WINTER QUARTER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2010 - The Study Hour



FALL QUARTER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2011

THEME: TRADITION AND WISDOM - UNIT TWO

“THE BLESSINGS OF TRUE LOVE AS CREATED BY GOD!”

Sunday School Lesson No. VIII, October 23, 2011

Presented by Rev. Frank Davis, III, Pastor-Teacher

Lesson Text: Song of Solomon 4:8 – 5:1

Required Reading: Song of Solomon 4:1 – 5:1

Memory Text: Song of Solomon 4:16, “Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.”

Reliable Resources: Precepts for Living by UMI; Union Gospel Press Expositor and Illuminator; Libronix Electronic Library; Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible by Spiros Zodhiates; New Pilgrim Study Bible; Children’s Ministry Resource Bible by Child Evangelism Fellowship; What the Bible Says about Love, Marriage and Sex by Dr. David Jeremiah

INTRODUCTION

The Song of Solomon is a book seldom studied by Bible students or Christians in general, perhaps because of its nature or the fact that the name of God is not mentioned in it. Many wonder why it is a part of the canon of scripture, as if any of us has a total understanding of the mind of God! But as it is stated in II Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, “The purpose of Song of Solomon is to extol human love and marriage. Though at first this seems strange, on reflection it is not surprising for God to have included in the biblical canon a book endorsing the beauty and purity of marital love. God created man and woman (Gen. 1:27; 2:20-23) and established and sanctioned marriage (Gen. 2:24). Since the world views sex so sordidly and perverts and exploits it so persistently and since so many marriages are crumbling because of lack of love, commitment, and devotion, it is advantageous to have a book in the Bible that gives God’s endorsement of marital love as wholesome and pure.”

As we study from the book called Song of Solomon, also known as “The Song of Songs,” we can’t help but wonder, “What has happened to the institution of love and marriage in our western society?” The ways of courtship and marriage are so degenerate and vulgar because it has lost its divine value that our Lord designed this relationship to be: One man with one woman for life. God’s design for the institution of marriage is the perfect way for human beings to practice sexual fulfillment and relationships with each other. It is the highest form of human interaction and is to be governed by God’s law and enjoyed in God’s way! Song of Solomon helps us to see that God is the true author of love and romance and when it is practiced according to God’s design, it is something of beauty and grandeur.

Let us examine “The Blessings of True Love as Created by God!” Anticipated power points are

• The Wonder of Love. Song of Solomon 4:8-9

• The Wooing of Love. Song of Solomon 4:10-15

• The Willingness of Love. Song of Solomon 4:16 – 5:1

H. L. Wilmington states, “The Song of Songs, also called the Song of Solomon, is a collection of love poems between a husband and wife, with occasional sections attributed to friends or relatives who shared in the couple’s happiness. The poems describe the couple’s courtship and marriage, though it is not entirely clear at what point the marriage took place.”

LESSON OUTLINE

I. The Wonder of Love. Song of Solomon 4:8-9

A song of the past states, “Love is a many splendored thing” and so it is. It is described by many metaphors and similes through the eyes and hearts of the beholders. Could mankind be the inventor of something so beautiful and grand? The answer is definitely NO! It can only come from God!

Here in the Song of Solomon chapter 4, we pick up with the enchanting words of a loving bridegroom who is undoubtedly Solomon, to his betrothed bride, a Shulamite farm girl from the land of Lebanon. If they have followed the tradition of that time, the period of engagement or betrothal has been at least a year. According to notes from Precepts for Living: “First…marriage was an arranged contract between two families who sought alliance with each other for various reasons… Second, to seal the contract, the bridegroom’s father paid a ‘bride price’ to the bride’s family. Third, … after the ratifying of the contract, there was a yearlong betrothal while the groom prepared a home. The couple was abstinent during this period. Fourth, after the successful completion of the betrothal, the couple fulfilled their legal (and social) responsibility to marry.” This is where our lesson picks up in chapter 4. The long anticipated hour has come in which Solomon has waited for his Lebanese bride to arrive. In verses 1-7, it appears that Solomon sends a love note to the bride to assure her of his feelings and devotion towards her. He describes her beauty and his feelings in similes from nature and the beauty of nature’s terrain. The wonder of love is awesome to the eye and the ear. Dr. David Jeremiah reminds us: “Women are verbal creatures while men are visual creatures. Women live by ear while men live by the eye. This lengthy portion of the book of Solomon praises no fewer than eight different parts of his wife’s body…Her eyes, hair, teeth, lips, mouth, temples, neck and breasts.” All this is the preparation for a time of tender love and care that is created by God for marital blessings and bliss! So Solomon in verses 8-9 invites his beloved to come to him from the north country and in every way entrust herself to him, because she has ravished or literally stolen his heart and soul. She has his total undivided attention and devotion. Oh, the wonder of love!

