The Song of Songs is a book like no other in the Bible. It’s not history or prophecy, it’s not law or a letter. It is a book of beautiful, lyrical, love poetry. It doesn’t mention God and it is never quoted in the New Testament. It’s almost always overlooked in Bible overviews and biblical theologies, not to mention church teaching programmes and Sunday school series. It’s a book that many people are nervous about – either because they don’t really know what it’s about, or because they think they know exactly what it’s about!
In this workshop, we will think about how to be better readers of poetry, and of biblical poetry, exploring sections of the Song in detail. We’ll also think about the impact of the canonical context of the Song as we see how it draws on images from the prophets and the wisdom literature, and how it influences the New Testament. We’ll see how it speaks about Christ throughout, and we’ll consider how it affects us as we read it.
Over the centuries, the Song of Songs has been deeply beloved. There was a time when the Song of Songs was one of the most preached-on books of the Bible. For many it has been the most precious book of the Bible, the place where they meet most intimately with their Lord and Saviour. My goal for this workshop is that you may come to feel the same.