What Does the Imagery in Song of Songs Portray?

     It's evident that the Song of Songs is a love story. The imagery and romantic expressions are  beautiful. Without the help of the Life-Study of Song of Songs, I never would have seen that this story also portrays God's deep love for man. God had to lay aside His splendor to become a man to win our affections. In the same way, King Solomon had to lay aside his grandeur to court the country girl in this story.


    In the first chapter of the Life-Study of Song of Songs Witness Lee states that this book leads us through the progressive experience of an individual believer's loving fellowship with Christ. Then in the second chapter he says that the lover's journey of transformation begins with her being attracted and drawn by Solomon's love. What I see here is what brings us on in our spiritual journey always seems to be the Lord's love.

      How the seeker's journey parallels our own spiritual transformation is brought out on page 9 of chapter 2:

In 1:2-4a we see that the lover of Christ yearned for Christ, sought Him, and was attracted by His love and drawn by Him in His sweetness to run after Him.....In Song of Songs 1:4b-8 the Beloved answered His lover's yearning and seeking and brought her into the inner chamber (her spirit) to have intimate fellowship. That fellowship led the lover of Christ to enter into the church life, signified by the flock (v. 8; John 10:16). After the lovers of Christ enter into the church life, they begin to be transformed by the Holy Spirit....The church life is a very important means used by the Holy Spirit to transform us....The lover of Christ is transformed by the remaking of the Spirit (S.S. 1;9-16a; 2:1-3a)....This Spirit is actually God Himself doing the work of transformation by remaking us (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Song of Songs. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1995, Print). 

    I saw while reading this that the Spirit is also bringing me through all the stages  portrayed in this book.  In the beginning Solomon's lover is likened to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots (1:9) so naturally strong, and then after that she's a lily with dove's eyes (1:15).  She's a lily trusting God like the Lord brings out in Matthew, and she has  a single heart because dove's can only look at one thing at a time.

      A few other striking landmarks of her transformation occur later in chapter 3 when Solomon calls her a palanquin, a means to carry her Beloved. Wherever we go, we bring the Lord to people.  Then in chapter 4 he calls her an enclosed garden that grows precious spices only for His satisfaction. I like to garden, and so I can easily understand the imagery here. We're the  Lord's garden, and He delights to prune and cultivate our hearts so that He can grow within us. 

     But the seeker's transformation isn't done.  After further transformation Solomon likens his beloved to his palace at Tirzah and Jerusalem (6:4a). This makes me think about how the Lord likens the believers to His spiritual habitation.  After this she becomes an army with banners (6:4b). This reminds me of how the church is also considered as the warrior in Ephesians 6.

     After this long journey Solomon calls his lover Shulamite in 6:13. Witness Lee brings out in this Life-Study that Shulamite is the feminine form of Solomon, and it means that after all the stages of her transformation, she is now his duplication. Wow!  That's exactly the picture revealed in Revelation where the believers are now revealed as the bride of the Christ!! I hope you can take the time to read these Life-Studies on line.     



Posts on the Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Songs

How Do You Read the Book of Proverbs?
Why Did God Put Eternity in Man's Heart in Ecclesiastes 3:11?