A Lecherous Fantasy?

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As for the widely held claim that the Song of Solomon is a celebration of Christ and his bride, we are given a very different figure of the mystical union throughout the books of the prophets. Nowhere is the contrast more vivid, however, than in the marriage of Hosea and Gomer. Ezekiel’s unflattering metaphors Ezekiel 16:15; 16:48, 51) come to life in the prophet’s ministry which revolves around the struggles of a single-hearted husband (over against the ravenously polygamous Solomon) in pursuit of a wife steeped in prostitution (in stark contrast to this Shulamite quintessence of virtue in Solomon’s Song). Ellen White tells us, “The church, enfeebled and defective, needing to be reproved, warned, and counseled, is the only object upon earth upon which Christ bestows His supreme regard” (EGW, Testimonies to Ministers p.45).

The Saviour’s goal in all of his loving overtures to this wandering bride is “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26, 27). That’s the Saviour’s goal, not his church’s present state. Solomon’s Song reverses those roles. The woman is the one with all the chaste and noble qualities while the doting man is the profligate, philandering his way down the steep road to perdition with an ever-expanding heathen harem, “threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number” and counting. Read more...

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So very little is known about this mysterious piece of poetry - who wrote it; in what century it was written; who the characters are; whether it's a poem, a song or a string of songs, etc. Yet we are so sure we know it means something contrary to its actual content and context.