A Baptism of Spirit and Fire (Luke 3:15-18)

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Transcript

Setting The Stage For Song Of Solomon

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Welcome to the Wisdom Journey with Stephen Davy. The Song of Solomon surprises many people. It's tender, it's poetic, and it's honest about desire. Yet it's also clear about purity. Today Steven walks you through the opening chapters of this love song and shows how God celebrates romance within marriage. You'll meet a couple deeply drawn to each other. You hear their affection. You sense their longing. If you want a picture of godly romance, stay with us.

The Bride’s Voice: Desire And Insecurity

Solomon’s Compliments And Mutual Delight

Do Not Awaken Love Too Soon

The Dream And Repeated Warning

SPEAKER_00 1:22

For the last few weeks, we've been exploring the inspired wisdom of God through Solomon. We've studied Solomon's collection of Proverbs and more recently his private journal called Ecclesiastes. And now today we begin our study in Solomon's most famous love song. It's called The Song of Solomon. Now we get that title directly from chapter 1 and verse 1, where we read The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Now this Hebrew phrase, Song of Songs, means that this song is the best of the best. It's going to be celebrate love and intimacy in the context of marriage. Now the church has struggled with this book over the centuries for two primary reasons. First, this book is so obviously sensual. You almost don't expect something like this in the Bible, do you? I remember back when I was in seminary, I was discipling a young man who'd recently come to faith in Christ, and he hadn't been raised in the church, knew nothing about the Bible. And one evening when he came over for our study together, he said to me, Stephen, you won't believe what I found in the Bible. And he was almost out of breath. I said, Well, what'd you find? And he said, This book here, The Song of Solomon, as if to say, What in the world is this doing in the Bible? Well, I explained to him that God himself had created love and marriage. He officiated, in fact, at the first wedding, uniting Adam and Eve. In other words, God created the boundaries for sexual relations in general. God created intimacy for married couples, and the Song of Solomon happens to be a manual on that kind of intimacy. Now, the second reason the church has struggled is a little tougher to explain. Why would God use a man who had 700 wives and 300 mistresses to write a manual on marriage? Why would God use Solomon to celebrate something that God had created for one man and one woman in marriage? That to me is kind of like asking a bank robber to come down to the bank and set up a security system. Well, the truth remains, and it's humbling, that no human writer in Scripture was fully qualified to write any of God's inspired word. That's why the Bible ultimately is the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me tell you, the fact that God chose Solomon to write on love and marriage is another way of magnifying the grace of God. Now, as this song opens, keep in mind it's a poetic retelling of a courtship that leads to marriage. In verse 2 of chapter 1, we find a young woman imagining herself being kissed by her beloved, and she says here, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine. She's imagining the intimacy she'll soon have with her husband to be, and he happens to be King Solomon. Her words here in verse 4 can literally be translated, Oh, that the king would bring me into his chambers. She's anticipating here the wedding night, and with that she starts inspecting her appearance in front of the mirror. Frankly, like any bride, she's not really all that happy with everything she sees. Here in verse six, she complains about her dry, suntan skin. Evidently her brothers had something to do with that, revealing some kind of family conflict. Listen to what she says here. Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother's sons were angry with me, and they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept. Her own vineyard here is a reference to her own body. She's been too busy working outdoors to spend any time on herself, but then her mind is reassured by the fact that in spite of her calloused hands and her suntan skin, her beloved has chosen her to be his bride. And with that, she's back to pursuing in her mind Solomon. She addresses him here in verse seven. Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon, for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions? Now Solomon didn't shepherd his own goats and sheep, of course, but her heart is expressing her belief in him as strong and trustworthy. And now for the first time we hear from Solomon, who is equally smitten by her. He says here in verse nine, I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots. Now, I don't know any ladies who would want to be compared to a mare, female horse. It sounds like an insult, but not in Solomon's day. The war chariots of Egypt were pulled by young stallions, and letting a mare loose among the stallions would be quite a distraction to those war horses. So Solomon is effectively saying, Your love distracts me from whatever I happen to be doing. Now, here in verses 12 through 14, the soon-to-be bride is sitting with Solomon now on a couch, and she describes his presence here as blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi. Engedi is an oasis filled with beautiful plants out there in the Judean desert. So she's she's effectively saying here that her beloved is like an oasis in the desert. And he responds here in verse 15. Behold, you are beautiful, my love, your eyes are doves. Well, that sounds better to me than comparing her to a horse. Well, after sitting together and expressing their love for each other, there's evidently a little hugging and kissing going on as we read here in chapter two and verse six. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. Then rather suddenly it's as if she jumps up here in verse seven and speaks, I adjure you, literally, promise me, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. Now with that we come to chapter three, and here's an interesting dream that she has a little later on, and in her dream, she can't find Solomon, and she frantically searches for him, and finally she finds him and hugs him and doesn't want to let him go. In verse five, however, she delivers this same warning. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the doze of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. Now you might notice that God is not spoken of in this warning. However, the phrase by the gazelles or the does of the field in the Hebrew language sounds familiar, somewhat similar to the Lord of hosts, or God Almighty. So I believe that what's happening here is Solomon is giving a rather subtle allusion to the Lord in this poem. The warning of this woman is essentially this. I adjure you by the Lord of hosts, or the Lord God Almighty, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. Well, until it pleases whom? Solomon expects us all to say, well, until it pleases God. So here's what this warning is communicating. Stop. Hold back. Don't cross the line. Trust God's timing for that moment when you're married. See, this warning is all about the danger of sexual passion going too far before marriage. And let me tell you, that longing that you might be feeling for some betrothed, that physical attraction, that's actually part of God's plan. Frankly, it's a legitimate part of that kind of commitment to one another. However, in the meantime, crossing a boundary that God has set up is only going to lead to frustration and guilt. So here's the warning. Don't see how close you can get to that boundary line of sexual purity. Set up a guard. In fact, talk openly with your beloved about that issue. Put some accountability in place. Put up some stop signs until you become husband and wife. This little love song, by the way, is proof that God wants you to enjoy what He created, but only in His time, only in His way, and most importantly, only according to His plan. So, so be patient. Waiting for God's blessing will be worth it, and you will not regret it. But with that, we're out of time. Until next time together, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Boundaries, Accountability, And God’s Timing

