapitulation

Conclusion

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Introduction

Please do open your bibles to the Song of Solomon! It can be found on page 679 in the Church Bibles. I of course don't know when you last read it, heard a talk about it or if you have ever read it or heard a talk about it! So, if you are in that category, it's a new thing for you! In my preparation, as I talked to other Christians about this book, I have found that some people are aghast at some of the very frank and provocative language used! But this should not stop us from reading it, studying it and learning from it. It is, after all, part of the Bible and therefore part of God's Written Word. Jesus Himself and the Disciples would have read this book at Passover time. It is a book that tells of the love of a woman (the Beloved) for a man, the man probably being Solomon. Different translations have different places where the beloved, the lover and others are actually speaking. But for ease of use tonight, we will use the guidelines of the church bibles, the New International Version.

The Jews called it the Greatest Song of All Songs. Martin Luther called it the noblest of all songs! It is poetry that is full of love, romance and some say eroticism. Greater than Shakespeare's sonnets if you can believe that! Tonight, we are delving only into Chapter 2.

Historically this book has been interpreted in 3 ways

Firstly as a treatise on the joys of biblical sexual love; Secondly as an allegory about God's love for His people Israel;

These two interpretations have great merit! However, some of you may be sad to know, and others very happy to know, that I am going to concentrate principally on a third way that encompasses those two and that is seeing it as a picture of the immense love that exists between Jesus Christ for His church and its people, where the bridegroom is Jesus and His bride is the church. Paul highlights this relationship in his letter to the Ephesians.

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