On the Song of Songs: Part 5, Reflections (Solomon as Prophet)

This evening I am going to do something different. Having completed our presentation of the Song of Songs, there are still further observations which we can make, and which we should make, regarding the Song in general, and especially the impact of its interpretation on various other Scriptures from Genesis through the New Testament. While we have explained or alluded to some of these aspects of the Song throughout our commentary, it may be useful to have them all in summary, and also so that we may expand on some of them to a much greater degree, further probing the depths of their meanings.

The wisdom of Solomon is evidently far greater than many men may even have the ability to perceive. The Song of Songs is not a mere love song, although it is often dismissed as such. Both Jews and Churches have offered allegorical explanations of the Song which suit themsleves, and they all fail. In opposition to them all, but similarly to the claims of some, we would assert that the Song is an allegory representing the love which Yahweh God has for the children of Israel, and the love which the children of Israel, both individually and collectively, should have for Yahweh their God, as they are His Bride, and He Himself has promised to betroth them both once again and forever. I refer primarily to Hosea chapter 2: “19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.” That promise being made to Israel in the Assyrian captivities, the betrothal is certainly fulfilled in Christ. So at the same time, the Song offers some prophecy concerning Christ, which only Christians, and not Jews, can even begin to understand.

On the Song of Songs: Part 3, the Conclusion (Two Seedline is Biblical Truth)

Throughout the last few chapters of this Song of Songs, we have seen several allegories which describe sexual activity between lovers as the eating of fruit from trees, and also from a garden. In Song chapter 2, the Bride described her Husband as an apple tree and professed eating of his fruit, where it was explicit that the couple had been in the act of embracing one another in a bed, the Husband having fallen asleep. Then, in a subsequent encounter in Song chapter 4, the Husband described the Bride as his garden, he described the wonder of her fruits, and the Bride explicitly invited him to eat of them. Here, at the beginning of Song chapter 5, that encounter is not yet finished.

With that, we made assertions that the identification of these similes and metaphors as euphemisms for romantic sexual activity is irrefutable. Therefore, further comparing the similar metaphors which are found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a work which is approximately contemporary to the time of Abraham and which was still known to Judaeans at the time of Christ, and which also explicitly employs such metaphors in reference to sexual activity, and then also comparing the account of the temptation in Genesis chapter 3, it clearly becomes manifest that Genesis chapter 3 is describing an illicit act of sex in the garden of Eden as having been the cause of the fall of man. So we may conclude that here in this romantic and even erotic love poem, the wisdom of Solomon gives us the understanding by which we may honestly interpret the otherwise enigmatic allegories of trees and fruit in Genesis chapter 3, as Solomon had also done in different ways in his other writings, in Wisdom and in Proverbs. There has long been debate in Christian Identity circles over the language and allegories of Genesis chapter 3, and in the Song of Songs, the debate is settled.

On the Song of Songs: Part 1, the Allegory (Yahweh and Israel)

Here we are going to endeavor a commentary on the Song of Songs, which is also sometimes, and erroneously, referred to as the Book of Canticles. The work is attributed to King Solomon, and we have good reason to accept the attribution. Hopefully our effort shall correct at least some misgivings concerning the Song, as we shall call it here. Before we begin, we shall examine what early Christian writers thought of the Song, as we were also encouraged to do when we examined more modern references, namely the article discussing the Song found at Wikipedia.

Not every old adage is true. There is a popular saying, or at least it was popular in generations past, that warns us to “never look a gift horse in the mouth.” The common interpretation of the adage is correct, as it is saying that one should not criticize a gift. But even Solomon warned, in Proverbs chapter 19, that “6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.” In other words, the favor of a prince can be bought with gifts, which is bribery. So Solomon wrote later, in Proverbs chapter 29, that “4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.” So a king who accepts such bribes may ultimately bring his own kingdom to ruin.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 29: Born From Above

In the last portion of this commentary, throughout chapter 18 of the Wisdom of Solomon, we saw a description of The Emergent World, as Solomon himself had described the world as being represented by the long garment of the high priest of Israel which had contained twelve gemstones representing each of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. The breastplate of the garment contained little else besides those gemstones and the Urim and Thummim, which ostensibly represented the twelve tribes under the judgment and counsel of Yahweh their God. Yet Solomon described that as “the whole world” where he said in verse 24: “For in the long garment was the whole world, and in the four rows of the stones was the glory of the fathers graven, and thy Majesty upon the diadem of his head.” This world, referring to the particular κόσμος or society and not to the entire planet, was formed by God Himself as He chose the children of Israel, the seed of Abraham, to endure the trials which they had experienced in Egypt, and coming out of Egypt to be established in His laws and to be organized according to His Word. Solomon will repeat that same profession in another way here in Wisdom chapter 19, whereby he also reveals the meaning of the phrase “born from above”.

