I would like to apologize for the Song of Solomon posts from yesterday on FB. I mean it is the word of God, but left alone for the shock value was a poor choice. This post is what I should have included with the Bible verses. I left too much on the fringe, too much for reading between the lines.
I just finished reading SoS as part of my “reading through the Bible” plan, and I guess I was going for a little shock value. SoS is an interesting study and many people actually believe that there are three main characters in the drama: the King, the Shulammite and a young shepherd. Like so much of the Bible we tend to sanitize what God actually puts before us. We are often more comfortable with the Sunday School version of Scripture than the real thing.
Kind of like the Veggie Tales version of “Little Joe” and Potiphar’s wife. My wife’s SS class of junior high girls was incredulous on a fine Sunday morning upon learning the biblical account as opposed to the Veggie Tales spin. “You mean, he wasn’t just trying to steal a bag of gold?” I think that was the story anyway.
Life is a mess and the Bible presents the mess, but we instead are very careful to present God’s bold statements of the reality of life to fit more our comfort zone than God’s purpose. Yes, SoS is a love story, but whether or not you believe that the Shulammite (spelling varies) was Solomon’s first wife or not, we cannot ignore that this “love story” is about a man who had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
Life is a mess, but when we present the very real truth of God’s word and his gospel and live like people who have been saved by grace …
Instead of taming and sanitizing the words to make ourselves more comfortable …
Then people turn to God’s saving grace. Our world needs to see that we needed to be saved from our sins to realize that they too need a Savior.
” … such were some of you. But you were washed.”
- (1 Corinthians 6:10-11 ESV) nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
” … so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his sins.”
- (2 Peter 1:8–9 ESV) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
If we do not realize how far from God each of us who profess Christ was before coming to Jesus Christ for salvation, then we do not know the gift we have been given. When we tone down the evil nature that besets each and every person who is born into this world, then we tone down and take away from the salvation that Christ purchased with his shed blood on the cross.
So I made a clumsy attempt to shock you, and I really hope I didn’t offend too badly.
But as for the Word of God, we should be shocked as we see who we are, and God still loved the world that he gave his only Son.
To God be the glory!
