The point to be asked Ian, is why was this book written? And why was it included in Scripture? It is the Word of God and as such it is binding on our conscience. And it's not a narrative text. It's all poetry. So much of it can't be taken literally. I agree we can't over allegorize but that doesn't mean we can't allegorize at all. The text demands it. And how does this text point us to Christ? Christ tells us the OT points to him. How does this book fit in that context? What was Solomon (or the author if not him) trying to convey when he wrote it? The older Christians felt Solomon wrote this as a means to illustrate the relationship of God to his people. If it's just a love story between two people, then how can it have any binding force upon our conscience as the Word of God? :wr50:

__________________
Patrick
OPC
MDiv, RTS Jackson.

"He does well, that discourses of Christ; but he does infinitely better, that by experimental knowledge, feeds and lives on Christ." Thomas Brooks.