The Song of Songs. Really?

When I hear the name Song of Songs, I think of a really, really good song, a song to which everyone on earth could make a connection.  I think of Pink Floyd and The Dark Side of the Moon, or maybe Michael Jackson and Thriller.  But even these artists couldn't claim that their music is the Song of Songs.  When I was a little girl we called this book in the Bible the "Song of Solomon", and today I completed reading through this book.  My first thought after reading the last sentence was, "What?"  I cannot think of any other book I've read where upon reading the last page, I can't figure out what I have read.

I feel bad even admitting that I don't like the Song of Songs.  After all, this book is included in the Holy Bible for both Jews and Christians.  Perhaps the book would make more sense to me if I could hear it read aloud in the original Hebrew.  Maybe then I would hear a sense of rhythm or rhyme that simply is lost in the translation to English.  Maybe it was meant to be read like an Henrik Ibsen play rather than like a set of lyrics.  When I read the Song of Songs it's hard to tell who exactly is speaking.

For me the biggest problem is imagery.  I just can't relate to some of the imagery used.  If any lover of mine ever stared into my eyes and told me that my eyes looked like giant wading pools, that my neck is strong like tower, or that my boobs reminded him of two deer, I think I would have a very negative reaction.  In the extremely unlikely event that Bryan ever told me that my gait was stately and beautiful like an army marching across a valley, I would likely laugh hysterically.  This kind of imagery would never lead me to want to kiss him passionately and spend a night lying in his arms.  And I really hope that neither my fingers nor his lips ever drip myrrh.  If they did, I would run to wash my hands and wipe his mouth.

I know.  The book is about love.  It's about love between a man and a woman.  It is about longing, desire, love, dreams, fulfillment...all those beautiful things we all feel when we fall in love.  But for me, the language and imagery used are so foreign and distracting, that I get lost in the imagery of the words, and can no longer find the meaning.

That having been said, there are a few very beautiful passages.  2:16:  "My beloved is mine, and I am his, as he pastures his flock among the lilies."  8:16:  "Set me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, passion as cruel as Sh'ol; it's flashes are flashes of fire, [as fierce as the] flame of Yah.  No amount of water can quench love, torrents can't drown it."  The beauty in these words can't be denied.  But how do you fit these beautiful words into the whole story?

Maybe the Song of Songs is simply a story of love and marital bliss between a bride and groom.  Or maybe you can take it one step further and say that the Song of Songs is a song about the love that God has for his people, or the love of Christ for his church.  But widening the story to mean God and his people is too much of a stretch for me, and although you could draw that conclusion rightly, I cannot buy it.  I have no trouble thinking of a man and woman loving each other sensually, but to think of God loving any human or group of humans with such sensuality is hard for me to fathom.  Being God, I'm sure he can love that way, I just have difficulty picturing it.  Once again, the imagery in the story overshadows the meaning of the story.

Bryan took me to see the movie Air Force One several years ago.  I loved the movie, loved the story, loved the actors, but the sound was so overpowering, and the effects so dramatic and overwhelming that I couldn't enjoy the movie because I was overcome by the sight and sound.  That's what happens to me when I read the Song of  Songs. 

The best I can do with the Song of Songs is to say that it is a book about love and everything that love encompasses; the desire, the longing, the racing heart, the way that being in love makes us feel.  It is good, even wonderful to be in love.  Maybe if I knew more about the time in which it was written, or if I understood the word pictures, or if I understood more about ancient wedding rituals, I would find a greater meaning in the book.

For now I'm simply grateful that I'm done reading through it for another year.