Song of Songs is a love poem or compilation of love poems written to God’s people to honor and celebrate his gift of romantic, sexual love within the context of a marital relationship.

Themes The book of Ezra includes the following themes: 1. God’s sovereignty. God is sovereign over all peoples and rulers, even pagan kings (1:1; 6:22; 7:6,27). He controls history and orchestrates events for his own purposes. Despite opposition, God will fulfill his promises and protect his people. 2. Restoration. Ezra describes not only the

13Whoever conceals their sinsm does not prosper, but the one who confessesn and renounces them finds mercy.o

Love is both pleasurable and painful. Joy is the dominant note of the Song, but the reader also is warned that love is a powerful emotion that may bring disappointments (5:2–6:3). The Song’s young woman repeatedly warned her female friends not to hurry love (2:7; 3:5; 8:4). Love has a dangerous side (8:6), and it deserves to be treated with

22The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.x

Notice the key role of prayer in Nehemiah’s life, and evaluate its importance in your own life today.

Song of Songs demonstrates that contentment and fulfillment are found in the exclusivity (2:16) of the marriage relationship.

In Jewish tradition Proverbs 31:10–31 is recited by a husband to his wife on Sabbath evenings.

Introduction to Job Author, Place and Date of Writing The author of Job is anonymous. Jewish tradition states that it was written by Moses, but there is nothing in the book itself to suggest Mosaic authorship. Many scholars today wonder whether the work is unified or the product of multiple authors. It has a prose framework (Job 1–2; 42:7–17),