Read Song of Songs 7
7 How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince’s daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.
12 Let us go early to the vineyards
to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates are in bloom—
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my beloved.
Go Deeper
As we continue reading through Song of Songs, this chapter builds on what we have read so far and highlights the maturing of their marital relationship since the wedding we read about in Song of Songs 4. This chapter is an intimate glimpse into the relationship between Solomon and his wife. We see them describing their affection and attraction for one another, as well as their sexual desire for one another. Reading this, you likely had the thought that this is vastly different from most other chapters in scripture (and you would be right). At its most basic level, this is a chapter about the beauty of sex within the context of a covenantal marriage relationship.
Here’s why this chapter is so important: without it (and this entire book, for that matter), we would have a less complete picture of biblical marriage and sexuality. If this entire book had been excluded from scripture, we would have bits and pieces of a sexual ethic from the Old and New Testaments, but we would have far less of a comprehensive picture for God’s design for marriage and sexuality. Here we are presented with two prevailing ideas that are common in Christian orthodoxy: Sex is a good thing and it is meant for a marriage between a husband and wife.
As we read this chapter and wrestle with how it should impact our daily lives, the application may be different depending on your marital status. If you are reading this and you’re married, let is serve as a reminder to you that sex is a gift from God and desire for your spouse should be celebrated. Too often we can enter into a marriage with shame or baggage from our past, but the good news of the Gospel is that your past can be redeemed.
If you are reading this as a single person, the application for you is that God really did design sex for marriage. Anything outside of the covenant of marriage, even if it feels desirable or right in the moment, will ultimately rob you of God’s best for you. Your purity and pursuit of the things of Jesus is important! And remember: If you have fallen short of the standard God set for us, the good news of the Gospel is that your past can be redeemed.
Questions
- What stuck out to you most about Song of Songs 7? What were your initial thoughts after reading this passage?
- Why is it so important for us to have a biblical framework for sex and marriage?
- Do you struggle to believe that God can redeem your past? Why or why not?
A Quote
Tara-Leigh Cobble from The Bible Recap has this to say about the entire book of Song of Songs:
“God affirms His good design for marriage and sex. This book flies in the face of two juxtaposed ideas: 1) Sex is dirty and bad and God is disgusted by it, and 2) sex isn’t a big deal. Despite the emotional and spiritual brokenness of the world’s sexuality, our Creator had good things in mind when He invented relationship, mariage, and sex. He’s not trying to steal joy from people by putting boundaries around those things. He invented them, and like any inventor, He wants us to know how to use what He made so that we don’t break it or harm ourselves and others. He graciously tells us how these things He invented can function optimally for His glory and our joy. He’s where the joy is!”
Leave a Comment Below
Join the Team
Interested in writing for the Bible Reading Plan? Email [email protected].