tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15497256.post708004515438621887..comments2008-10-04T05:01:20.315-05:00Dr. Claude Mariottinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022725291281227401noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15497256.post-73568240704499071132008-10-04T05:01:00.000-05:002008-10-04T05:01:00.000-05:00I have been thinking about interpreting the OT recently and that would of course include the Song of Songs.<BR/>In John 5:39-40 and 5:46, Jesus rebukes some Jews and their leaders for not understanding the OT despite studying it diligently. And they do not understand it because they do not and refuse to come to (or arrive at) Him who is Life:<BR/>"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."<BR/>"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me."<BR/>So if the Song of Songs is Scripture, then it is about Jesus. And here is what makes me uncomfortable - if Jesus Himself says that the OT is about Him (see also John 1:45, Luke 24:26-27, Luke 24:44-47) then for us to say that it is not about Him, means contradicting Him.<BR/>But there might be a more serious implication, and please bear in mind that this is simply my humble fledgling thoughts. Jesus is the only Word of God, the only radiance of the Father, the only revelation of God. It is through Him and Him alone that anyone can know anything about God. In other words, God has not spoken anything other than His eternal Word. So it is important that Jesus says the Scriptures testify about Him. The Spirit-inspired Scripture, as it witnesses to Jesus and testifies about Him, brings us to Him and through Him, we hear the Father and know the Father.<BR/>So could this mean that whenever we read the Song of Songs (or the OT) un-Christologically, no matter how excited we get, we haven't really heard God Himself speak to us?Simulatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05863248622683517926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15497256.post-48688135984245787002008-10-02T09:19:00.000-05:002008-10-02T09:19:00.000-05:00Dr. Mariottini,<BR/><BR/>I kid you not, I just read Song of Songs last night (10/1). So to see your book review in light of that my reading gave a small goosebump.<BR/><BR/>I agree that it would require great straining even of allegory to see this book as representative of God's/Jesus' love for Israel/the church. Details are not need to prove my point.<BR/><BR/>One thing I am curious about: Esther gets criticism because the text nowhere ever mentions God (by name or reference), unless you employ "bible code" methodology. Yet, read Songs and there is no mention there either. Yes, Esther is absent from the Dead Sea Scrolls. But which seems to have had the more challenging time being accepted into the canon, Esther or Songs? Just curious.Joe Matosnoreply@blogger.com