The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Artist: Edward Poynter
Created: 1890
SONG FOR THE WEEK: "MAD ABOUT YOU" or "A THOUSAND YEARS"
both by STING
“In the entire world there is nothing to equal the day in which the Song of Songs was given to Israel. All the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the holy of holies”(Misnah, Yadim 3:5
“Blessed too is he who enters holy places, but far more blest the man who enters the holy of holies! . . . Blessed likewise, is he who understands songs and sings them . . . but much more blest is he who sings the Songs of Songs! And as the man who enters holy places still needs much to make him able to enter the holy of holies . . . so also is it hard to find a man competent to scale the heights of the Songs of Songs, even though he has traversed all the songs in Scripture.” Origen, “The First Homily,” in The Song of Songs Commentary and Homilies, 266.
“The Song of Songs is a passionate, sensuous love poem that reminds us that God is interested in more than just our brains and our spirits; he wants us to enjoy our bodies. It reminds us that we are not merely a soul encased in a body but [are] whole persons made in God’s image.” Tremper Longman III, Christian Bible scholar
“In a fallen world in which the first couple was expelled from the garden of Eden, this song [the Song of Songs] offers the hope that couples today may find something of that garden again and may see in their love that which is beautiful and good, from the good God.”
Hess, Preface to his commentary, Song of Songs, 11.
Psalm 63 NIV A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. 1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
*****For more information about studying the Song of Songs, I recommend this amazing article. (AND AS ALwAYS, the footnotes are rich!)