In Genesis chapter 15, Abraham was forewarned of this by God, where after Yahweh God had made many other promises to him, we read “13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” The four hundred years, as it had been reckoned by Paul of Tarsus and as it is evident in the historical narrative of Scripture, included the time from Abraham’s arrival in Canaan to the subsequent sojourn of Jacob in Egypt and the period during which the Israelites were actually enslaved by the Egyptians, which was only something less than 180 years. This method of counting is verified where in verse 16 of that same chapter of Genesis, it says that “in the fourth generation they shall come hither again”, and in the genealogies it is evident that when Jacob went to Egypt with Levi, his son Kohath was already born, and Kohath was the father of Amram, the father of Moses. So Moses was the fourth generation from Jacob, and although several generations were born after him, he led them back “hither” to the land of Canaan.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 27: The Light of Day

Before we begin our commentary on this 18th chapter of the Wisdom of Solomon, I would like to make a few notes regarding its timeliness, since here Solomon continues to discuss the very first Passover. By my reckoning, the ancient Israelite calendar had to be fixed to the agricultural cycle of the land in which they lived, or it would not serve them. So the feast of first fruits, or the feast of weeks as it was called, being seven weeks after the Passover, had to come at the same time every year, or the first fruits would not be available at the proper time for the feast. Likewise, the feast of tabernacles had to correspond with the time of the harvest, or there would not have been food sufficient for such a holiday. In Exodus chapter 23 we see in a reference to the feast of tabernacles that it was also called “the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.” There is another reference to Tabernacles as ingathering at Exodus 34:22, which also shows that it was a feast related to the harvest, and dependent upon the harvest.

So for this reason, that the calendar and the cycle of agriculture had to remain in consistent harmony with one another, the year itself must have started at the same time, on the same date, from one year to the next. The feasts were set to fixed dates in the year, so there was no waiting around for the fruits to ripen. Therefore while it is not mentioned in Scripture, that date must have been the day following the observation of the vernal equinox, which for us marks the first day of Spring. It has long been recognized by archaeologists that ancient stone circles and other stone monuments such as those at Stonehenge or Newgrange in Ireland were constructed with features marking the dates of equinoxes and solstices. The Vernal Equinox occurred on March 20th this year. Then, as the Scriptures command, the fourteenth day from that day would be April 3rd on our calendars, and therefore on this very evening, April 2nd, the Passover should begin, in spite of whatever calendar is kept by the Jews or the Roman Catholics or other denominations.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 25: A Tale of Two Torments

One thing which we find most striking in Solomon’s descriptions of the origins and practice of idolatry here in Wisdom is that the general patterns of behavior which lead to idolatry do not change, and they have not changed even over the last three thousand years. In ancient times men, worshipping the works of their own hands, had created idols which they said to be gods. Then whether they were artificers seeking to make more money from their craft or whether they pretended to be priests of some god, for their own profit they deceived others into worshipping their idols while offering them vain hope in a dead object. Of course a third way is the idolatry of kings, who compelled men by threat of force to worship idols of their choosing.

So today men worship commercial icons such as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, or perhaps some sports figures who endorse certain products. Men worship these idols by going out and engaging in commerce on account of those images which were created by others for the sake of their own profit. At the same time they teach their children to worship those images through the anticipation that they may receive things from them, and when the children find that they are not real, or that they are only mere men who often fail to live up to their expectations, and who cannot really do much beyond playing a game anyway, the children may wonder why their parents taught them lies.

