As indicated earlier, the characters of the dialogue of Canticles are Solomon, the Shulamite woman, and the daughters of Jerusalem In the story, Solomon is the bridegroom, and the Shulamite woman is the bride.6 Two applications of typical teaching may be intended Israel is the bride, and God the Bridegroom Read these other Old Testament passages where this bride and groom relationship is clearly taught: Isaiah 54:5-6; Jeremiah 2:2; Ezekiel 16:8-147; Hosea 2:16,8 18-20 Jewish believers of Old Testament times clearly saw this typical intent of Canticles, which helped to impress them regarding the book’s canonicity The Church is the Bride, and Christ the Bridegroom Read Ephesians 5:23-25; Corinthians 11:1-2; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:9 A third application is derived from the second, in the sense that an individual believer (of the whole believing Church) is the particular object of Christ’s love From a practical standpoint this is the most intimate application which a Christian can make of the book’s typical teaching for his own Christian life Some Bible students see another character involved in the story of Canticles: a shepherd-lover (1:7), from whose a ection Solomon tries to lure the Shulamite woman away: Solomon uses all the dazzle and splendor of his court to woo the girl away from her true love, seeking to get her to become one of his wives instead In like manner the world is ever seeking to attract away from Christ those who are “espoused” to Him Solomon is unable to accomplish his goal, however, for the Shulamite resists all his overtures and remains true to her beloved shepherd to whom, at last, she is reunited.9 The reason why there are di erent views as to the “plot” of Canticles is that the speakers are not identi ed by name in the Bible text For example, the two-speaker view (Solomon, Shulamite woman) says that Solomon speaks all of 4:1-15; whereas the three-speaker view says that Solomon is the speaker of 4:1-6, while 4:7-15 are the words of the shepherd-lover But, as John Phillips points out, “The abiding value of the Song of Solomon is clear whichever view is taken As human life nds its highest ful llment in the love of man and woman, so spiritual life nds its highest ful llment in the love of Christ and His Church.”10 An interesting comparison has been made between Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon involving their pointing to Christ: In Ecclesiastes we learn that without Christ we cannot be satis ed, even if we possess the whole world—the heart is too large for the object In the Song of Solomon we learn that if we turn from the world and set our a ections on Christ, we cannot fathom the in nite preciousness of His love—the Object is too large for the heart.11 I PURPOSES The purposes of the Song of Solomon are: literal: to honor pure human love and marriage figurative: to show the Lord’s love for Israel, and Christ’s love for His Church and for each individual Christian; how the Bride in each case should return that love ... three-speaker view says that Solomon is the speaker of 4:1-6, while 4:7-15 are the words of the shepherd-lover But, as John Phillips points out, ? ?The abiding value of the Song of Solomon is clear whichever... turn from the world and set our a ections on Christ, we cannot fathom the in nite preciousness of His love? ?the Object is too large for the heart.11 I PURPOSES The purposes of the Song of Solomon...second, in the sense that an individual believer (of the whole believing Church) is the particular object of Christ’s love From a practical standpoint this is the most intimate application