1. Ch. 7:1-9a
This is the most erotic section of the entire Song as he describes his arousal regarding her body starting at her feet and working his way up. In fact, he suggests in verse 1(b) that her legs are so beautiful they must have been formed by an artist! He goes on to describe her naked body.
Outline:
1. ______________________________________ vs. 1
2. ______________________________________vs. 1
3. ______________________________________ vs. 2
4. ______________________________________ vs. 3
5. ______________________________________ vs. 4
6. ______________________________________ vs. 4
7. ______________________________________ vs. 4
8. ______________________________________ vs. 5
9. ______________________________________ vs. 5
Verse 6 is an exclamation, “Wow”! And, verses 7-9 is their love-making.
2. Ch. 7:9b-13
This last portion of chapter 7 is her inviting him out to the countryside; this is a getaway where they escape the hustle and bustle of the city and find peace and privacy in the country villages. Many of us neglect those getaway times in our marital relationships.
Can you share a time when you got away with your spouse? Where did you go? What was great about it? Where do you go when you are on a budget?
3. Ch. 8:1-5a
Chapter 8 is the culmination of the Song yet it starts with this odd description of her longing for him to be her brother! This does not describe an incestuous relationship, rather scholars assume it refers to a cultural taboo for lovers to touch or to show public displays of affection. All the while, apparently it must have been publicly okay for a brother to give his sister a little kiss in public (assumingly it was not erotic in nature). It seems she wishes to defy cultural taboos in order to declare to the world her affection for him.
What do you feel about public displays of affection? What do you do? Does it benefit you or your family in any way? What are some of our taboos?
Ch. 8:5b-14
This final portion of the Song is her giving herself to him. She is literally “sealed” for him in verse 6. This shows the power of love; it is a love that lasts beyond death. In verse 7, “many waters cannot quench love”. The verses starting at verse 8 through the end are then an affirmation to protect a young girl’s virginity for the man to whom she would one day be sealed. It is certainly a picture of the exclusivity of a physical as well as emotional and spiritual union described in Genesis and referred to by Jesus in Matthew.
Hess describes and interesting feature of love in his commentary: (1)
There is a one-for-one correlation throughout the Song between the eleven appearances of the word for “love” (‘ahava) in the Hebrew text and the Greek rendering of it in the LXX as “agape”. This term forms the basis for the NT understanding of the amazing love that God has given to believers. This is most emphatically and consistently argued in the works ascribed to the Apostle John. . .
Paul proclaims the excellence of God’s love in terms of its inability to be overcome by any earthly force. The surpassing value of this love, which abides forever, is nowhere more eloquently stated than in 1 Cor. 13. Those who would follow Jesus as his disciples require this love alone (cf. Luke 14:33). Hence the worth of the couple’s love, based on erotic experience and commitment, establishes the foundation for the Song’s understanding of a love whose basis, experience, and commitment is the all-surpassing-love of God (cf. Hosea 11:8-9). This provides the resource for the understanding of love that the NT apostolic writers use.
John on Love (agape):
John 13:35, 15:9, 10, 13; 17:26; 1 John 2:5, 15, 3:1, 16, 17; 4:7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16 (2x); 5:3; 2 John 3, 6; 3 John 6; and perhaps Rev. 2:4 & 19.
(1)
Hess, Richard S. Song of Songs Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2005.
The Faithful Way 