So the love of money certainly is the The Root of All Evil, and as we saw at the end of Wisdom chapter 15, Yahweh God often punishes men with their own delusions. So here in Wisdom, Solomon made another analogy which should be one of the lessons of history, which is the fact that in the plagues of Egypt, the Egyptians were punished with some of the same beasts which they themselves had once worshipped. The Egyptians and other enemies of the ancient Israelites were punished for their destruction, but whenever Israel was punished for their disobedience, it was for their correction, and there was mercy in their punishment. So this is a tale of two torments, or at least, punishments inflicted upon different men for entirely different reasons.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 23: Arrogance and Humility

Discussing The Idolatry of Kings in our last presentation of this commentary on the Wisdom of Solomon, it is evident that two such types of idolatry were described: the decrees of kings which forced men to worship certain idols, and the depravity of men who would worship and even encourage others to worship the kings themselves. Encouraging others to worship a king, they seek in turn to flatter the king while making a profit for themselves. So while at first, as we read in verse 16 of Wisdom chapter 14, “graven images were worshipped by the commandments of kings”, later on men “made an express image of a king whom they honoured, to the end that by this their forwardness they might flatter him that was absent, as if he were present”, and through this process “the singular diligence of the artificer did help to set forward the ignorant to more superstition.”

The former mode of idolatry was described as being compulsory, and the later as being voluntary. But if we consider this further, even the compulsory form of such idolatry, whereby a king issues religious decrees, is only possible through the voluntary actions of men. A king cannot rule over any city or any nation unless a certain number of the population have willingly accepted that rule, and then assist in compelling others to accept it even when those others would otherwise refuse, using force on behalf of the man who would be king. Even kings are installed by dominant political parties, the word party actually being a euphemism for gang. So in rather simple language, Solomon is actually describing one aspect of how it is that the wicked come to rule over the righteous, and how they fulfill their endeavor where they had stated, as it was described in Wisdom chapter 2, “11 Let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.”

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 21: The Adulation of Men

Ostensibly, the first sin in the Garden of Eden was caused by the admiration of a man. As we read in chapter 2 of the Wisdom of Solomon: “24 Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side do find it.” Today, most supposed Christians continue to adore or worship men, many of whom are devils, through professional sports, entertainment and other media. They may imagine that they are only being entertained, but they are actually also engaged in adoring and idolizing their entertainers. Then they adapt themselves to the moral, religious and political values of those same entertainers, because they want to be like them. But the result is that they are no better off than the sinners who had submitted themselves to the ancient priests of Baal, and according to Tertullian and other ancient authorities, the people had even worshipped the genitals of the priests. That may be graphic, but that is the truth of antiquity, and it is an underlying truth in the allure of Hollywood.

In a different manner, adherents to Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy have also always worshipped men, by bowing themselves before icons and making prayers to presumed saints. But in reality, if you can worship dead men, what is it to worship men who are living? The churches call it veneration rather than worship, and they call the dead saints intercessors rather than gods. But it is all the same, that to bow or kneel before a dead effigy and beg some favor is to worship something dead, something that cannot even help itself. That is the core of what Solomon describes here as the beginning of idolatry.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 19: Patterns of Idolatry

When I began to write this commentary, I honestly thought that I would finish with Wisdom chapter 13 this evening. But in fact, we will not even begin chapter 13. I had so much to write about concerning these last 4 verses of chapter 12, that we will only finish that chapter.

In our last presentation in this commentary of the Wisdom of Solomon, Lessons from History, we noted how Solomon had used the circumstances relating to the Canaanites in ancient Israel in order to show that wicked races cannot ever conform themselves to the righteousness of God for reason that they are bastards, and because they are corrupt from the beginning, from their very genesis or origin. So for that reason he attested that they will never be able to amend themselves. Then we illustrated how this same lesson is taught throughout Scripture, from the dialogue between Yahweh and Cain and Cain’s immediate actions thereafter, to the dialogues between John the Baptist and Yahshua Christ with the descendants of Cain, in the persons of the Edomite Canaanites of their own time. So in that regard, we should also consider what things befell both John and Christ as a result of those dialogues. Making that illustration, we also noted how Wisdom helps us to understand and explain this phenomenon, as it certainly is a lesson which we must derive from history. That is because, contrary to the insistences of the world, bastards will never please God, and neither will we ourselves please Him so long as we continue to produce or to countenance bastards.

