While I was in college at Ohio Northern, I was a member of their touring choir. We sang many beautiful pieces, most of them filled with Christian content and stories. Our director chose them for their beauty or technical difficulty, as he was not a man of faith. But I loved the content. One piece from my years there stands out to me to this day because our director told us the story of its composition, and it has never left me.
René Clausen, an accomplished American composer and director, wrote Set Me As a Seal after the tragic death of his unborn child. After three miscarriages, he and his wife were six and a half months into pregnancy. Because his wife was 39, and their three previous children died before birth because of birth defects, the doctor wanted an amniocentesis done. Due to misplacement of the needle, the baby was killed instantly during the process. The Clausens still had to deliver their baby, who had no birth defects and was perfectly sound, in a delivery room to the sound of crying babies being born around them.
I cannot imagine the agony. The senselessness of the loss is overwhelming to me. It was to Dr. Clausen and his wife as well. After the stillbirth of their fourth child, Clausen went home and composed Set Me As a Seal in 20 minutes.
I remember singing this song with our choir, time and again as we went on tour. It was beautiful in its simplicity of words, and complexity of notes and harmonies. It sounded like a plea from a grieving heart. The lyrics were short but profound, and straight from Song of Solomon chapter 8, verses 6 and 7.
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death.
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”
While grieving the loss of another child, Clausen turned to scripture and faith and found his inspiration in a book of love songs written for a husband and wife. But these love songs aren’t just for husband and wife. They are to mirror the love that God has for each of us, and the love we should have for him. These lines represent complete ownership and belonging. They represent a love that is to last forever, that cannot be removed or washed away.
God wants us to belong to him in such a way. He wants us to seek him first and always. And his love for us is also without end. How beautiful it is to know that a love this deep exists. When we are in our darkest hour, or in our greatest moment of joy, his love is the same. He is unwavering.
As you read through the last half of these songs today, I hope you see the beauty of God’s love for you and the relationship he longs to have with you, and also the relationship Christ has with the church. You are beautiful to him, and worthy of love. You are so worthy, in fact, that Christ died for you.
– Jenn Haynes
PS: If you would like to hear a lovely recording of Set Me As a Seal, this choir performs it beautifully:
I hope it helps you to reflect on his profound love for you
-Jenn Haynes
Reflection Questions:
Do you see yourself as beautiful and worthy of the love God has for you?
How do you think God sees you?
Take a quiet moment to reflect on the fact that God’s love for you is so deep and passionate that he desires your love above all else. The God of the universe wants a relationship with you that is deeper than any other relationship you’ve ever had. He sees you as valuable and lovely. Hold that close to you.
This collection of songs is something that, sadly, is frequently misunderstood and avoided today. At a wedding we celebrate love, yes, but certainly not like this. The beautiful imagery described in these chapters of love, desire and passion are everything we should want in a relationship with our spouse. Unfortunately, discussions of sexual desire and attraction like this are usually either twisted by an immoral society, or avoided by Christians. The world has thrown sex around until it’s dirty, misused, and undervalued. And Christian religion has gone in the complete opposite direction and has made it into something secret and almost shameful. We feel embarrassment.
But desire is not shameful at all when it is within its perfect time and place. Amidst all of this expression of love, there is one important phrase repeated again and again.
“Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”
There is no rushing here. When we want to be in a relationship or long to fill our sexual desires more than we long for God’s good and perfect plan, this is when everything falls apart. The imagery stops being intimate and beautiful. It becomes cheap and our relationship is no longer the reflection of God’s love for us that it should be.
But when we acknowledge God first and seek him for our fulfillment, we restore the proper order of things. God created man and everything was good. Adam had God and relied on him completely. And in that complete reliance, God provided the perfect partner.
God knows our needs far better than we do, and that includes our need for relationships and intimacy. When we seek him first before seeking fulfillment in others, God will provide in his own perfect timing.
I hope you see the beauty reflected in these chapters! Love and desire within God’s plan is a treasure to be appreciated.
-Jenn Haynes
Reflection Questions:
For those who are unmarried: Do you find yourself growing impatient? Are you seeking fulfillment from people rather than God? How can you turn your focus more on your relationship with God and rely more fully on him?
For those who married: Maybe you’re a newlywed, or you’ve been married for years, or you’re widowed. Take some time to reflect on your love. Read through the descriptions and think about your own beloved. What do you appreciate about your spouse? How did God provide for you by bringing you together? How does your relationship reflect the relationship God desires to have with you?
