Song of Songs

Who has really studied the OT book, Song of Songs?

There's a group of us from church that meet once a month for a Bible study. We finished up Ecc. and wanted to learn a little more about Solomon. So we continued on with the next book, Song of Songs. Pretty juicy stuff for the Bible. But it really makes me think a lot about this man and how he loved this woman so much. How he longed for her and she him. They said beautiful things about the other that probably wouldn't be said in today's society. Why? Is it too uncomfortable for a man to describe is lover in a way no other could imagine?

For instance, in 4:1-15, Solomon is describing his lover from head to the chest in beautiful poetic terminology.
vs. 1: How beautiful you are my darling! Oh how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.

Now I realize that these words are not going to be said to us no matter how much we want our spouses to say something beautiful to us or about us. But just imagine what kind of love these two individuals must have felt for each other. There was passion and a deep commitment.

Then in 5:10-16, she describes him in the finest detail.
vs. 10: My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. vs. 11: His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven. vs. 12: His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewls.

And it goes on. You may be thinking, what are they saying to each other? Here, she is describing his appearance from head to toe and how she sees him like no other. This is how God wants our marriage to be. Like no other. To love and to cherish. Isn't that what you vowed to do if you're married?

Something we discussed that I thought was neat...as a couple gets older, the outside appearance starts to change. (obviously) Sometimes I sit and look at an older couple and think about what they must have gone through in their lifetime. Do they still look at each other in the same way as they did when they were in their teens/early twenties, etc? I have learned that a man has said he loves his wife more now than when he married her. It's the commitment they both have for each other that makes her even more beautiful than the day they met and married. Some of us don't want to think about an older couple or even our parents having "sex" now or then! Just being real. Hang in there with me. However, it's something we won't undertand, the love that older couples have built over time. I pray I can see this lifetime with Kyle and have a 40/50-year wedding celebration. We may be old and gray and sagging in places we've never known before, but I hope I see with my eyes, the handsome man I have grown to love and cherish from the day I met him until the day I die. That we can show to others how our love has grown over the years. I want him to say beautiful things about me when I'm old and see me as his beautiful wife he married on June 7, 1997 (10-years-ago). But, we won't have this unless we keep the commitment we made and continue to grow in love and keep God in our lives.

So that's pretty deep writing for you. Maybe you'll think about your marriage a little more and reflect on your years together. We have a good marriage. But we can always make it better by how we treat each other and again, having that commitment in the marriage. Just something to think about.

I want to encourage you to study the Bible with others too. It helps define who you are and want to strive to be.

A note in my Bible...Rejoice in the fact that your spouse is God's gift to you.