Song of Solomon #7 – The Dance of Mahanaim

A marriage is like a garden. In this sermon from Song of Solomon 6:11-7:10, Pastor Mark and Grace Driscoll show how husband and wife are the gardeners. Answering the top three questions on sexual acts allowed within marriage.

Series

Topic(s)

Song of Solomon 6:11-7:10

  • Marriage is a garden
  • Husband & wife are the gardeners
  • Likely years into their marriage is greater freedom & trust
  • There is God’s line (Scripture), & then our line (conscience)

= Likely the most frank section in all of Scripture on married sexual freedom

He

6:11 I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom. 12 Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.

Friends

6:13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!

He

Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim? How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince’s daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of an artist’s hands. Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle. 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.  Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses.  How beautiful you are and how pleasing, my love, with your delights!  Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit.  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, 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.

She was supposed to spend the day w/friends, but had a sudden fantasy/desire

·         Dance of Mahanaim means “to whirl” or spin (Roper)

·         Mahanaim where angels had come to Jacob (Gen. 32:24-32)

·         She’s like an angel to her husband

Bottom to Top

  1. Feet
    “Navel” rounded & red like wine?

“If the order of bodily parts, from bottom to top, is followed consistently, the navel is in the wrong position between thighs and belly: it comes above those. The part of the girl’s body mentioned here is therefore more likely to be the vagina or vulva than the navel.” –The New Century Bible Commentary

“…it is generally translated as “vulva.” The description… “never lacks mixed win” speaks of it as a source of sexual pleasure and moistness.” (Dillow)

  1. Shape – heap of wheat
  2. 2 breast like fawns
  3. Neck like ivory tower
  4. Eyes – like pools of blue water
  5. Nose – like tower
  6. Long hair

= they are intimate & then she speaks last (“pillow talk”)

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.”

  • Attitudes: Sex as Gross, God, or Gift?
  • Acts: Can we do _________?

            =Descriptive vs Prescriptive

1 Corinthians 6:12 ““Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.”

Question #1. Is it permissible

homosexuality, bestiality, bisexuality, fornication, friends with benefits, adultery, swinging, prostitution, masturbating a person who is not your spouse, oral sex outside of marriage, anal sex outside of marriage, heavy petting outside of marriage, dry humping outside of marriage, rape, polygamy, sinful lust, pornography, phone sex with someone other than your spouse, sexual chatting online with someone other than your spouse, prostitution, pedophilia, incest, etc. (porneia)…

Question #2 – Is it beneficial for me, my spouse, and our marriage?

  1. Pleasure (SOS)
  2. Children (Gen. 1:28)
  3. Oneness (Gen. 2:24)
  4. Knowledge (Gen. 4:1)
  5. Protection (1 Cor. 7:2-5)
  6. Comfort (2 Sam. 12:24)

Question #3 – Will I become mastered by it/addicted?

1 Corinthians 7:3-5 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control

Discussion Question:

Schedule a time to have a private intimate conversation about your sexual menu and what are your all-time favorites to keep on the menu, things to take off the menu, and specials to try and see if they should be added to the menu?

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Mark Driscoll

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