Song of Solomon 1:15

There is a beautiful love song in the Bible. It is called The Song of Solomon, possibly written in the tenth century B.C.E. Here, in this Song, we hear of love in all its exquisite charm and beauty—a gift from God.

When I was in school, I would be given a writing assignment to “fill in the blank”: My mother is like…..” The object of the exercise was to learn to describe the qualities my mother had. Young people might be asked to describe their sweetheart and they would try to capture the smile, skin, the loved one’s very essence in words. It is not an easy thing to do. So it is that Solomon talks of a woman’s voice of love, the very attributes that draw humans powerfully with the subtlety and mystery of another’s allurements.

We have had poets, painters, and song writers throughout all of time attempt to express love in its purest and most beautiful form. We dream our own dreams of the one we love.

And why is this sensual love in the Bible? God intends that such love be a normal part of life in his good creation. God intends that when we find someone with whom to share our life, no matter who that person is, we see in them the hand of God’s creation, we honor them with commitment, and we lift them up as special.

And so we read, as an example, of this love from Song of Solomon.

4:1-3   How beautiful you are, my love, how very beautiful!
            Your eyes are doves behind your veil.
            Your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down the slopes of Gilead.
                 2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing,
            all of which bear twins, and not one among them is bereaved.
               3 Your lips are like a crimson thread, and your mouth is lovely.
5:10-14   My beloved is all radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand.
                      11 His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven.
                     12 His eyes are like doves beside springs of water, bathed in milk, fitly set.
             13 His cheeks are like beds of spices, yielding fragrance.
                His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh.

Prayer: Lord, I have sometimes failed to see the beauty of your creation in those I love. Help me not only to see, but to express that love and appreciation to those around me. Amen.