The bastard races of Solomon’s time were engaging in fornication, adultery and Sodomy, among other crimes. But here in Wisdom, Solomon had specifically used infanticide, their sacrificing of their own children to pagan idols, as the foremost example of their wickedness. Many critics of Christianity wrongly accuse the God of the Old Testament of advocating such a thing, because of the demand that Isaac be sacrificed. However infanticide is clearly denounced throughout the Bible, and the trial of Abraham was for a greater purpose as well as an illustration, because Isaac’s life was not taken, while at the same time the practice was common among Abraham’s Canaanite neighbors. But no matter how revolting the act is in the minds of Christians today, child sacrifice was a reality of life in the ancient pagan world, and it was not limited to the land of Canaan.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 17: The Wisdom in History

As we have already explained, in Wisdom chapter 9 Solomon began to recount what is presented as the prayer for Wisdom which he had made upon his having become the king of Israel, the act of which is described in 1 Kings chapter 3. From that point, his prayer for wisdom consumes the balance of this book of Wisdom. As the prayer progresses, most of its content is a recollection of many of the wonders which were worked by Yahweh God on behalf of the children of Israel throughout their developing history. This results in a unique perspective on the significance of the founding events in the history of Israel, and all subsequent history to this very day began with and has been a product of those events. Solomon attributes the origin and outcome of those events to the wisdom of God, and in doing that he is implicitly proposing the fact that every event in the lives of men and nations has already been determined and is guided by the wisdom of God. The men themselves, or even the nations and their rulers, do not need to understand that wisdom in order to be directed by it, as Yahweh Himself has determined their course, and as events unfold they cannot help but to follow the way which He has already foreseen. They appear to make choices of their own volition, but He already knows the choices they will make. However if men seek to please God, they will seek His wisdom, which He has now offered to them through His Word, and Solomon also presents himself as an example of that here, while he had further implied that even the desire and ability to do that is a gift from God.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 15: The Prayer for Wisdom

Throughout the first eight chapters of the Wisdom of Solomon we have seen several changes of subject. First, Solomon introduced wisdom as the Remedy for Sin and Death, and then he contrasted the attitudes and behavior of impious, or ungodly, men to the attitudes and behavior of the righteous, while concluding that the righteous man stands as a barrier to the designs of the ungodly, and as a result the ungodly would persecute and even seek to destroy the righteous. Doing this, we believe that Solomon was also prophesying a Portrait of the Messiah. Then Solomon offered reassurance to the righteous, as their fate is In the Hand of God while impious men shall inevitably suffer for their foolishness. So after describing the punishments of Everlasting Contempt which await the impious and contrasting them with The Reward of the Righteous, Solomon began to present the wisdom which comes from God in a way that it should appeal to men, and especially to kings, as he being a king was addressing the future kings of Israel.

So Solomon set out to describe The Wisdom of Kings, The Origin of Wisdom and The Beauty of Wisdom, portraying Wisdom as a woman whose allures should cause men to pursue her and desire her for themselves. Then finally, in Wisdom chapter 8, describing The Rewards of Wisdom, Solomon reflects back on his youth to the time when he had first prayed for wisdom, exhorting God for His wisdom. Therefore as we continue our commentary on the Wisdom of Solomon with chapter 9, which begins with a very lengthy prayer, we must note that the author presents the prayer as the very prayer which Solomon had made in his youth, when upon becoming king of Israel he had sought wisdom rather than his own worldly magnification.

To us it is not an extraordinary phenomenon, that the Wisdom of Solomon was considered a part of the Christian Scriptures by the earliest Christians. The book is listed in the canon found in the Muratorian fragment, which dates to about 170 AD, and we are confident that it certainly does belong in our canon, where we would place it alongside Ecclesiastes. It expresses things that are later revealed in the New Testament Scriptures, which are not so obvious in the Old Testament. It also serves to explain statements which are found in the New Testament Scriptures that are not direct quotations from the Old Testament, in a manner that reveals their continuity with the Old Testament.

But to us, it is also not extraordinary that Christians of later periods have ultimately rejected the Wisdom of Solomon. While its status as canon was often disputed by Roman churchmen, even as early as the late 4th century, the Roman and later Greek Orthodox churches had nevertheless retained the book. But modern Protestants have relegated it to apocryphal status, if they have not rejected it entirely. However in any event, even if they retained the book, the Wisdom of Solomon was evidently never taught in any of the universal churches. If they had truly learned the wisdom of Solomon, they would not have been universal.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 13: The Beauty of Wisdom

Making these presentations on the Wisdom of Solomon, we have already presented more than a few arguments in support of our profession that Solomon was indeed the author of this work. However in some of those arguments, it might appear as if we may claim that Wisdom was originally written in Greek, and that is not necessarily true. In earlier portions of this commentary, and namely in Part 2 where we had addressed many criticisms of the work, several times we made references to “the author or translator” of the work. We will not lay claim to know with certainty what was the original language of Wisdom, as there is no definite evidence. But if the original language was indeed Hebrew, it cannot be proven conclusively that the work was not translated by a learned scribe at a time much later than Solomon’s own.

