TPT The Book of Song of Songs (eBook)
256 Seiten
Broadstreet Publishing Group, LLC (Verlag)
978-1-4245-6767-6 (ISBN)
DR. BRIAN SIMMONS is a passionate lover of God. After a dramatic conversion to Christ, Brian knew that God was calling him to go to the unreached people of the world and present the gospel of God's grace to all who would listen. With his wife, Candice, and their three children, he spent eight years in the tropical rain forest of the Darien Province of Panama as a church planter, translator, and consultant. Having been trained in linguistics and Bible translation principles, Brian assisted in the Paya-Kuna New Testament translation project. After his ministry overseas, Brian was instrumental in planting a thriving church in New England (U.S.) and currently travels full time as a speaker and Bible teacher. He is the lead translator of The Passion Translation®.
BRIAN SIMMONS is the lead translator of The Passion Translation®. The Passion Translation (TPT) is a heart-level translation that uses Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic manuscripts to express God's fiery heart of love to this generation, merging the emotion and life-changing truth of God's Word. The hope for TPT is to trigger inside every reader an overwhelming response to the truth of the Bible and to reveal the deep mysteries of the Scriptures in the love language of God, the language of the heart. Brian is currently translating the Old Testament. After a dramatic conversion to Christ in 1971, Brian and his wife, Candice, answered the call of God to leave everything behind and become missionaries to unreached peoples. Taking their three children to the tropical rain forest of Central America, they planted churches for many years with the Paya-Kuna people group. Brian established leadership for the churches that Jesus birthed, and, having been trained in linguistics and Bible translation principles, assisted with the translation of the Paya-Kuna New Testament. After their ministry overseas, Brian and Candice returned to North America, where Brian began to passionately work toward helping people encounter the risen Christ. He and his wife planted numerous ministries, including a dynamic church in New England (U.S.). They also established Passion & Fire Ministries, under which they travel full-time as Bible teachers in service of local churches throughout the world. Brian is the author of numerous books, Bible studies, and devotionals that help readers encounter God's heart and experience a deeper revelation of God as our Bridegroom King, including Throne Room Prayer, The Sacred Journey, Prayers on Fire, The Divine Romance, and The Vision. Brian and Candice have been married since 1971 and have three children as well as precious grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Their passion is to live as loving examples of a spiritual father and mother to this generation.
LESSON 1
The Heart of the King for His Bride
(1:1)
Most believers have a deep longing to understand the heart of their Savior Jesus. We pour over the Gospels, studying every word carefully to glean a more fully developed picture of the one who gave his life for ours, the one who promises an eternity of abiding together in perfect unity. However, sometimes in our Christian walk, this God-man who is our heavenly Bridegroom can seem distant from our present reality.
If you have ever longed to read the thoughts and feelings of Jesus for his church, for his bride, and for yourself specifically, the Song of Songs will become a healing balm to your soul. It is filled with words of encouragement, words of adoration, and words of transformation coming directly from the heart of a King for his bride. We will see in our study how deeply this book has touched many believers throughout history. It has been termed the “Holy of Holies” of Scripture because reading it can bring you into the very presence of God. And in his glory, you can experience the fullness of his abiding love.
The book of Psalms is full of exhortations regarding the steadfast love of God that will never fail us. The Song of Songs, on the other hand, is the written expression of his steadfast, abiding love for his beloved. In the song, we find a Bridegroom who never stops loving, encouraging, hoping, or believing in his beloved—independent of the season in which she finds herself. The Song of Songs describes every season that we will encounter as Christians and shows us the steadfast love of God pervading every storyline.
Through the ages, the Song of Songs has been subject to many interpretations, with some interpreters seeing it as Hebrew love poetry, others as wisdom literature, and still others as a how-to guide for romance and marriage. Despite the different approaches to this book, Hebrew rabbis and the early Christian church fathers defended the inclusion of this book in their respective canon of holy books because it represents the heart of God for his people.
A Christian today can receive the impartation of this love story of God for his beloved bride through the study of this book. Held within the mysteries of the Song of Songs is the transformation of the desert wilderness to the secret garden that will feed the nations. The story begins with a broken-hearted, sunburned shepherd girl and ends with a passionate, fiery, beloved wife who is taking new territory for their kingdom.
EXPERIENCE GOD’S HEARTThis study is an invitation to delve into the heart of the Bridegroom King, your Savior Jesus Christ, and allow his love to transform your life. We will experience moments in Scripture that will take our breath away as we consider God’s profound love for his people. As we begin this journey, let’s celebrate how God has already shown his heart of love toward us.
- Was there a time in your life when you tangibly felt God’s love? Describe what happened in you and through you.
- How did this experience change your understanding of God?
- How did this experience change your understanding of yourself?
As we progress through the song, we will see that sharing what we experience and learn about the love of God is one of the simplest forms of sharing the good news of the gospel. While most of us might balk at preaching a gospel message in a public square, we do not find it difficult to share with a friend or family member a story about a loving God.
