Gospel Rant

Are you aware that we are tragically shaming an entire generation of young women, teenagers, in our churches and youth groups. If they have had sex (whatever we mean by that, or our girls thinks it means), they are stigmas in the eyes of God and bad. Linda Kay Klein, author of "Pure", describes it this way, "The purity message is not about sex. Rather, it is about us: who we are, who we are expected to be, and who it is said we will become if we fail to meet those expectations. This is the language of shame.” The Song of Songs pushes against the consequences of such a message. There is a powerful love that can begin to heal the shame. There is a God who truly does love the unlovable, who loves the shamed, even the impure. We can show such a beat-up woman how to enter that embrace—as she is. 

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This podcast is an important one-and-out message that could just change your life. D. Martyn Lloyd Jones said, “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.”

I agree—BUT...for we Christians, there are not just two options, either Stop Listening and start talking. There is a third. We can talk the gospel to our midbrain. That is what we are all about. What does gospel-talking to your “self’ look like and feel like? 

Here is the place where this message and the Song of Songs connect. The Queen is riddled and strangled by negative self-talk. Nothing, including any positive self-talk makes a difference. She is stuck still ‘dark-yet-lovely’. Until, the King ’talks’ into her ’self’. That is the ’talk’ that can actually rewire and revive our self. 

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The Song of Song is the greatest gospel presentation in the Old Testament. But is has sat in a box relatively unused and unappreciated. What is the gospel message of God’s love for the unloveable for the many young traumatized girls and women who have been ‘she-shamed’ in our churches and families? You will be surprised. There is healing. Please get this podcast and the next to women you know who might benefit from good news. We are looking at the beginning of Song of Songs Movement #1. Go to gospelrant.com and get on the mailing list. You will get a free gift plus a diagram of the poetic structure of the Song. 

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In this podcast, we being to look at the Song of Songs text. The first four verses represent a poetic prologue, on the one hand, but practically, they are the after-story of the Queen. Here’s is what the queen looks like after being transformed by the love of the King. There is no greater presentation of the gospel of the love of God for the unlovable than the Song of Songs. We are in desperate need of such a transforming love—not just for Heaven, but even today, tomorrow and the next day. This is a picture of what the love of the King can do to even one so traumatized as the Queen. Make sure you follow and give us a good review. Thanks ahead of time. 

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Here are two other important reasons why I think that this “Prophetic Marriage Gospel” approach best fits with the important Old Testament book. We will look at how the Jews have traditionally used the Song. Also, we will take a look at how contemporaries have heard the Song of Songs. Have you heard of the Love Songs of Shu Sin? Well you should. 

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I have three reasons why I think that this “Prophetic Marriage Gospel” approach best fits with the important Old Testament book. We will look at the first one. The metaphor of God marrying an unworthy bride is one of the most common metaphors of God’s salvation and redemption in the Old and New Testaments. Why have we overlooked it in this case? 

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Is there a godly eros? Now we are going to start stepping on toes. But the answer is ‘yes’. Eros, intimate love—that includes but does not require physical sex— was not created after the Fall. It was around from the beginning. You may be surprised

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There are a dozen ways to interpret the Song of Songs, but they fall into two broad camps. While they share many differences, they also share a common underlying philosophy that is borrowed from the Ancient Greeks and Romans—not the Bible. Curious???? 

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Per the CDC, 42% of teenagers are experiencing persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. That is up 50% from 2011. Nearly 60% of women and 70% of LGBTQ+. We can blame some of that decline on Covid. But I am suggesting that most of it is due to an increasing sense of celestial loneliness. This is why the Song of Songs is so relevant and critical. We are in a crisis of isolation and sadness. 

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We are starting another podcast series on the provocative, wildly misunderstood Old Testament book, The Song of Songs of Solomon. While it is a book that gives us great examples of relational love, particularly marriage, it is mainly meant to be the greatest of all gospel presentations in the Old Testament. In it we are given a stunning view of the love of God toward us. Today with loneliness, isolation, polarization and divide on the rise, this is an important book for all of us. Check out Dr. Bill’s book co-authored with Colleen Pepper), the "Kiss of God" on Amazon.

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