Modern Monday – 8/15/11

WE’RE BACK!!!

Sorry for the absence. Moving is a complicated affair, and it took a LONG time. But moving is over, so back to Modern Monday.

If I can be completely honest, I started this Modern Monday intending to do Revelation Song. But I don’t think so. In the past few weeks I’ve seen a few movies, and for some reason I think God brought this song to mind. I’ve heard it a few times, and I love it, but it’s not normally one that just pops into my head.

I’ve seen a couple of comedies in the last few weeks that have a romantic element to them, and it’s scary the way that our culture defines love. All types of love actually. Romantic love, friendly love, and the love we have for God our Father. It cheapens the first, distorts the second, and seeks to obliterate or trivialize the third. But what about the Bible? God doesn’t have anything to say about romantic love does he? I mean, that’s sinful right? We’re not supposed to want…THAT?! It’s a touchy subject. But if there’s anything that we CAN learn from culture today, it’s that when the church is silent, the enemy gets a few words and ideas in edgewise. So yes, the Bible DOES have plenty to say on all three types of love previously mentioned, and all three of them are covered in the Song of Solomon. LYRIC TIME!

Set Me as a Seal – Matt Maher

Set me as a seal on your heart
Set me as a seal on your soul
As strong as death is love
Unyielding as the grave
Nothing will quench its flame
Nothing will quench its flame

Set me as a seal on your heart
Set me as a seal on your soul
As strong as death is love
Unyielding as the grave
Nothing will quench its flame
Nothing will quench its flame

Kiss me, my love
That your name be on my lips
You intoxicate my being
With the fragrance of your presence

How beautiful you are, my darling
Show me your face, let me hear your voice
Sweet as the dew in the early morn’
Like a lily among the thorns

Set me as a seal on your heart
Set me as a seal on your soul
As strong as death is love
Unyielding as the grave
Nothing will quench its flame
Nothing will quench its flame

I looked for you, the one my heart loves
I looked for you but did not find you
Searched through the night
Until I rested in your sight
Now I will never let you go

‘Cause you have stolen my heart
My sister, my bride
You’ve stolen my heart
With one glance of your eyes
Your lips so sweet, adorned with honey
My hands, they drip with myrrh

Set me as a seal on your heart
Set me as a seal on your soul
As strong as death is love
Unyielding as the grave
Nothing will quench its flame
Nothing will quench its flame

Nothing will quench its flame

These lyrics don’t really play around. There are plenty of parts of Song of Solomon that, even though the book is primarily geared towards relating the healthy, Godly relationship of a husband and wife, can be applied to our relationship with God the Father. And there are also plenty of parts that if you try to apply to your relationship with God, you’re going to have some pretty profound (and undesirable) theological hoops to jump through. These lyrics can fall into both the husband/wife category and the God category. What’s better is that every one of these lyrics is STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE. This is basically scripture put to music. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.

See? Love is serious. It’s not cheap. It’s worth more than all the wealth you have. It’s worth more than all the money that you could gain by giving it up. Love is strong. It’s powerful. And it’s worth giving up everything for. That’s what Jesus did. He left heaven and came down here solely out of love. He didn’t need us. We needed him. God is a jealous God and shares His glory with no one. Jesus’ love for us was stronger than death. The floodwaters of Genesis couldn’t destroy God’s love for humanity or His grace.

Song of Solomon 1:2-4

Let  him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers.

Song of Solomon 2:2

As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.

On the human level, you see in these passages the GODLY, HOLY attraction between a husband and a wife. The wife wants to be with her husband because she loves being in  his presence. She isn’t ashamed to be associated with him. His name is “oil poured out.” He has a good reputation. He’s not a cheat. He’s not unfaithful. She can trust him. Likewise, the husband sets his wife apart. She’s not just a type. She’s not similar. She’s not “the best he could do.” She is a “lily among brambles,” something completely different to him. She is set apart and he will remain faithful. He has chosen the one that he loves and he will love the one he’s chosen.

Is it hard to see the parallel between this passage on the human level and the God level? We should want to be in the presence of God. His presence should have an affect on us. We shouldn’t be dead in the pews. His reputation precedes Him. Do you come to church bored? Have you not heard of this God that calls to you? Do you not know who He is or what He’s done? He has set you apart. He calls to you. You are special to him. He pursues you to the very bottom of the depths of your sin because He loves you and you are set apart for Him. Don’t push that away.

Song of Solomon 5:6

I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer.

Song of Solomon 4:9

You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.

Haven’t we been there? We feel like He’s mad. We’re afraid we’ve pushed our God that loved us so much away. We somehow think that our sin is more powerful than the Cross of Christ. If we’d just open the door when He knocks, we’d find out that our sin ISN’T that powerful. Jesus loves us. In the 3rd chapter of Zephaniah, the Bible says the Lord sings over us Himself. In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father runs to the son from afar. If Jesus leaves us, He will surely come back for us because He’s gone to prepare a place. He will not let us go.

SoS is an often overlooked book, but it IS part of the Bible. It is just as inspired as the book of Romans is. In the words of Tom Nelson, pastor of Denton Bible Church in Texas, “The book Song of Solomon is as far above us in the area of love and romance as the book of Romans is in righteousness and holiness.” We could learn a lot from it. And now, the song: