A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

agreed with the settlement, the other objected, offering to withdraw her claim on the child if the
child’s life were preserved. Solomon discerned the maternal instincts of the true mother and
decided the case in her favor. “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered;
and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice”
(v. 28).
Whereas David appeared to rule as a benevolent dictator making most of the decisions
and being at the center of all action, Solomon appeared to be a better manager and delegated
authority to others. David did not seem to have the efficient organization. But Solomon
organized and implemented a large organization to administer the affairs of the nation during his
reign. This had several positive effects. First, this helped insure an increased standard of living
for the people of the land (4:20). Second, it helped insure the security of the kingdom throughout
the reign of Solomon (v. 21). Third, it further established Solomon’s reputation for wisdom (v.
30). Finally, it freed up the king so he could devote time to other interests, including the
collecting of proverbs and writing of songs (v. 32).
THE YOUNG LOVE OF SUCCESS
The third of the wisdom books traditionally attributed to Solomon is entitled “The Song
of Solomon.” Like his father before him, Solomon had a deep love for music which resulted in
his writing a thousand and five songs during his life (1 Kings 4:32). The Song of Solomon is
related to Solomon in its introductory verse (Song 1:1) and refers to him by name in the song
itself (3:11; 8:11-12). Traditionally, the Song was thought to be a love song written by Solomon
when he was a young shepherd in the fields of Bethlehem who was in love with a Shulamite girl.
She did not believe or know he was the heir to the throne until he returned to marry her.
Therefore, it is a book of pure love. Because the song makes specific reference to themes relating
to human sexuality, traditions say the rabbis allowed only males over the age of thirty to read the
book. Others say the book was written to all, making human sexuality a part of life.
Some historic commentators interpreted the Song of Solomon as an allegory of God’s
love for Israel and/or the church. Among the best known devotional commentaries based on this
view is J. Hudson Taylor’s volume entitled Union and Communion. Recently, some conservative
commentators have suggested the book was not one of Solomon’s love songs but rather the love
song of a shepherd and his Shulamite spouse who remained faithful to the one she loved despite
the advances made to her by Solomon. Those holding this latter view point to Solomon’s
reputation for immoral behavior (3:9-10) and confession of sexual frustration (Ecc. 7:25-29) to
suggest it highly unlikely Solomon would express love to the Shulamite in the way the shepherd
seems to do in this book. Some holding this second view also see an allegorical interpretation of
the book and application to the spiritual relationship between Christ and the believer. The
primary application of the book according to all recent commentators is to teach four essential
principles which tend to build the relationship between a husband and his wife in marriage.
However, the Song of Solomon probably suggests the beauty of love, both physical and
emotional. This elevation of love is violated by Solomon in his later life. Evidence shows that he
wrote the book early; it was probably among his first writings. The key verse is Song of Solomon
2:7, “Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.” This suggests a young person should not
stir up sexual passion until a person is ready for marriage fulfillment. The story is simple in its
beauty. Solomon and the Shulamite girl fall in love as they work in the field. (Solomon didn’t
expect to be king because he was not the firstborn and his mother was not a Hebrew.) Solomon
leaves for Jerusalem, and the anguish of separated love is expressed and anticipated. He returns