At the end of Wisdom chapter 6, Solomon had promised to disclose the Origin of Wisdom, which he then did here in chapter 7. However first he exhorted his intended readers, who were primarily the future kings of the children of Israel, as to why they should listen to his instruction. Doing that, he then described Wisdom as emanating from God, and began to describe her virtues, depicting Wisdom as a woman to be adored for her beauty. Now here at the end of Wisdom chapter 7, Solomon will continue to profess that the wisdom of which he speaks is indeed the wisdom of God, and continues with an anthropomorphism describing the beauty of Wisdom.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 11: The Wisdom of Kings

Discussing the latter portion of Wisdom chapter 5 in our last presentation on the Wisdom of Solomon here, which was titled Who are the World?, we had observed that Wisdom describes the promised vengeance of Yahweh God against His enemies in different terms, but in a manner which is completely agreeable in meaning with prophecies of that same vengeance which are found in Micah chapter 4 and Revelation chapter 18. Once we understand what Solomon had meant where he said that Yahweh would “make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies”, as he himself defines the creature, or creation, as the twelve tribes of the children of Israel organized under the law in Wisdom chapter 19, then we can also understand that he was describing that same phenomenon which was prophesied in different terms in Micah chapter 4 as a call to the children of Israel to “arise and thresh”, and in Revelation chapter 18 as a call to the people of God to “come out of her My people” and then to turn and “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.” So all three passages have virtually the same meaning, in the same prophetic context.

So in the Wisdom of Solomon we see what Micah had also prophesied, and what Christ Himself confirms in chapter 18 of His Revelation: that the children of Israel themselves shall ultimately be the instruments which are employed by Yahweh God in the execution of His vengeance against His enemies, and that is the day which all true Christians should await with anticipation. Likewise, Paul had told the Corinthians that they should be ready to revenge all disobedience, once their own obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:6). Noticing features such as this in Wisdom is an important step to recognizing the veracity of the work. Ultimately, the proof of a prophet is found in the fulfillment of the prophecy. But in this case, the prophecy is still anticipated, so the fulfillment is not yet realized. However if the author of Wisdom prophesied things which are also found in the words of later prophets, and then in the words of Christ Himself, although the language used to describe those things is markedly different, the prophet is nonetheless verified, because the Word of God has confirmed the prophecy for him.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 9: Everlasting Contempt

Here, out of necessity, I am going to repeat some concepts which we have already expounded upon to one degree or another earlier in this commentary on Wisdom, and quite often elsewhere in our commentaries at Christogenea, but with the hope that Solomon himself helps to clarify them for us. However we believe that these concepts, having to do with death, resurrection, and the eternal Adamic spirit, are of crucial importance to a proper understanding of our Christian faith.

Since the beginning of Wisdom chapter 2, Solomon has been contrasting the attitudes and actions of the ungodly and their ultimate fate, with the attitudes and actions of the righteous, and their ultimate fate, alternating back and forth between the two as he proceeds. In that process, one prominent feature of his comparison is the attitude of disdain which the ungodly have towards the righteous, and as a result, how the righteous are mistreated and persecuted by them. Another feature is the parallels with the ministry and gospel of Christ, for which we have viewed the righteous man in Solomon’s example as both a type and a prophecy of the Messiah.

On the Wisdom of Solomon, Part 7: The End of the Wicked

In our last presentation, In the Hand of God, which was our commentary on the first part of Wisdom chapter 3, we had already begun to speak of the end of the wicked in comparison with the fate of the righteous, where we had cited certain of the Psalms of David that address these same subjects which we see being treated at length by Solomon here. But where we allude to the end of the wicked, we do not mean to state that men of the Adamic race who lived wicked lives will cease to exist, or be destroyed in the figurative Lake of Fire. Rather, the end of a man can refer to his destiny in other ways.

In Wisdom chapter 4, for example, Solomon wrote of the wicked as being “a reproach among the dead for evermore”, and then described them as being called to account for their sins. This evokes a passage in Daniel chapter 12 which we have also already cited, where the prophet describes a resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt, which shall apparently be suffered by certain wicked men. In any event, reproach for evermore and everlasting contempt indicate an eternal existence even if it is a miserable existence when compared to what has been promised to the righteous. As we have seen, the Adamic spirit was created in the image of the eternity of Yahweh God, and God cannot fail.