Song of Solomon 8 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes
Song of Solomon 8 Short Summary:
The final chapter of Song of Solomon is yet another celebration of the love between Solomon and his bride. Her virtue and virginity are celebrated, and the anticipation of intimacy at the beginning of the book gives way to the satisfaction of married pleasure at the end of the book.
Song of Solomon 8 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.
Brothers – Previously unintroduced in the book, these brothers speak briefly in 8:8, voicing an inquiry as to how they can care for their young sister until her wedding day.
DEFINITIONS:
Keepers or Tenants (8:11) – If a rich man owned a large field or vineyard, he might hire it out to tenants. The tenants would grow crops on the land, and they were required to give a portion of the harvest to the owner. In this way, the tenants, who probably couldn’t afford to buy the land outright, made money, and the owner made money without having to put in personal work.
OUTLINE:
AFFECTION OVERFLOWING (8:1-3):
In the first two verses of this chapter the young bride expresses her desire to be able to show her affection for her husband even in public, something that was not cultural in those days.
She says she wishes Solomon was her brother, because then no one would look down on her if she ran up to him and kissed him.
She wanted to lead him home to her mother’s house and spend time with him there. There they could be alone together, embrace each other, and enjoy each other.
DO NOT STIR UP LOVE UNTIL IT PLEASES (8:4):
In verse 4, we see the third and final repetition of the phrase, “I adjure you, O Daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” (see 2:7 and 3:5).
The young woman seems to be addressing the Daughters of Jerusalem and asking them no to do anything to interfere with the natural progression of her love with her beloved. Love is a delicate thing.
REMINISCING ON YOUTH (8:5):
While not specified in the text, the words of verse 5 may have been spoken by the Daughters of Jerusalem.
They observe the beautiful young woman, who is now Solomon’s wife, leaning on him as they arrive from the wilderness.
The women reminisce about the past, some of them were there when the young woman was born under an apple tree, and now they get the privilege of seeing her as a grown woman.
A SEAL ON YOUR HEART (8:6-7):
The next few words appear to be spoken by Solomon’s bride.
She asked him to set their love as a seal on his heart. The commitment between them had to be taken seriously, because, as she says, love is strong as death, unquenchable by a flood, beyond calculable value, and jealousy is fierce as the grave.
THE WALL AND THE DOOR (8:8-10):
Verse 8 is spoken by a group of brothers. They ask what they can do for their young sister for the day of her wedding. She was not yet marriageable age, which is indicated by them saying “she has no breasts.”
They conclude that if she is a wall they will decorate her with silver, but if she is a door, they will enclose her and seal the door with boards of cedar.
The wall and the door appear to speak of their sister’s disposition towards men. If she is a wall, standing firm against men who would spoil her virginity, they will beautify her in silver. If she is a door, that swings open to every immoral man, they will bar the door shut and seal her in for her own protection.
Solomon’s new bride, reflecting on her own disposition, says she was a wall in her youth, and now that her breasts are like towers, she is able to give herself to Solomon in all the beauty of virginity.
THE ABUNDANT VINEYARD (8:11-12):
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon that he hired out to vineyard keepers. They were required to pay him 1,000 pieces of silver each year from the vineyard’s harvest.
The young woman compares herself to that vineyard, her life of purity was her vineyard, the full value given to her husband. Her virtue would be to Solomon an overflow beyond his expectations.
CONCLUSION (8:13-14):
The book concludes with Solomon’s bride comparing him to a young stag, as she did previously in chapter 2, and inviting him to the mountains of spice.
Solomon used similar language to describe the intimacy of their wedding night in 4:6.
So, the Song of Solomon begins with the eager anticipation of the lovers to enjoy one another, and it ends with their unrestrained enjoyment of one another in the freedom of marriage.
APPLICATION
I would encourage Christians and churches not to skip the Song of Solomon.
It contains valuable lessons for unmarried people, like the value of virginity and the beauty of permanent union with another person.
It teaches married people how to cherish their spouse and how to encourage intimacy.
It acknowledges human sexual desires and instructs us how to satisfy them in the most beautiful, mutual, pure, and godly way.
It glorifies marriage as something to be longed for and protected.
In a time when God’s sexual ethics are under constant attack, there is probably no more appropriate time to teach Song of Solomon than now!
