I am now two sermons into a five-part series studying the Song of Solomon, that wonderful Old Testament book that is a lengthy song between two lovers. Until about three years ago, the only sermon series I had ever heard on this book (Tommy Nelson’s being the primary one that come to mind) interpreted the book as a commentary on sex and marriage. I confess that this sermon series blessed me tremendously in both its commentary and application. While I knew that there were others throughout history that interpreted Song of Solomon allegorically, I had largely been influenced to rather quickly dismiss those interpretations. The primary reason I often encountered why the allegorical interpretation was false was that it was developed by rather sensitive theologians of the past who couldn’t dare believe that sexuality would be so vividly described in the Bible. I accepted this dismissal of the allegorical without much exegetical thought.
Then, about five years ago, I began to immerse myself in the writings of the great theologians of the past, especially the Reformers and the Puritans who so shaped Protestantism. I have such a deep respect for these men’s study of scripture, and their heart to “rightly divide the word of truth,” and to apply it properly as God fearing men. The truth is that nearly all of these men taught vehemently that Song of Solomon was properly interpreted allegorically. Among the Reformers, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Heinrich Bullinger, and Wolfgang Musculus all wrote on the allegorical interpretation. In later years after the Reformation, Puritans such as John Owen, Richard Sibbes, Matthew Henry, John Bunyan, Samuel Rutherford, Thomas Goodwin, John Flavel, and many more. Then in later years after the era of Puritanism great Pastor/theologians also interpreted the book allegorically: Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon, to name a few.
Of course, there are other wonderful theologians who hold good reason for disagreeing. BB Warfield, who was a staunch defender of the historical-grammatical interpretation of scripture, unless instructed to allegorize clearly from the New Testament, critiqued the allegorical approach, “Yes, Christ’s love for His church is a beautiful parallel, but the inspired author was not merely encoding a secret allegory—it’s poetry that celebrates God’s gift of human love, which in turn reflects the greater love of Christ.”
But as I increasingly immersed myself in the allegorical approach, I soon found myself convinced of this interpretation. In this post I aim to provide a clear and concise reason for why I believe Song of Solomon ought to be primarily interpreted and preached as allegory.
A Warning Regarding the Allegorical Approach
But first, a warning.
I, like BB Warfield above, believe that the Bible is to be primarily interpreted through a historical grammatical hermeneutic. In other words, we are not free to simply allegorize or spiritualize every text we read. This was a great mistake in theological history that led to many bizarre interpretations of biblical texts. Origen, for example, in the third century felt that the baby Moses hidden in the bulrushes was to be interpreted allegorically as Christ hidden from the world until the appointed time. Likewise, Gregory of Nyssa interpreted Moses ascent up the mountain to the soul’s upward journey towards union with God. I even read of one theologian who interpreted the tent pegs of the tabernacle, which were partially immersed in the ground, as an allegory for the battle within the Christian’s conscience between the flesh (in the ground) and the spirit (above the ground). These kinds of allegorical interpretations I believe to be fancifully false and dangerous, because they are not what was intended by the original author. In studying the Scripture, we need to ask what the original author intended to communicate. That original meaning is the basis for our interpretation—the historical-grammatical approach.
Therefore, my case is that Song of Solomon is intended by the author to be read allegorically. Just as Revelation is intended to be read as apocalyptic literature (a well-known genre of literature in that day), so is Song of Solomon written as a particular genre of writing, allegory. The great Song of Solomon commentator James Durham says,
“For, a literal sense… is that which floweth from such a place of scripture as intended by the Spirit in the words, whether properly or figuratively used, and is to be gathered from the whole complex expression together, applied thereunto, as in the exposition of parables, allegories and figurative scriptures, is clear.”
And so, the method of interpreting Song of Solomon allegorically is in line with the spirit’s original intent, and is not simply a free pass to attempt to interpret all of scripture this way.
Three Reasons for the Allegorical Approach
Let me give you some reasons for this belief.
#1 Psalm 45 as a Key for Interpretation: The first reason why I think this is the author’s intent is Psalm 45. If one were to have Psalm 45 read to them without being told what section of scripture it was from, they would likely assume it was a reading from Song of Solomon. “You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!” Then again, “All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her. With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.”
What makes Psalm 45 unique however is the author’s turn in verse 6. While speaking about the greatness of the King in quite erotic language (akin to Song of Solomon), the writer suddenly says of the King, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness.” Psalm 45 is erotic Hebrew poetry that is very clearly intended as an allegory about God. That is its purpose. The love language of “the most handsome among men”, and “your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia,” and “the king will desire your beauty,” are therefore intended to be read allegorically about God and His people.
Psalm 45 gives us Biblical permission to understand this kind of language in the Scriptures as primarily interpreted allegorically. It almost functions as a key, granted to us by God, to help us unlock the much longer version of the Psalm, in Song of Solomon. Taken another way, if we are to reject the allegorical reading of Song of Solomon, then we have to ask ourselves why God gave us Psalm 45 which so clearly uses similar language and themes and yet was intended to be read allegorically.
