Song of Solomon 3 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Song of Solomon 3 Short Summary:

Song of Solomon 3 begins with the young woman recounting a daydream of searching out her lover in the streets of the city during the night and bringing him back to her mother’s house. The second half of the chapter describes Solomon’s grand royal entourage bringing the bride and groom into Jerusalem for their wedding day.

Song of Solomon 3 Bible Study

AUTHOR:

• Solomon, the son of David, wrote the Song of Songs (1:1).

• He is a fitting author, especially considering 1 Kings 4:32 tells us he wrote 1,005 songs.

• Solomon is named in multiple locations within the song.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• The Young Woman – A beautiful Shulamite woman who is the object of the young man’s affections.

• The Young Man – A handsome young man, Solomon, who is the object of the young woman’s affections.

• Daughters of Jerusalem – These women interject supplementary comments into the dialog between the young man and woman. 

DEFINITIONS:

• Myrrh (3:6) – A resin extracted from a plant. It was commonly used in perfumes and as medicine.

• Frankincense (3:6) – An aromatic gum resin from the Boswellia tree. It has been used for generations as an ingredient in perfume.

• Litter (3:7) – A form of luxury transport. It was either a chair or a bed that was suspended on poles. Servants lifted the poles and carried the reclining transportee to their final destination.  

OUTLINE:

• THE YOUNG WOMAN’S DREAM (3:1-5):

  • The young woman is the speaker as chapter 3 opens. She begins by describing what seems to be a dream she had about her beloved.

  • She was in bed at night longing for her lover, but he wasn’t there.

  • Her affection for him stirred her to get out of bed and go into the city looking for him.

  • She went through the streets and squares until she eventually found him.

  • She held on to him and wouldn’t let him go.

  • She wanted to bring him home with her, to her mother’s house, “into the chamber of her who conceived me.”

  • This appears to be a desire for intimacy, perhaps to consummate their relationship (see Gen 24:67), but to do it in an honorable way according to the customs of the day.

• THE GRAND ARRIVAL FOR THE WEDDING (3:6-11):

  • This second section is the subject of some interpretive debate. Some think it describes Solomon’s arrival to Jerusalem for his wedding. Others believe, based on a verb conjugation in the Hebrew, that it describes Solomon’s guards bringing his bride into the city. It is also possible they were both entering Jerusalem together.

  • The speaker of this section is also debated, though many believe the Daughters of Jerusalem are the ones describing the royal entourage.

  • What is clear is that a grand royal procession was approaching the city.

  • It could be seen for some distance, “like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense.”

  • The Daughters of Jerusalem recognize it to be the litter of Solomon surrounded by 60 mighty men.

  • Solomon’s carriage was part of the procession. Its equal probably didn’t exist on earth. It was made of cedar from Lebanon, with silver posts, a gold back, and purple seats.

  • As the entourage approached, the Daughters of Jerusalem encouraged each other to go out and admire King Solomon, and to see the crown his mother gave him for his wedding day.

  • This “crown” may not be a reference to the royal crown but to a nuptial crown. In some ancient cultures, the bride and groom were given a nuptial crown which they wore on their wedding day.

APPLICATION

• What we daydream about matters, and how we daydream about it matters.

• It’s noteworthy to me that the young woman’s daydream about finding her lover in the city doesn’t end with a secret sexual rendezvous, it ends with fulfilling intimacy in her mother’s house, in the culturally and religiously appropriate place for that kind of action.

• One thing that is clear from Jesus’ teaching is that He cares, not just about our outward actions, but what goes on in our heads.

• Our thoughts must be godly, because thoughts can be sinful, and the body acts as it is trained by our minds and hearts (Mat 15:18; Luk 6:45).

• Specific to the subject of intimacy, we aren’t free to daydream about fulfilling intimacy any way we want.

• Can you really imagine Jesus sitting down to rest during His ministry and having His mind drift off into some illicit sexual fantasy? You can’t, right? No one imagines Jesus thinking like that. So, why do we sometimes think our internal thoughts don’t matter in our goal of being like Him?

• Sanctification towards Christ-likeness means guarding our minds from the Devil’s assault on our thoughts.

• We want our thoughts trained to godliness, and that requires pushing out daydreams that don’t fit His boundaries for sexual satisfaction.