Song of Solomon #1 – Let Him Kiss Me

(Song of Solomon 1:1-7)

Personal introductions & our history

Sex as God, Gross, or Gift?

Sex as God

• OT Times – fertility cults, Canaanite gods naked & poetry, Ashterah poles, sex temples & prostitutes (e.g. Hinduism had prostitutes & Kama Sutra til recently)
• NT Times – Greek perversion, Corinth & Temple Aphrodite 1000 prost. M&F

Today

• Romans 1
• Created, Creator
• Sex, Gender, Sexuality

Sex as Gross

• NT Times thru Early Church

• • Plato, Greek Stoicism, procreation, celibacy
  • Tertullian & Ambrose – preferred extinction humanity to sex. Intercourse
  • Origen – allegorized SOS & castrated self
  • Chrysostom – Adam & Eve no sex before fall
  • Jerome – threw self into sticker bushes when tempted
  • Gregory of Nyssa – Adam & Eve w/o desire & pregnant Eden vegetation

• Middle Ages

• • Catholic Church forbade priests to marry, priests in confession regulated frequency positions & sensations w/1/2 year forbidden

• Victorian Age – extreme modesty & utter silence, woman w/o ankle & tables
• Today

• • Christian prudes (older women)
  • Sinners & victims

Sex as Gift (Gen. 1-2)

1. 1. Pleasure (Song of Songs)
   2. Children (Genesis 1:28)
   3. Oneness (Genesis 2:24)
   4. Knowledge (Genesis 4:1)
   5. Protection (1 Corinthians 7:2-5)
   6. Comfort (2 Samuel 12:24)

1:1 Solomon’s Song of Songs.

She

 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine.  Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you!  Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.

Friends

We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine.

She

How right they are to adore you! Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon. Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I had to neglect. Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?

SOS Intro:

• 3000 yrs ago
• 1^st philosophy
• Poetic – not clinical or crass
• Love songs
• Read @ Passover & sung in pubs, not til married or 30
• Odd Facts – no God (8:6?), living illustrations/work, not quoted NT, no kids
• Literal vs allegorical (Eph. 5, Bernard Clairvaux & St. John Cross, Acquinas died)
• Characters – (COMMUNICATION)

1.      Husband – 6 X Solomon, David & Bathsheeba, wisdom

2.      Wife – Abishag? (cared David, killed brother for asking to marry, working class, region)

3.      Friends –

Commentary 1:1-7

1. Solomon – 3005 Proverbs & 1005 songs (like King Kings Lord Lords)
2. She speaks first & most & flirts
3. She invites his kisses (boosts immune system, burns 2 calories)
4. She highlights his character “your name is like perfume poured out”

• • Women generally aroused. Men genitally aroused

1. They are looking forward to marriage
2. She has insecurities (Cinderella of OT)

• • Standard of beauty vs spouse

1. They have to schedule time together (sync meeting vs date night)

Discussion Question:

In a private setting with your phones off, pray and then lovingly and kindly discuss whether you see sex more as God, gross, or gift and how this is affecting your relationship and what would be a healthier perspective?