Rabbi Schneider - Prophetic Insights in the Song of Songs

TOPICS: Song of Songs... Journeying into Divine Love

As king Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs it was one of over a thousand songs that he wrote. And as he wrote it I do not believe that he had revelation from the Holy Spirit that he was actually prophesying about the type of relationship that can only be described as a marriage relationship that Jesus has with this church, and that the church has with Jesus, who is called in the Song of Songs and other places in scripture the bridegroom. I'm going to show you this principle in the Word of God right now, that there's times in the Word of God that we see revealed that one was prophesying by the Holy Spirit, and they weren't even aware of what they were doing.

So I'm going to go now in my Bible to the gospel of John, and I'm going to chapter number 11, verse number 49-51. Once again, I'm going to John chapter number, 11 verses number 49 through verse number 51. Actually I'm going to start in verse number 47. Now, in this particular portion of scripture you're going to see that the high priest prophesied something by the Holy Spirit. He didn't even believe fully in what he was prophesying, he didn't understand what he was prophesying, he's going to make a statement that's going to say that, "It's expedient for one man", speaking of Jesus, "To die for the sins of the nation", but beloved, when he made that statement it wasn't because he believed in Jesus, it wasn't because he knew that Jesus death on the cross was going to be the sacrifice for the sin of the world. He just simply said it, because he was standing in the office of the high priest. And because he was standing in the office of the high priest, the Holy Spirit spoke through him to communicate truth, but he didn't he wasn't aware of what was happening.

So, let me begin John 11:47-51, hear the word of the Lord, "Therefore the chief priests and the pharisees convened a council, and were saying, 'what are we doing? For this man is performing many signs". Again, speaking of Jesus here. "If we let him go on like this, all men will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation". Notice now that this counsel they didn't believe in Jesus, they weren't for Jesus, they were against Jesus. They were looking as to how to put him to death. Let's continue on, "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'you know nothing at all. Nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish'. Now", verse 51, "He did not say this on his own initiative", he wasn't aware that he was prophesied by the Holy Spirit, "Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation".

So the principle that we're laying here is that when Solomon wrote the Song of Songs, he was not aware that he was birthing from the Holy Spirit the revelation of Jesus bridal relationship with his church, that culminates in revelation 19 with the marriage supper the lamb. He didn't have understanding about this. But because God was using him, a revelation was coming forth from him that he didn't fully understand when he wrote it. He didn't understand the prophetic nature of what he was writing. He thought he was just writing a love letter to the bride, his physical bride that lived during his lifetime. He wasn't aware that it was actually prophesied by the Holy Spirit of the love relationship between Jesus and his church.

Let me show you another example of this in the Torah, in the book of numbers, as we read the story now about Balaam. I'm going in the Torah, to the book of numbers chapter number 22, and I'm going to read here verse number 28. We know the story of Balaam and his donkey, listen again, 28, "And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, 'what have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times'"? Let me read it again. So, Balaam, we know the story, the donkey stops and speaks to him. Now, obviously the donkey didn't understand English, the donkey didn't have revelation of how to communicate in English. The donkey wasn't aware that he was prophesying, but God spoke through the donkey for his own purposes, just like he was doing with Solomon in the song of song.

So let me read it again in the 28th verse of numbers 22, "And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, 'what have I done to you that you have struck me these three times'"? That's the donkey talking here. And so, in the Song of Songs the Holy Spirit is using Solomon to give the church an understanding, beloved, of how God feels about us, and about the type of love relationship that we are being called into. That's why this series is subtitled "Journeying into divine love", journey into beloved the heart of God. We learn about how God feels about us. We learn, beloved, about the climax or the point or the end of our salvation. In other words, what have we been saved for? Where is our salvation experience going? It culminates, beloved, in the marriage supper of the lamb. It's a marital type of intimacy.

And so, we try to understand this then. But, once again looking at scriptures in the Bible that teach us that the nature of the relationship that Jesus has established in us, and has destined us for, can only be compared to a marriage relationship. In other words, beloved, what basis do we have for interpreting the Song of Songs, or the Song of Solomon, as a prophetic revelation of how the Lord feels about us, and the type of divine love that we're being called into, that can only be compared to a marriage relationship. What basis do we have? Well, I'm going to show you now in the Word of God, that where you and I are going beloved is into a relationship with Jesus. That is so deep, and so intimate, the only relationship on earth that it could be compared to is a marriage relationship.

Many of us when we think of our salvation, we think about being safe and going to heaven, but we have no concept of the type of intimacy that Jesus desires from us, and that he has for us. And so, let's look at some scriptures in the New Testament, and in the Hebrew Bible that established this fact. I'm going going to begin by going to the book of Ephesians now, chapter number 5 verse number 28. The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord abides forever. I'm in Ephesians 5, I'll be reading now verses number 28 through 32 to help you understand, beloved, that God, that Jesus, the beautiful bridegroom God is calling you into marital intimacy with him. That's why the Bible culminates in revelation 19 with the saints of heaven being gathered together in heaven with Jesus at the marriage supper of the lamb, and the angel says, "These are the true words of God".

Hear the Word of God. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 28, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church". And so, what Paul is doing here is saying that when you marry a woman, he's speaking to men, you love your wife as if she's part of your own body. Let's continue on, "Because we are members", he compares it now to Jesus relationship with us, he compares the way a man loves his wife, as if she's part of his own flesh. He compares that to the way that Jesus loves us.

In verse number 30, "Because we are members of his body", let's look listen to that again, "So husbands ought to also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh". Notice, the next verse "This mystery is great: but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church".

