Wednesday: Love at the Right Time
Read Song of Solomon 4:8-5:1.
Song of Solomon 4:16 and Song of Sol. 5:1 form the very center of this book and describe, as it were, its climax as the marriage between Solomon and the Shulamite is consummated.
To what is Solomon referring in the following passages? Song of Sol. 4:12, Song of Sol. 4:16; Song of Sol. 5:1; Song of Sol. 8:8-10.
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In the Song of Solomon, we find some of Scripture’s most compelling evidence for God’s plan that people remain sexually chaste until marriage. One of the most powerful is a reference to the Shulamite’s childhood, when her brothers wondered whether she would be a “wall” or a “door” (Song of Sol. 8:8-9). In other words, will she remain chaste until marriage (a wall), or be promiscuous (a door). As an adult woman, she affirms that she has maintained her chastity and comes pure to her husband: “I am a wall” (Song of Sol. 8:10). In fact, he confirms that she is still a virgin up to their wedding night by saying that she is “a garden inclosed … a spring shut up, a fountain sealed” (Song of Sol. 4:12). From her own experience, she can counsel her friends to take the steps of love and marriage very carefully. Three times in the Song of Solomon the Shulamite addresses a group of women referred to as the “daughters of Jerusalem” to counsel them not to arouse the intense passion of love until the appropriate time (Song of Sol. 2:7, Song of Sol. 3:5, Song of Sol. 8:4), that is, until they find themselves safely within the intimate covenant of marriage, as is she.
For the second time in the poem the beloved invites his bride to come away with him (Song of Sol. 2:10, Song of Sol. 4:8). Before the wedding she could not accept his invitation, but now it is she who invites him to her garden (Song of Sol. 4:16), and he gladly accepts (Song of Sol. 5:1). He is not just attracted to her beauty; she has stolen his heart (Song of Sol. 4:9), he is intoxicated with her love (Song of Sol. 4:10), and he is exuberant that she is his and nobody else’s now, and forever: “My bride, my very own, you are a garden, a fountain closed off to all others” (Song of Sol. 4:12, CEV). In his union to this perfect woman he finds himself as reaching the Promised Land: “Your lips are a honeycomb; milk and honey flow from your tongue” (Song of Sol. 4:11, CEV).
What good news is there for individuals who regret their wrong choices in the expression of their sexuality? 1 John 1:9; compare Ps. 103:12, Isa. 55:7, John 8:11.
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One of the big issues that we face today is teen sex. And it is not just a Christian Church moralistic issue but a societal one. Teenagers are being introduced to sex at a pre-puberty age and the sort of sex they are learning about is often violent and demeaning. I think that all of us learned a bit about sex in the school playground when we were kids. I grew up in a farming community and went to school with kids from farms and I know what we talked about. But today's kids are faced with violent forms of sex at an early age. So much material is readily available on the Internet and kids, being naturally curious find it and get captivated by it. Further, many children now possess smartphones and the practice of "sexting" has become widespread.
I know that today's lesson is about premarital sex but the teenage exposure to vulgar violent sex at such an early age is a far bigger problem because it has the potential to color their perception of sex and relationships. The idea that sexual intimacy should be tender and loving is absent from much of the pornographic material that our kids have ready access to. All this is played out against a social background where commercial sexuality in fashion and entertainment is considered normal.
How then do we approach the problem? Firstly, I think parents need to be up-front in educating their children about the social values of life. It is not just about sex but about how we value one another. All too often we hope that the school will take care of the problem for you. And while most schools have programs in place for this, that does not take the place of some pretty frank discussions in the home.
Secondly, I think that parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing when they are connected to the Internet. Don't think that just because you have put parental controls in place that your kids cannot access unwanted material. Children can be remarkably devious when it comes to getting around controls. And, be very much aware of where your children go and what they are doing when they go to their friends' places.
Parents tend to go ballistic when they find their children involved in viewing these materials. I think that getting angry with kids puts a barrier between you and them and while technology bans may need to be used as a discipline, it is more important that communication is kept open between parents and children.
Hi Maurice, I agree with everything you said, and I really enjoy reading your posts.
What is more devastating than teen sex, at least in the US, is the growing rate of women (age 25-40) giving birth out of wedlock. In our 2010 census, it showed that the percentage of adult women that had give birth between 2000-2010 went up by 25%, and surprising (but happily), the teen birth percentage went down by 16%. These figures was very discouraged to me when it was first reported, because it shows us how far our society has moved from God, that more adult women are having children out of wedlock than teens (I am anxious to see what our 2020 census will show).
These numbers also tell us that a growing number of women in our society do not believe in the importance of the nucleus of a family in raising children, where both the mother and the father are needing to raise a child(ren). Many of the women in the US really believe "I can do it all by myself. I can raise my children and have a successful career without a man." Oh, how the Proud will fall. But the proud one doesn't realize that they do need help from someone in the process of raising their children. They don't realize (or recognize) all the blessings and mercy that God continually gives to them, even while in sin, such as His protection over their children. Then the proud also have their extended family that help them with their children, even though they do not acknowledge or honor their extended family for the support that they provide.
That's why VBS is so important; VBS provided us, the church, a way to bring God's Word into these households, and prayerfully a way for the Holy Spirit to convict and convert some hearts. VBS season is right around the corner. I'll be praying for all VBS programs around the world that they will reach the proud and the lost sheep of God's fold. God bless all of us!!
Sex is such a great thing. And it exists for the benefit of man (and woman). Of course it can be much more rewardable when practiced between an engaged couple. But much of what relates to sex and is exposed in the midia today regards just the act itself, as sex doesn't have to deal with love, partnership or even with marriage. Perhaps this helps to spread an idea of disruption from the intimacy and emotional bond that sex is supposed to involve to steamroll it simply to pleasure.
Yes, sex is pleasure too, but it involves much more than that!
Brother Maurice, at what age should a parent start talking to his/her child about sex? Thanks for all of your advice. I really enjoy them
Hmmn, now you want me to be an expert. {grin} All I can really suggest that you answer your child's questions about life honestly with the appropriate amount of understandable detail whenever they ask questions. Most children are curious. We should answer their curiosity.
this is the one of the problem in Philippines the teen age preagnancy.
If our school allow us to learn more of sex education and teach us about sex before marriage i think there would be zero percent of filipino engagd in pre- marital sex.😣😞
thank you Brothers and Sisters of the 7th Day Adventist Church for teaching chastity as a virtue for all. sexual promiscuity has affected humnanity adversely since sin entered the world. Let us always be true to His Word regarding sexuality.
It would seem as if the author of today's lesson has mixed up two different elements as one. Love at the right time being the lesson caption and sex/sexual purity and love. But one is as a result of the other and not vice versa. This is why we hear/see so many persons unable to understand love because 9 time out of 10 we see sex as love.
Last week I posted the idea that THE SONG OF SOLOMON was "hypocritical," because of it coming from a man who had been a "Polygamist," of 700 wives and 300 concubines etc. However, my wife went to the SDA Bible Commentary and read what it had to say about this and the thought there was that King Solomon wrote this book during his pure youthful manhood with just one wife and before he went into his Poygamist lifestyle which then led him to write the other book of his called "Ecclesiastes." This led me to see and accept that this was a very probable and acceptable idea about that "Inspired Book," in the Bible called THE SONG OF SOLOMON.