- With whom do you share stories of God’s steadfast love?
- Who in your life needs to experience unconditional love? How can you share a story of your experience of God’s love so it may become healing for them?
- What activities in your natural weekly rhythms allow for conversations about God’s goodness with your friends and family?
Authorship
The writer of the Song of Songs introduces the book with this verse: “The most amazing song of all, by King Solomon.” Because of this introduction, the Song of Songs is traditionally considered to have been authored by King Solomon sometime during the middle of the tenth century BC. However, some of the geographic references in the song could allow for a compilation of poetry over centuries.2 For the purposes of this study, we will follow the traditional acceptance of King Solomon as the author.3
- Read 1 Kings 3:5–12 and then answer the following questions:
What did God ask of Solomon?
What was Solomon’s reply?
Did God give Solomon his request? If so, why?
- Now read 1 Kings 4:29–32 and provide answers to the following questions:
What did these verses reveal to you about the wisdom of Solomon?
How many proverbs did Solomon speak?
How many songs did he write?
Of all of Solomon’s songs and proverbs, what we know as the Song of Songs is titled “The most amazing song of all.” The Song of Songs was considered the most profound writing from the wisest man to walk the earth—until Jesus Christ, that is.
Interpretation Matters
Interpretation involves discovering the true intended meaning of a text, not simply what it says. For example, when Jesus said, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life” (John 14:6), what did he mean by “Way,” by “Truth,” and by “Life”? When we read these words, we tend to interpret them within our twenty-first-century culture and language. To understand what Jesus truly meant, we must look more closely at what those words meant in his context and language. Perhaps his message contained cultural inferences that those present would have understood and we might have missed. This is true for every Scripture passage and is especially important when studying the Song of Songs. We need to observe what the passage says and interpret what it means before we can begin to grasp how to apply it.
- Why do you think that the interpretation phase of Bible study matters?
- Why is it not enough to simply notice what a passage says?
- Why is it important to also know what it means (its interpretation)?
- What other Scripture passages can you identify for which the cultural context impacts their meaning?
Historical Interpretations
A tension has existed throughout the ages regarding how to interpret the Song of Songs. It is Hebrew love poetry that is filled with imagery describing the relationship between a king and his bride. Should we take this book literally? Or is it an allegory? Indeed, at various times in Hebraic and Christian history, some have argued for its removal from both the Christian and Hebrew holy books of Scripture. In each case, those prevailed who held the view that this book is an allegory that describes the love of God for his people, and thus the book has remained in the holy books.
As Father Juan G. Arintero (1860–1928) wrote in the introduction to his commentary on the Song of Songs, “The whole Judaic and Christian tradition is in perfect accord in recognizing the spiritual and mystical sense of this wonderful Song, always seeing in it the most eloquent testimony of the tender love and infinite bond linking God with His chosen people, and especially with those happy and privileged souls who receive the grace to respond to Him.”4
The Natural Interpretation
Many modern commentators or Bible teachers will interpret the song from a more literal perspective, describing God’s endorsement of human sexuality. When asked about their study of the Song of Songs, many will respond that their only exposure to it in church was at a marriage retreat.
Brian and Candice Simmons wrote in their commentary on the Song of Songs, “Although it is possible to glean some help through the metaphors and symbols of this interpretive model, it comes far short of reflecting the fullness of God’s beauty within the Song of Songs. Keep in mind that Solomon had multiple wives and concubines, affairs with women who were not his wife. To make Solomon’s greatest song simply one of his many polygamous affairs is not a perfect model in which to interpret the Song of Songs. Indeed, if that is the true way to view his book, making human sexuality the highest song, the greatest song ever composed by the wisest man on earth, we are left wanting more.”5
- What interpretive approach to the Song of Songs have you heard or been taught?
- What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this approach?
Jewish Historical Perspective
One of the earliest mentions of the Song of Songs occurs in the Babylonian Talmud in AD 137. A prominent Jewish rabbi named Akiva ben Joseph was arguing for the song to remain a part of holy Scripture. To answer the question of whether to remove the book from the canon, he wrote, “Heaven forbid! No Jew ever disputed the sanctity of the Song of Songs, [that he should say] it does not defile the hands; for all the ages are not equal to the day when the Song of Songs was given to Israel. For all the Writings are sacred, but the Song of Songs is the most sacred of all.”6
The Song of Songs is an essential part of the Jewish tradition, revealing God’s...
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 7.1.2025 |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | Savage |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum |
| Schlagworte | Biblical poetry • Bride • Bride of Christ • canticle of canticles • Church • couples • Dating • divine romance • Garden • God’s spirit • Heaven • Holy Love • Jerusalem • marriage • mountain of spices • Myrrh • Royal Wedding • Shepherd • Solomon • Song of Solomon • Study • Wisdom Literature |
| ISBN-10 | 1-4245-6767-X / 142456767X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-4245-6767-6 / 9781424567676 |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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