Song of Solomon)

Lesson 7: The Book of Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)
God is love...and a lot of poetry is too. Come investigate this exploration of a sensual, sexual relationship between husband and wife--love and sex the way God created it--NOT Hollywood! Be prepared to be swept away...
Sex in the BIBLE? An introduction
Proverbs 5 18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 A loving doe, a graceful deer- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
These lines come from Proverbs, a book of the Bible that we've already examined. Why include them here? They point at a few key points that are covered about sex in Song of Solomon (Song of Songs).
1. Sex is NOT what we see on tv--sleep with anyone anywhere and forget about the possible consequences. Bed someone on the first date and then search for your next "conquest". It's shocking to see what Hollywood has done to pervert our image of sex. Sex seems to be in almost EVERYTHING that comes from the silver screen nowadays. Sex sells. Sex that shouldn't happen sells even more. Feelings have been taken out of it completely, so sex does not equal love anymore. Sex has been reduced to what dogs in heat do. It's a sad state of affairs that shows no sign of turning back anytime soon.
2. "...may you rejoice in THE wife"--THE means singular. One. This speaks to a monogamous relationship--one man and one woman who are MARRIED (therefore the use of the word "wife"). God intends that sex be a wonderful gift for a married couple. It is a union of their bodies, just as they have been linked mentally, emotionally, and spiritually through marriage (which is what marriage means after all--a "bringing together"). If sex happens before marriage, then our whole concept of marriage and of "waiting for the right person" becomes tainted, warped, and weakened--just like our values today, unfortunately. Isn't it unfortunate that it is now a rarity to find young people who wait to have sex until they are married? It has become the exception instead of the rule.
3. "loving doe, a graceful deer". Several of the images of sex and a sexual partner refer to grace, love, and beauty--Contrast that to the "pick someone up in a bar and go at it in a washroom" view of many movies out there today. Again, the Bible contains views of how beautiful sex can be--between committed partners who love each other!
4. "may her breasts satisfy you always" WHOA! God doesn't mean for sex to be some mechanical act of reproduction. He says to take pleasure in sex. Look at the word "always" also. This is talking about sex with one person for forever--again, pointing to a single committed relationship.
5. "may you ever be captivated by her love" We can clearly see how sex and love are intertwined here. Again, the word "ever" points us to a lasting, loving relationship--marriage.
My point in showing this passage is to reveal that even Solomon was aware of what sex SHOULD be. Yet, the more he enjoyed success, the more he enjoyed the fruits of that success, and by the end of his reign, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines--hardly the loving, sexual relationship between man and wife that he describes in Song of Solomon.
Why did he write this book, then? Possibly to lament his poor decisions. It's estimated that this was written fairly early on in Solomon's reign, when he had approximately 60 wives and 40 concubines. Perhaps he was beginning to see what he was missing. Maybe the love of his life slipped away because of his many partners. And that can be a slippery slope--just as he didn't follow the wise words he gave in Proverbs and experienced a "meaningless life" in Ecclesiastes, Solomon here may be trying to teach us a lesson--avoid the mistakes he has made.
In any case, sex in this book of the Bible clearly points the way to sex in a committed, one-to-one relationship bonded through marriage between man and wife. Let's keep that in mind as we experience the beauty and passion of Song of Solomon!

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