The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Song of Solomon 1:1 – 5:1
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Background Information: Song of Solomon 1:1 – 5:1
Some in the history of the church have decided that this book is an allegory. An allegory is a form of writing where the characters and events are symbols of “deeper” moral or spiritual reality. “The groom stands for God and the bride stands for the church.” Why have they decided that this is true? It’s not because there is any real indication that it was intended to be read as allegory. It is likely because the content was not “spiritual” enough. It is not an allegory, and there is nothing more “spiritual” than God’s good gifts. We are embodied beings, and God’s good gifts to us include physical pleasures that are to be experienced within his intended boundaries. In Genesis, when God made physical food for humans to enjoy, he said it was “good.” When he made man and woman, he said it was “very good.” God invented physical pleasure; the enemy can only pervert the good things that God has made. It is ironic that Solomon would write of the joy of a monogamous marital sexual experience when he had so many “wives.” Perhaps he was writing this as an old man in sad repentance. His pursuit of pleasure outside the will of God ruined his life.
“For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods.”
1 Kings 11:4
In another book, he confesses that he used his great mind to embrace great folly (Ecclesiastes 1:17). Solomon came to know from experience that unbridled sexual experiences do not lead to more joy or fulfillment. The opposite is true. Many in our time are living with the brokenness of boundaryless sexual experiences. Song of Songs is a book that points to the fact that God’s boundaries for humans are given to increase our thriving. When we do things our own way, we move from freedom to slavery. Slavery to sin, slavery to our physical desires, and slavery to the enemy, who is happy to assist us in our rebellion against God’s good designs. If you are single or married and in a stage of life where sexual expression is not currently possible, you have not been “ripped off.” Sex is a temporary expression of God’s good gifts. In the age to come, it will give way to greater things (Matthew 22:30). The greatest thing of all is to experience relationship with the living God. That greatest of all gifts is yours now through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Rejoice in him today!
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for Bruce Brown and Wendy Page.
Pray that their bone marrow transplants would be successful and that the Lord would protect them from sickness as their immune systems rebuild.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.