Day 153.
How beautiful and pleasant you are,
O loved one, with all your delights!
Your stature is like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
I say I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its fruit.
Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,
and your mouth like the best wine.
It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
gliding over lips and teeth. (Song of Solomon 7:6-9 ESV)
This is a taste of the conversation between the two lovers. So many things does this show! One, it shows the ecstasy of physical love, intoxicating and utterly captivating. God made it for us to enjoy! Christianity is not a religion that seeks to suppress love, only to protect it from being cheapened. The writer also says repeatedly,
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases. (Song of Solomon 8:4 ESV)
Protection is also needed as this love requires vulnerability and exposure to be fully enjoyed. The marriage bed, more particularly the marriage commitment, provides this protection as it gives the assurance to each other that their nakedness is kept secret. What an amazing God we have! His laws are not meant to squelch the joy of love (by limiting it to marriage) but to preserve it!
Beyond that, the book makes you think about the kind of intimacy and joy to be found between Christ and His bride. There is such a longing, a desire, expressed between the two partners, it should leave us encouraged and longing for our future wedding.
