A Different Kind of Love Song
Dave Faust
In his Book of Bad Songs (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2000), humorist Dave Barry pokes fun at lyrics like these from Neil Diamond:
I am, I said To no one there. And no one heard at all, Not even the chair.
"What kind of line is that?" Barry asks. "Is Neil telling us he's surprised the chair didn't hear him?"
According to Barry, "the worst song in modern history" is "MacArthur Park," the 1968 hit which laments that someone left a cake out in the rain. "I don't think that I can TAKE it," the singer screams dramatically, "'Cause it took so long to BAKE it, And I'll never find that recipe again! OH NO!"
Yep, that one definitely takes the cake.
Passion in a Context of Holiness
The Bible contains a beautiful love song that has endured for centuries—a poem filled with sense-stirring images of fruit, flowers, jewelry, spices, and passionate verbal exchanges between a bride and her groom. "Many waters cannot quench love," this poem says, and "rivers cannot wash it away" (8:7).
I grew up attending a Bible-believing church, but I don't remember hearing a sermon from Solomon's Song of Songs. Nor do I recall studying it in Sunday school. As a young boy I probably wouldn't have understood what it was talking about, and adult Bible students struggle to interpret it. Some see the Song of Solomon as a symbol of God's love for the people of Israel. Others see it as an Old Testament picture of Christ's love for his bride, the church. Whatever deeper symbolism the book contains, however, the Song of Solomon unashamedly describes the way a husband and wife find delight in one another's presence.
Some parts of the Song of Solomon might make us blush and some of its symbols may be difficult to understand, but I'm glad this book is in the Bible. God created human sexuality, and he's the one who revealed the proper boundaries for sexual expression. Today, when so many songs, movies, and TV shows glorify immorality and ignore or mock Christian values, it's refreshing to read biblical lyrics that celebrate the joys of married love.
In the Song of Solomon, the two lovers compliment each other repeatedly. They praise each other's looks and compliment some characteristics each finds appealing about the other. To be honest, I can't remember the last time my wife referred to my legs as "pillars of marble" (5:15), nor have I told her recently that her "hair is like a flock of goats" (4:1)!
The Bible makes it plain that marriage is holy. Marriage is for a man and a woman, not for a same-sex couple. Marriage provides the God-given context of commitment where a husband and wife can express their passion. In this holy context newlyweds are free to discover the pleasures of sexual expression with God's approval. And mature couples who have been married for years can discover not only the security and comfort of a long-term relationship, but also the excitement and romance that keep the flame of love burning over the long haul. If more couples would read and apply the wholesome lessons of the Song of Solomon, perhaps there might be fewer affairs, fewer loveless marriages, and fewer lonely hearts.
Why not take a fresh look at this God-inspired but overlooked part of the Old Testament? After all, we already have enough bad love songs. As great love songs go, the Song of Solomon takes the cake.
This column first appeared in The Lookout on Apr 25, 2004.
A Declaration of Dependence
The Israelites must have been excited as they approached the border of Canaan, for they were on the brink of entering "a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey." But Moses warned against the sin of self-sufficiency. "Praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. . . . Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down . . . then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 8:7–14). "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). King Nebuchadnezzar learned that lesson the hard way. After arrogantly patting himself on the back for his achievements, the powerful king of Babylon endured a humiliating period of insanity until he finally came to his senses and said, "Now I . . . praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble" (Daniel 4:37).
A First-Century Church for the Twenty-First Century
In 1900, Wilbur Wright wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, "For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man." His commitment to flying was so all-consuming, he wrote, "I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money, if not my life."