This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing 
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s 
happening in a Biblical text  

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

The title, Song of Songs, is a Hebrew way of saying the 
greatest song—just as king of kings means the greatest king.

Song of Songs is erotic love poetry describing the
passion shared between a husband and a wife, along
with the sexual intimacy that rightly accompanies it.

This type of literature can seem out of character for
the Bible and might make you blush when you read it.

But it is so valuable because it also 
reveals much about our intimacy with God.

Other religions of that day actually fused physical intimacy
with divine experience in what are known as fertility cults.

Sex with prostitutes filled 
the room of pagan temples.

Sexual intimacy was one way 
they encountered their gods.

But our Song is after something different.

The Song opens with a woman speaking
to her lover about aching desire for him.

She praises his kisses and his love.

She gushes over the fragrant oils 
with which he has covered himself.

And she begs him to
bring her into his chambers.

But surprisingly, we notice that she is 
speaking to no ordinary man, but the king.

The title “king” is probably a metaphor for
how highly the woman esteems her lover.

He may only be a farmer, but to her,
he is like a king.

Next, we are introduced
to another group of voices.

A small crowd of anonymous spectators
affirm the woman’s praise and love of the man.

The presence of this chorus of voices would be 
strange in the middle of this intimate conversation.

That is why it's likely the opening verses describe a wedding ceremony, and we are hearing the vows,

along with the accompanying
affirmation song of the bridesmaids.

The bride takes the song back over.

She talks about how years of working in the field have
made her skin darker, a sign of low social status in that day.

But the bride does not see this as a flaw.

Instead, she compares her skin to the curtains 
that surround God’s presence in the temple.

She feels no shame about her appearance 
because she is loved by her king.

The bride’s opening song uses language 
normally reserved to talk about God’s temple.

She is comparing her expected 
intimacy with the groom  

to the joy and satisfaction of being 
in God’s presence in the temple.

Right up front, the greatest Song challenges us to
meditate on the links between God’s presence
and sexual desire and intimacy.

It points to our greatest satisfaction—
the presence of God.

This satisfaction is not mediated 
by a physical sexual encounter.

Rather, the love found in God’s presence eclipses 
sexual satisfaction, like the glory of a king would
eclipse that of a farmer.

It’s no wonder Jesus calls us 
his bride and himself our groom.

He is the groom who is also the king, 
our husband who is also our God.

He loves us in far greater ways 
than any other person ever could,  

by pouring out the better wine of his 
blood and the better anointing of his  

Spirit to bring shameful and lowly people like 
us into the chamber of his satisfying presence.

Our heavenly husband’s presence 
is not like going to the temple.

It is better.

We are his temple.

The Holy Spirit dwells in us, 
providing constant intimacy with God.

So, I pray that the Holy Spirit would show you the God
whose presence is more satisfying than all physical intimacy.

And that you will see Jesus as the groom who loves
you, his bride, so intimately that he laid down his life.