From the "Gracevine" newsletter article for Grace Lutheran Church in Thornville, Ohio, June 2022.
Set Me as a Seal upon Your Heart
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. - Song of Solomon 8:6 ESV (Monthly Watchword for June 2022)
Many years ago, I began the practice of beginning every worship service with what is called a “Watchword,” simply a short verse from the Bible that sets the tone for worship and that introduces a congregation to an important theme in our biblical faith. These weekly “Watchwords” come from the German Moravian tradition (a close cousin to Lutheranism), and to this day German Lutherans use them. I picked up this practice when I did my internship in a German church in 2004-05. A German man once told me how disappointed he was when he went to an American Lutheran church, and the first thing he heard was “good morning!” He told me that the first thing one should hear in church is something from the Bible, and I have never forgotten that conversation.
These “Watchwords” are assigned for each week, but each month and each year is also assigned a “Watchword,” a theme to ponder as the days go on. Our whole lives, moment by moment, are lived within God’s grace, and each year, each month, each week, and each day we are called to hear that message.
For the month of June, the Watchword is from a strange book of the Bible called the “Song of Solomon.” Along with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon is attributed to King Solomon, the son of David, known for his wisdom. However, as we find out later in the Bible, Solomon wasn’t as wise as we might have thought. He ended up abandoning the worship of God for any number of idols. According to Solomon’s own definition of wisdom (found in other parts of the Bible as well), Solomon was actually a fool: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
Jewish legend says that Solomon composed/edited Ecclesiastes in his old age, Proverbs in his middle age, and the Song of Solomon in his youth. This view is understandable, as Ecclesiastes reflects on the unfairness of life after years of experience. The Song of Solomon, however, is a book of love poetry, which one might expect to come from a young man.
As a child, I remember sitting with my friends in the church basement before Sunday school. One of my friends nudged me with a smile on his face and showed me this odd book of the Bible called the Song of Solomon. As we read the exchange between the man and the woman, we snickered at a number of the verses of this love poetry, but I especially remember Song of Solomon 4:1 throwing me into a fit of laughter. The man speaks, “Your hair is like a
flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead.”
What is this book doing in the Bible? The fact that its name is associated with King Solomon no doubt led people to consider it as special, worthy of inclusion in the books of Scripture.
But the Song of Solomon has one thing missing. In addition to being love poetry, there is something else that has led people to question its inclusion in the Bible. The Song of Solomon is one of two books in the Bible that contain no direct reference to God. The other is the book of Esther.
Actually, some have questioned that in recent years. The most famous verse in the Song of Solomon is the monthly Watchword for June. This verse has been set to music and is often sung at weddings today. Most translations of the Bible put verse 8:6 something like this:
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. NRSV
But depending on how you translate one word, there is a possible reference to the proper name of God in the Bible (something like “Yahweh”). This is what led the translators of the English Standard Version to put it this way:
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. ESV
Perhaps there is more to the Song of Solomon than meets the eye. Sunday school children continue to snicker about it, but Jewish interpreters have often looked at this book as an allegory of God’s love for the people of Israel. Christians have looked at this book as an allegory of God’s love for the world through the gift of Jesus Christ.
But then again, maybe it’s best to take it for what it is: an expression of love between a man and a woman. If that’s true, there’s nothing to be ashamed of here. As odd as it might sound to us to refer to a woman’s hair as a flock of goats, this book is a reminder that all aspects of our lives are lived in the presence of God. Among the many different relationships we have in the world, in our families and friendships, that relationship and commitment is an important one. And undergirding that love between the man and the woman is the fierce love of God for the world, described as a “flashing fire.” Even when our own love fails and grows cold, “the very flame of the Lord” that comes out in Jesus’ love for us continues to warm us with healing and forgiveness. That flame empowers us in all our comings and goings.
May it be for us this summer and the rest of our lives!
Pr. Tom Jacobson
Set Me as a Seal upon Your Heart
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. - Song of Solomon 8:6 ESV (Monthly Watchword for June 2022)
Many years ago, I began the practice of beginning every worship service with what is called a “Watchword,” simply a short verse from the Bible that sets the tone for worship and that introduces a congregation to an important theme in our biblical faith. These weekly “Watchwords” come from the German Moravian tradition (a close cousin to Lutheranism), and to this day German Lutherans use them. I picked up this practice when I did my internship in a German church in 2004-05. A German man once told me how disappointed he was when he went to an American Lutheran church, and the first thing he heard was “good morning!” He told me that the first thing one should hear in church is something from the Bible, and I have never forgotten that conversation.
These “Watchwords” are assigned for each week, but each month and each year is also assigned a “Watchword,” a theme to ponder as the days go on. Our whole lives, moment by moment, are lived within God’s grace, and each year, each month, each week, and each day we are called to hear that message.
For the month of June, the Watchword is from a strange book of the Bible called the “Song of Solomon.” Along with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon is attributed to King Solomon, the son of David, known for his wisdom. However, as we find out later in the Bible, Solomon wasn’t as wise as we might have thought. He ended up abandoning the worship of God for any number of idols. According to Solomon’s own definition of wisdom (found in other parts of the Bible as well), Solomon was actually a fool: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
Jewish legend says that Solomon composed/edited Ecclesiastes in his old age, Proverbs in his middle age, and the Song of Solomon in his youth. This view is understandable, as Ecclesiastes reflects on the unfairness of life after years of experience. The Song of Solomon, however, is a book of love poetry, which one might expect to come from a young man.
As a child, I remember sitting with my friends in the church basement before Sunday school. One of my friends nudged me with a smile on his face and showed me this odd book of the Bible called the Song of Solomon. As we read the exchange between the man and the woman, we snickered at a number of the verses of this love poetry, but I especially remember Song of Solomon 4:1 throwing me into a fit of laughter. The man speaks, “Your hair is like a
flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead.”
What is this book doing in the Bible? The fact that its name is associated with King Solomon no doubt led people to consider it as special, worthy of inclusion in the books of Scripture.
But the Song of Solomon has one thing missing. In addition to being love poetry, there is something else that has led people to question its inclusion in the Bible. The Song of Solomon is one of two books in the Bible that contain no direct reference to God. The other is the book of Esther.
Actually, some have questioned that in recent years. The most famous verse in the Song of Solomon is the monthly Watchword for June. This verse has been set to music and is often sung at weddings today. Most translations of the Bible put verse 8:6 something like this:
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. NRSV
But depending on how you translate one word, there is a possible reference to the proper name of God in the Bible (something like “Yahweh”). This is what led the translators of the English Standard Version to put it this way:
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. ESV
Perhaps there is more to the Song of Solomon than meets the eye. Sunday school children continue to snicker about it, but Jewish interpreters have often looked at this book as an allegory of God’s love for the people of Israel. Christians have looked at this book as an allegory of God’s love for the world through the gift of Jesus Christ.
But then again, maybe it’s best to take it for what it is: an expression of love between a man and a woman. If that’s true, there’s nothing to be ashamed of here. As odd as it might sound to us to refer to a woman’s hair as a flock of goats, this book is a reminder that all aspects of our lives are lived in the presence of God. Among the many different relationships we have in the world, in our families and friendships, that relationship and commitment is an important one. And undergirding that love between the man and the woman is the fierce love of God for the world, described as a “flashing fire.” Even when our own love fails and grows cold, “the very flame of the Lord” that comes out in Jesus’ love for us continues to warm us with healing and forgiveness. That flame empowers us in all our comings and goings.
May it be for us this summer and the rest of our lives!
Pr. Tom Jacobson