II. The Wooing of Love. Song of Solomon 4:10-15

In these verses, Solomon continues to share accolades of endearment to his bride from afar. He reaches out with many wooing words as he calls out to her heart and soul with the expressions of his heart and soul towards her. Time will not allow me to fully expose the wonders and metaphors of this meaningful discourse. But to summarize Solomon’s sayings, three main thoughts are offered from Precepts for Living on the subject at hand as one seeks to honestly influence their spouse with meaningful expressions of loving words. “First, meditate on a beloved’s good or sweet qualities. Second, extol a spouse’s physical attributes…Third, consider the beauty, joy, and value that your beloved adds to your life.” When Solomon expressed his love in meaningful metaphors of love, his wife was like wine in verse 10, expressing how she intoxicated him. Her scent from her perfume was a fragrance of great value, costly, expensive, and she did it all for him!

His constant reference to her being his sister and spouse, spoke to the great endearment that she meant so very much to him. And then like “milk and honey,” very well prized items of the ancient world, she was prized by Solomon who simply wanted to savor his bride and enjoy every ounce of her pleasurably! The smell of her clothes was also an intoxicating pleasure to Solomon’s senses. Note: Nothing about his well beloved was left unnoticed!

Now in verses 12-15, Solomon is moved to express very intimate expressions of sexual satisfaction in the way his bride has kept and presents herself to him. Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “Solomon now praises Shulamite for her virginity and her purity, referring to her as ‘a garden enclosed…, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed’. She has saved herself for her husband and he is grateful. He goes on to refer to her as a garden of delights: fruits, spices, fragrances, and living waters from Lebanon. The image of her as a ‘well of living waters’ speaks to the abundant, never-ending love he anticipates enjoying in his marriage to Shulamite. Her enclosed garden and sealed fountain have been released for him alone.”

III. The Willingness of Love. Song of Solomon 4:16 – 5:1

And now, after the warning of the bride for love not to be to be stirred unto intimacy before its proper time (read 2:7; 3:5), the time has finally arrived and she is ready to open herself fully and willingly to her husband, lover, and beloved. Even as winds carry the scent of an odor afar, she beckons the winds to carry the consent of her willingness and invites her true love to come and be intimate with her. He responds and seeks to claim his treasured garden of great delight.

CLOSING

Beloved, what a picture of true love and devotion personified in marriage through this book. May we who are married work hard to know such blessings, and spiritually speaking, appreciate our Lord Jesus who so loved us to make us His precious bride whom He has purchased at great price! (Read Romans 5:6-11). THE BLESSINGS OF LOVE AS CREATED BY GOD!

[pic]

Bibleway Missionary Baptist Church, New Orleans, LA & Little Bethel Baptist Church, Amite, LA

Mailing Address: Post Office Box 19768, New Orleans, LA 70179

Phone: (504) 486-7876 Email: bible32@

Website:

TV Broadcasts: WHNO TV 20, Sunday, 6:30 a.m. – Channel 14 (Hammond-Amite area), 6:30 a.m.

Radio Broadcasts: WLNO AM 1060, Saturday 8:30 a.m.; Sunday 5:30 a.m.

AM 1570 (Hammond-Amite area) Saturday 1:00 p.m.

LOOKING AHEAD: October 30, 2011 Matthew 5:1-12

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download