And so, we see her that Paul says, "I'm speaking to you about a great mystery. I'm ministering to you something that some of you don't understand", he said, "I'm unveiling to you a great mystery, needless to say some of you won't get it, but what I'm talking to you about, when I'm talking about a man leaving his father and mother cleaving to his wife, and the two becoming one flesh, when I'm talking to you about loving your wife as you love your own body, I'm speaking to you about the mystery of Christ and his church, and the type of marital relationship, hallelujah, that's there". That's why we're called, beloved, the bride of Christ.

I'm going to go now to the second Corinthians chapter number 11, verse number 2, to help you further understand this. Second Corinthians 11:2 Paul is speaking, for he says, "I am jealous for you". Remember, the Lord says that he's a jealous God. Paul is feeling the Lord's jealousy. Why is a husband jealous? Because his wife is to have a marital relationship only with him. And so, Paul is feeling the same type of jealousy for God's people, for the church, that they would be presented to Messiah Jesus, that they would have a heart only for Jesus, they'd have eyes only for him. So, let's listen to that, second Corinthians 11:2, "For I am jealous for you with the godly jealousy: for I betroth you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin".

So, notice what Paul's saying, "I'm presenting you church to your husband, who is Messiah Jesus, who's Christ", that's the first thing he's saying. Then the second thing he's saying is, "And I want to present you as a virgin, I want you to be undefiled and pure for him alone". So, are you starting to see that the end of our salvation, the purpose to which our salvation aims, beloved, is that you and I will experience such a deep relationship with Jesus, that the type of love that we will experience in him can only be compared to a love between a husband and his wife? We are journeying, beloved, into divine love. In the book of Romans we understand our salvation legally, but in the Song of Songs we understand our salvation emotionally, as we feel, beloved, the love of God, and what he's calling us into. Hallelujah, and bless his name.

I want to go with you now into the Hebrew Bible, as we look at the prophet Isaiah, when we find a glimpse of the same truth in this prophet's writing. I'm going to the book of Isaiah now, chapter number 62. The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but hallelujah, the word of the Lord abides forever. I'm going to Isaiah chapter 62, the bottom of verse 5. The Lord is speaking about his love for his people. Listen what he says through the prophet Isaiah. "And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God", hallelujah, "Will rejoice over you". So, we see in the Hebrew Bible, the Lord is speaking to his people in such a way he says, "I'm rejoicing over my bride, even as an earthly husband, even as an earthly bridegroom rejoices over his bride".

Do you know that John the Baptist was called the friend of the bridegroom? He was the friend of Jesus. Jesus was referred to as the bridegroom, hallelujah. Let's continue on. I'm going now to a scripture that's very very important for you to get, revelation 19 verses 7 and 9. Now, I will be repeating some of these things in the weeks ahead, but beloved, I want to encourage you: don't get bored with repetition, don't say "I already heard this", because every time you hear it, the Holy Spirit's going to put new life on it, the Holy Spirit's going to make it fresh to you, and he's going to cause the truth to keep penetrating deeper in your heart, so that you could be changed even emotionally by these truths as our heart is penetrated by the love of Jesus.

Hear the word of the Lord. (בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן). Revelation 19:7, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him, for the marriage supper of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready, and then he's repeating in the ninth verse, "Then he said to me, 'write, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb'". And he said to me, "These are the true words of God".

So, understanding then that the climax of our salvation is marital intimacy, which will be celebrated at the marriage supper of the lamb. It only makes sense to us that in the written Word of God, that the Holy Spirit would give us more revelation on this, and this is what the Song of Songs, beloved, is communicating to us by the Holy Spirit. I want to go now to the book of 2 Peter 1:20. You'll hear me repeat this portion of scripture again, but I really need you to get our basis for why we're interpreting the Song of Songs prophetically like we are. Because we want a foundation for the reason that we're interpreting the Song of Songs prophetically.

I'm reading now 2 Peter 1:20-21. Peter writes, "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture", in other words there's nothing in the Bible that man wrote by his own initiative, but everything that's in the Bible, Peter's telling us, is in the Bible because men that were being moved by the Holy Spirit wrote it down. Let's listen again, "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God".

And so, what Peter is revealing to us is that all of scripture is written by the Holy Spirit. And so, when we approach the Song of Songs, it has to be more than a love letter of Solomon to his bride, because after all, Solomon hundreds of brides. No, it was something more than this. He was being moved by the Holy Spirit, writing from God for us, prophetically giving us revelation about the type of marital intimacy the Lord has destined us for. In the book of Luke 24:13-17, we find further insight into the foundation of why we have confidence to study the Song of Songs prophetically. Listen as I read Luke 24, beginning there in verse number 13. Hear the word of the Lord. "And behold", as they were adjourning the Yeshua had been crucified, and the disciples were really downcast, they were really didn't know what happened to Jesus. For all they knew he was gone, he was killed, and all their plans had fallen to pieces.

So listen what happens. "And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which is about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. And he said to them, 'what are these words that you're exchanging with one another as you are walking'? And they stood still, looking sad". Now, I'm going to pick up at the 25th verse, this is what Jesus did, "And he said to them, 'o foolish man and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken'", and then he says in the 27th verse, "Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures".

And so Jesus, beloved, shows us that not only is all of scripture written by the Holy Spirit, but all of scripture is about him. Yeshua told us in the gospel of John chapter 16 that after he had departed, he would send the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit would take from Jesus, he would take up the deep things of Jesus heart, then he would reveal them unto us. Thank you Holy Spirit. And he would glorify Jesus. So, the Song of Songs, beloved, is given to us by the Holy Spirit from the heart of Jesus, to put within our heart a deep understanding of Jesus love for us, and to ignite within us a deep fiery love for him. And I know that as you tune into this broadcast on the Song of Songs, journey into divine love each week, your hearts will be changed