As Good as It Gets

Love, Life, and Relationships: Fifty Days in The Song of Songs

Stephen M. Clark

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781608996230
  9781498256926
• eBook ISBN:
  9781621891543
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

Of all the famous books ever written, The Song of Songs has been designated as the finest ever produced or ever to be read on the subject of finding love, developing relationships, and experiencing life. Its title, The Song of Songs, is a superlative, an almost exaggerated expression of praise, which insists that this book is "the best of the best." Designed to be read over fifty days, As Good as It Gets takes the reader through this greatest of love songs, delighting in its beauty and exploring its passion while discovering its insights into aspects of love and life such as praise, intimacy, affirmation, identity, insecurity, community, friendship, transformation, disruption, resolution, restlessness, rapture, confidence, dignity, disclosure, and freedom. In the end the reader will discover much more than a manual on relationships or even what it takes to live a passionate and purposeful life. While remaining entirely honest about the realities of life, love, and relationships, The Song retains the remarkable ability to bring us into a life that is filled with joy and grace, beauty, and poetry.

Part 1

Ecstasy and Agony, 1:1—3:5

We rejoice and delight in you;

we will praise your love more than wine (1:4).

Section 1

The Passion and the People, 1:2–4

Day 1

Simply the Best: “Solomon’s Song of Songs”

The Title (1:1)

Solomon’s Song of Songs (1:1).

Introduction

With these simple words, we encounter a stunning claim. It is what we call a superlative—that is, an almost exaggerated expression of praise. This is the “Song of Songs,” which is to say it is the best there is. It is unsurpassed. It is as good as it gets. It is, if you will, “the best of the best.” The title asserts that this is the greatest piece of literature that has ever been written, or will ever be read, on the subject of love and relationships.

What is remarkable is that this statement goes virtually unchallenged now as much as 2,900 years after the Song was first written or collected.1 In fact, over thirty years ago, one noted commentator counted more than a thousand scholarly articles and books on the Song.2 With some exasperation, he noted, “The relevant literature turned out to be . . .
too much to be catalogued completely, to say nothing of any hope of perusing the whole.”3 That, of course, is a trend that has only increased with the passing of time.

In other words, if we wish to make life, develop relationships, and take delight in this thing called “love,” this is the place to which we must go. It is the “Song of Songs” because “love is the greatest in value” and “the greatest in size.” It teaches us that “all of life is a love song” and that “love is the meaning of the whole.”4 It does not get any better than this.

Reviews

If this were a movie or a theatrical production, then we might read these reviews online or in the entertainment section of our local newspaper:

. . . a literary, poetic exploration of human love that strongly affirms loyalty, beauty and sexuality in all their variety. With tender metaphor and extravagant imagery, the Song writer spins a tale of human love into the cadence of verse . . . 5

From the aching yearnings for intimacy, to the ecstasy of consummation, from the tensions of separation and the fears of loss, to the relaxed contentment of togetherness, from coquetry and flirtation, to the triumphalism of passion; all these are traced out in the ebb and flow of a growing relationship of mutual love.6

. . . the most tender and inimitable expression of passionate yet graceful love that has come down to us.7

The Author

At first, it seems fairly obvious that Solomon wrote the Song of Songs. After all, the first verse reads, “Solomon’s Song of Songs.” It would seem to suggest that the book must have been written by Solomon, the third king of Israel (c. 971–931 BC), in celebration of one of the women he loved.

Of course, some people immediately object. “How could Solomon, who reflected the cultural attitudes of the kings of his day, and who had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines,8 possibly know anything about love and what it takes to have successful relationships?” We might well reply that his failure would hardly preclude the fact that he had an enormous amount of experience, at least in what not to do! More to the point, it could be the very occasion for his coming to an understanding of what love really has to be if we are to arrive at any measure of success in our relationships.

When we take a closer look at the book, it does not appear to be a history or even a story about Solomon and his love. The theme of a king does appear more than once,9 but so does that of a shepherd and a woman at one point identified as the Shulammite.10 Some commentators even suggest that Solomon is an antagonist in the book.11 They see him as either trying to steal the woman from the shepherd or as a foil against which to contrast the simple beauty and faithful love of the shepherd.12

In that case, what the text suggests is that the simplicity of love that is available to the average person is much to be preferred to the extravagant opulence associated with the celebrities of our culture. Good point!

Regardless, when Solomon does appear in the Song,13 he is described not as its subject but as a person apart. He brings literary coloring to the song. In any event, the question is moot. There is good linguistic reason to believe that the title “Solomon’s Song of Songs” may well be a later editorial ascription given to the book,14 much like “A Psalm of David” appears before many of the Psalms.15 Even if it is not, it might mean nothing more than this was Solomon’s favorite book and that it took a place of pride in his collection. It could have been dedicated to him or simply become a part of the great body of literature that is to be associated with the wisdom of Solomon.16

A Great Book

Whoever the human author or editor is, undoubtedly this is an outstanding work. The reason is that, like all great literature, it never pretends, and it always deals with the real issues of life and love as we find them to be—not necessarily as we want them to be.17 We may be disappointed to realize that this is not a paperback romance novel. It is about real life, love, and relationships. That is precisely what we need, even if not always what we want.

On the one hand, it celebrates the magnificence of love and even the intoxicating nature of human sexuality. It understands that as human beings we are designed for love, and that our most fundamental emotional need is for sa...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part 1: Ecstasy and Agony, 1:1—3:5
• Part 2: The Heart of the Matter 3:6—5:1
• Part 3: Lost and Found 5:2—8:14
• Appendices
• Bibliography