[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (LRAU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
[10:44
am, 29/07/2022] S.R:
I am not sure what book to read (begin) today: Maybe I
will choose Song of Songs (SoS) to be a little bit romantic: 😃😎😆. It's a book that celebrates the beauty of marriage
between a man and a woman. And in deeper comprehension, we see how satisfying
it is for us to have Jesus as our spouse (husband). So, even if you don't enjoy
your gf/bf, 😬 or can't afford to have one, you still have the right/privilege to
enjoy your relationship with Jesus. And interestingly, the Scriptures euphemized
all or almost all the sensual descriptions.
Mark Driscoll is wrong to regard SoS as a textbook on
sex. SoS only seems to whisper about sex with all the metaphors. Certainly not
erotic literature. On the other side, JD Greear is wrong too. The Bible didn't
whisper about sexual immorality. It has the greatest denunciation, even more
than idolatry. We shouldn't read SoS like Abraham Piper for illicit pleasure
but to enjoy and prepare for the gift of God.
[11:09
am, 29/07/2022] S.R: 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙:𝟠, 𝟙𝟝
"If
you yourself do not know, *𝕄𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕦𝕝 among women, Go forth on the trail of the flock And
pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds."
"How
𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕦𝕝 you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes
are like doves."
Judging
objectively, I am sure, she wasn't the most beautiful woman. But when he had
eyed her, he regarded her to be the most beautiful one. Guys, learn to satisfy with
your spouse. Do not have multiple eyes. Be committed, faithful, and contented.
And
he repeated again, saying how beautiful she is. And if you think only boys
should give a compliment to a girl, look at the following verse, 16, the Shulamite
reciprocated the compliment.
In
Amos 3:2, God said of the Israelites similar to this that God had known and
loved only the Israelites among all the people groups in the world. Hmm! Indeed,
in Jesus God has loved us perfectly more than the love you crave from anyone.
𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚:𝟟
"I
adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the
field, That you do not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases."
Let me copy-paste from one commentator:
v7
"Women of Jerusalem, make a promise to me.
Think about the wild gazelles and deer as you
make this promise.
Do not think about love until the right time.
So
she asks the other women to make a promise. She reminds them about wild animals
called gazelles and deer. These animals do not mate before the proper time of
year. And, like them, she does not want to marry Solomon until she is ready. This
young woman is not yet ready to be Solomon’s wife. She loves him. But her
attitudes are not yet mature enough.
As Christians, we often love God deeply. But our
attitudes are not always mature. God invites us to serve him. But we hesitate.
God wants us to work for him. But we have other ideas. So we do whatever we
want to do. We are not always loyal to God. But God still loves us. And he will
teach us to love him better, if we are ready to learn.
Let's learn to wait, ladies and gentlemen. Keep your
marriage bed pure. In Delhi, I heard story after story, about ladies going to
the bedroom of their boyfriends. And there's a lesson for boys too in v9. He keeps himself pure. He stays outside,
behind the wall so that everyone sees and knows that he is pure. Don't be
anywhere that will make people suspicious of you.
𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟛:𝟙
"On
my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did
not find him."
Bible
Interpreters think this is a dream she had after sending her man away. In her dream,
it was confirmed to her that she really loved him and wanted to be with him.
Sometimes,
I wake up in the night having a very emotional dream; and indeed, dreams,
though many times are stupid for me, a few times, it makes me love and pray for
such and such people.
𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟜:𝟙𝟙
"Your
lips, 𝕄𝕪 𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon."
I
don't know what girls talk about when they are together, but I grew up in a boys'
hostel, and I heard this and that. My point is:
If
you are tempted to speak to your gf like it is written in v11 or v5 of this
chapter. Be watchful. Remember this is chapter 4. And if you have been reading
carefully, chapter 1-3 is the premarital engagement. Chapter 4 is about the
wedding, that's why the girl is addressed as "my bride,"
Certain
talks, certain compliments are fitting only when that person is your wedded
spouse. Both of them have been restraining their thoughts, desire, and
expression until chapter 4, their wedding.
The
intimacy of words or text or images or video, or even thoughts, not just the
physical relationship before the wedding is well guarded by these lovebirds of
Song of Songs.
Notice,
how many times, "my bride" is mentioned in this chapter; and so is the
description. When I was 11 years old in JNV Tamenglong, some of my classmates
referred to this book to write a love letter to their gfs. Those were the days!
😂
𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟝:𝟡
"What
kind of beloved is your beloved, O most beautiful among women? What kind of
beloved is your beloved, That thus you adjure us?"
These
women believed all men are the same but the Shulamite believed her man is
different — the best ever (v10).
She
has turned him away again (v3). But this made her think about him and now we
have her positive descriptions of him in v10-16, pretty long compared to such a
small book.
Trials,
Arguments, Misunderstandings, etc., in a relationship, may not be the end, it
might be just a blessing in disguise to reflect more upon one's priority. And,
this is just chapter 5.
Btw,
God is better than even this ideal lover of this poem. People may say this and
that of God, but we Christians know whom we have believed (2 Tim. 1:12).
𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟞:𝟚-𝟛
"My
beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds of balsam, To pasture his
flock in the gardens And gather lilies. I am my beloved's and my beloved is
mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies."
This
woman knows where his man is and what he is doing. The other women thought his
man is like any other man. And certainly, they didn't know where to find him.
Ladies,
do you know your man as Shulamite? Gentlemen, do you have a reputed character
that your lady will not doubt you?
Christians,
do you know God and trust Him no matter what the world talks about God and the
happenings of this world?
𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟟:𝟙𝟘
"I
am my beloved's, And his desire is for me."
This
is the third time a similar expression is used so far but this time, she
doesn't express her emotion. She is satisfied that he deeply loves her.
It's
enough that God has loved us. Our love for God is tiny compared to His love.
Sometimes, we even wondered whether we loved God more or our own sin; but God's
love remains perfect, never more, never less.
𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟠:𝟚
"I
would lead you and bring you Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct
me; I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my
pomegranates."
This
woman is a wife of a king. Still, she worked hard. She had pomegranates. Notice
the word "my", it's not bought, it's the fruit of her hard labor. In
1:5 she said she was black because she worked hard under the sun having a
sunburn. Still, she worked hard. The excellent woman of Proverbs 31 is also a
hard-working woman. Ruth the wife of Boaz was also a hardworking woman.
Guys,
if your gf wants to be a princess and doesn't learn anything, please dump her.
Ladies, if you don't want to work hard and want to be a princess, please don’t
get married. Please die off 😬😂, we don't want such species. 😂
The
Bible requires every one of us male and female to work hard and enjoy God's
world!