#2 The Greatness of the Husband: Second, Song of Solomon is the story of two lovers, a husband and his bride. While throughout the book, the bride rather repeatedly describes her own weaknesses and flaws, the husband is depicted as flawless. He is the perfect husband. Not only is he described in the most wonderful language from his adoring bride, “My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand” (Song of Solomon 5:10), but he is also spiritually perfect. To read of his actions in Song of Solomon is like reading of Christ’s love of the Church. He meets all of his bride’s weaknesses with perfect strength and patience. He never once brings up her background or her mistakes. He continues to shower her with grace upon grace even when she does not feel worthy to receive it. The love he gives is described with images of permanence and unwavering stability.
Who can this husband be? King Solomon, the author? The challenge here is that we know of Solomon’s story. He was a deep womanizer who was largely responsible for the ultimate downfall of Israel because of his exceedingly sinful addiction to many women. Is Solomon the man who is described in this book as the perfect husband? Let’s assume (falsely as I believe) that Solomon wrote the book. Then at what point in his career did he write it? Is this book a description of his first marriage before he became a womanizer? Then all of his promises of permanence and faithfulness are false. Did he write it in the middle of career when he had hundreds of wives? Then, once again, the ideas presented of utter faithfulness are simply lies. Did he write it at the end of career, after a supposed reform when he also penned Ecclesiastes and many of the Proverbs? This seems like the likeliest time period for him to write. But what then is he describing? Which of his hundreds of marriages is he depicting as so faithful, so pure, and so permanent? Which of his hundreds of wives would speak of him as the bride in Song of Solomon speaks of her husband?
It is difficult to imagine any of these options being the case. The imagery is begging us to see beyond Solomon. Solomon is an allegorical placeholder for a greater king, a more faithful husband.
#3 The Ultimate Marriage that is the “Song of Songs”: Third, Song of Solomon is the story of a marriage between a husband and a bride. It is the story of an undeserving woman who is loved extravagantly by a great and kingly husband. It’s the story of a love so profound that it is called the “Song of Songs,” the song by which every other song ever sung in all of history is to find its standard tuning. What marriage story could be so great, so wonderful, that it should be labeled such?
The New Testament answers this for us. All throughout the New Testament we read that earthly marriage is a picture for us of the greater marriage between Christ and his church. In Ephesians 5, after Paul powerfully describes the way husbands and wives ought to treat each other in a marriage, he says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32). The New Testament explicitly teaches that our relationship to Christ is like a covenant of marriage, where Christ the great groom receives his Church as His bride. We are told that he is the perfect husband who “loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-28). This marriage of Christ to his church is the only story worthy of the title “Song of Songs.” Every other love story is a shadow of its substance. Every other marriage points us to that ultimate marriage.
Is this not the image we are given in Song of Solomon? Are we not described in intimate detail this radical love of a great husband? In fact, might there not be something rather beautiful to consider that God granted us these eight chapters of Hebrew poetry to build this theme out for us with magnificent detail?
Concluding Remarks
What then are we to make of the Song of Solomon? This peculiar book has been placed in the our Old Testament in order to lay out a vision of the love that is held between Christ and His Church. As New Testament Christians we read these eight chapters and are given a glimpse, allegorically, into the mystery of the divine marriage covenant. It is give for our edification, that we might understand our faith. Through visual imagery we glimpse into the never-ending, unchanging, infinite love of God through the husband. Likewise, through the bride, we grow to understand our own story.
In her lament of the bride’s weather-worn skin in chapter one, we get a sense for our sinful past and the unworthy sense each Christian experiences to be loved by such a great King. And in the husband’s refusal to even take notice of her past, but only describe her current beauty, we understand something profound of the love of Christ. In the husbands “leaping over the mountains” in chapter two, we get a sense of how Christ moves towards us with speed and power when we feel distant (though he is never truly distant!). In the command to “catch the foxes that spoil the vineyard” we are commanded as Christians to weed out every sin that might distract us from experiencing the fulness of our union with Christ. When Solomon admires the beauty of his bride in chapter four, we are instructed on what it means for Christians to be dressed in Christ’s righteousness. These are contours of the Christian faith laid down for us in Hebrew poetry.
The more I have studied this book, the more I have been moved in my soul to reflect upon the way I experience the love of Christ. It is describing my faith in words I have never used before. Bernard of Clairveaux describes my own experience of studying this book well, when he writes,
“For it is not a melody that resounds abroad but the very music of the heart, not a trilling on the lips but an inward pulsing of delight, a harmony not of voices but of wills. It is a tune you will not hear in the streets, these notes do not sound where crowds assemble; only the singer hears it and the one to whom he sings — the lover and the beloved.”
