Most do
not realize that God provided an inspired account of how husbands and
wives should speak to and conduct themselves within the marriage
bedroom. This unique book is actually God's gift to every married couple
who wants to understand true love in marriage.
Recorded
by wise King Solomon, David's son, the Song of Solomon is a marvelous-and
when properly understood, truly extraordinary-narrative, picturing
husbands and wives sharing love and talking about it as they do.
The book
contains eight chapters of wonderful, open-hearted, tender, even
touching, give-and-take conversation between two people so obviously
very deeply in love. This inset will introduce it, but the reader should
take the time to read and study the entire book. It can even become an
eye-opening Bible study for young married couples to study together, in
whole or in part-separately if done before.
Here are a
few introductory high points of the book to help the reader get the
sense of language that almost no one hears anymore, and which most would
think to be strange if used today.
The book
opens with Solomon's bride declaring, 'Let him kiss me with the
kisses of his mouth: for your love is better than wine'
(1:2). Notice that the statement is dual (see italics) in the sense that
she speaks both of her husband and to him in the same
thought. Verse 4 begins with 'Draw me,' and this is an obvious reference
to her wanting to be enticed and aroused by Solomon. (Note that verses 5
and 6 are not endorsing interracial marriage, as some think, but rather
reference the appearance of a good suntan, causing the wife to look 'ruddy' or
'dark'-which is what the Hebrew means-not 'black.')
Verse 8
introduces four verses of Solomon discussing how his wife is beautiful
to him. He compares her to beautiful jewelry, and to gold and silver.
Verse 12
begins the wife's reciprocation, in which she describes her husband as
'fair [handsome]' and 'pleasant' (vs. 16), while suggesting that he will
'lie all night between [her] breasts' (vs. 13). She continues into
chapter two, verse one, by describing herself as a 'rose of Sharon' and
a 'lily of the valleys.'
Verse 7 of
chapter two is a general admonition to all women about being careful not
to rush a husband to climax 'till he please.' (The word 'my' in italics
was added by translators and does not belong.)
The
husband is speaking from verses 10 to 15. Note how he describes his
wife's curves and 'mountains' (her slopes), while also referencing the
beauty and scent of flowers, the budding trees and the singing birds of
spring.
Chapter
three is the woman speaking throughout and chapter four is the man
speaking throughout (except for the last part of verse 16), with him
describing in extraordinary and poetic detail the different aspects of
his wife's body. These include her hair, teeth, lips, temples, breasts,
and even her tongue, and how that, from his perspective, there is 'no
spot in you' (vs. 7), and that she 'has ravished my heart' (vs. 9). He
also references how she kept herself a virgin prior to marriage-'a
spring shut up, a fountain sealed' (vs. 12). He also mentions various
spices and fragrances that must have filled the room that had gardens
just outside.
Chapter
five opens for one verse with the husband saying that he would 'come
into my garden...my spouse,' and the rest of the chapter is Solomon's
wife describing, equally poetically, his body-his head, hair ('his locks
are bushy [Heb: curled] and black as a raven'), eyes, cheeks,
lips, hands, belly, legs, countenance and mouth.
In verse
16, she describes Solomon as both her 'beloved,' and 'this is
my friend.' This carries a powerful message to every married
couple!
Chapter
six opens with the woman for three verses, with the husband continuing
for ten verses to the end, and continuing on to chapter seven, verse 9.
These nine verses are an even more descriptive and poetic reference to
the different parts of the female anatomy.
Chapter
seven closes with four verses of the wife explaining how she belongs to
her husband-'I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me' (vs. 10),
with verse 12 describing how she will 'give [him] my loves.'
Chapter
eight concludes the book with the woman continuing to discuss
lovemaking-verse 3 clearly describes the love embrace: 'His left hand
should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.'
Verses 6
and 7 are an obvious description of the heat of passion.
Verses 8
to 10 talk about two kinds of little sisters-one who can be 'a wall'
(remain a virgin), or one who has the potential to become 'a door'
(sexually loose), and who has to be, using figurative language,
'enclosed...with boards of cedar.'
Solomon
closes the book with four verses, verse 14 being sexual intercourse
coming to culmination.