SPEAKER_01 11:03

This lesson begins our time in Song of Solomon. Stephen will continue through it in the days ahead. Today's lesson is called A Love Song for the Ages. One of our most popular resources, in addition to this daily broadcast, is our magazine. Each month, Stephen deals with a different topic. He helps you better understand what the Bible says and how it applies directly to your life. For example, some past topics have included such things as how to have a more vibrant prayer life, a biblical look at why there is evil in the world, advice for fathers on how to leave a godly legacy, how to have a biblically based marriage. How can we find true happiness and what is real happiness? How should Christians be involved and engaged in politics and much more? The magazine also has a daily devotional guide. We've heard from dozens of readers who've told us how much they appreciate these devotions. They're written by Stephen's son, Seth. Beginning in February, we've expanded the magazine to give more room to the daily devotionals. They will help you remain grounded in God's word every day. We call the magazine Heart to Heart. This is a resource that we developed for two reasons. We use it to show our appreciation to all of our wisdom partners. We also send three issues of Heart to Heart magazine as a gift to everyone who asks. We'd like to send it to you if you haven't seen it yet. You can sign up for it on our website. As soon as you get to wisdomonline.org, you'll notice a link on that home page that will take you right to the sign-up page. You can also call us today. Our number is 866-48 Bible. That's 866-482-4253. We'd love to talk with you, get to know you, and introduce you to this resource, Heart to Heart Magazine. Call today, then join us next time to continue the wisdom journey.