My prayer for you today is that you see beauty in this passage. I pray you seek intimacy with God first, and that you rely on him fully. And for those who are/were married, I pray you are able to reflect and appreciate all of the wonderful qualities of your spouse.
Are you in for a special treat today! Not just because we are discussing Song of Songs (otherwise known as Song of Songs), but also because I looked into the SeekGrowLove archives and found not one, not two, but three great devotions on Song of Solomon (and then I stopped looking). So, today is a bit of a compilation with pieces from three previous devotions. The full devotions are linked below and are all worthy of a read/re-read.
From Rick McClain:
“The visuals painted in these chapters about a bride and groom are very sexual in nature, but is that what this book is about? Some say it is an allegory of Jesus and his bride, the church. I doubt this is true because Jesus wasn’t even around in the Old Testament when this was written. I don’t think the concept of the church being the bride of Jesus was known back then so why would someone write an allegory about that? It is also believed by some that it could be an allegory about God and the people of Israel. There are no doubt similarities between the relationship of a bride and groom and the relationship between God and His people, but why would someone use such erotic sexual material to describe how God thinks about Israel and vice versa?
I believe it is love poetry and I am thrilled that the Bible has affirmed that the sexual desire I have for my wife is a good thing. I know that will make some of you squirm a bit because we don’t usually talk about this stuff, especially in church. However, I think one of the main points of this book is to show that the physical attraction between a bride and groom is a beautiful thing that God has created for them to enjoy.”
“But back to the song of all songs. I am not going to go in great detail here about this book because you should read it for yourself. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much in love these two seemed to be. It reminded me of when you see two young people in love, and their love is just oozing all over each other so much so that they don’t even notice anyone else is around. They can’t stop smiling at each other and they are on cloud nine. We usually roll our eyes at them and think they are being ridiculous, but this is exactly the kind of love that was on display in these eight chapters. Solomon gushed about her eyes, hair, neck, lips, and body parts that reminded him of fawns, but it didn’t stop there. I knew this was a story about real, intense, true love when he mentioned her teeth. He didn’t just say she had beautiful teeth, he said her teeth were like a flock of newly shorn ewes. Don’t picture dirty ewes that have been rolling around in the dirt, Solomon said the ewes had just come up from their washing. Moreover, all these ewes bore twins, and not one of them had lost their young. He said all of that about her teeth!?!? That dude was crazy in love! And she was just as ridiculous as him, which can be seen when she says her beloved is like a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of Engedi.”
From Steve Mattison:
SoS 2:2 says, “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.” Husbands and future husbands take note. Highlight what you appreciate about your wife, and make sure she knows it well and often. But the praise must be sincere. And if it’s appropriate and if she would appreciate it, make sure you extend this praise publicly. But don’t just stop with praise. Treat her like she is precious because she is.
SoS 2:4 contains part of the wife’s response, “His banner over me is love.” All by itself, this sounds pretty weird. I think this is saying that her husband is publicly proclaiming his love for her – sort of like writing it on a flag, and waving it around for everyone to see. He is not ashamed to acknowledge her publicly. Again, husbands take note.
In SoS 2:6, the wife goes on to say, “His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.” I’ll leave it to your imagination to consider their position and presumed activity. Husband’s again take note. If you shower your wife with love. If you make her a priority, and she knows it. If she knows you’re never ashamed of having her at your side. Things will go a lot better with your love life.
She goes on to say in SoS 2:7, “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” I would say that differently. I would say “save sex for marriage” – and then, it is a wonderful blessing from God for both husband and wife to enjoy to the fullest together.
In his reply, in SoS 2:15, the husband says, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom”. I think the idea here is that there are always little things that can attack the relationship, and these things need to be caught and stopped. Some examples may include selfishness, pride, never admitting that you are wrong, finding fault, unforgiveness, mistrust, etc. All of these have to be dealt with and removed in order for the love to blossom and flourish.
And you have to love that part in verse 17 where she says, “until the day breaks and the shadows flee…”. It sounds like she is talking about being intimate all night long. So, husbands, if you want verse 17, you have to have to practice verses 2 and 4 and 7 and 15. In other words, if you want a great sex life in your marriage, adore your wife. Let that show in everything you do and in every way you treat her, and you will see results.
Oh yeah, and do the same with your relationship with God, and you’ll see great results there too – both now and forever.”
From Maria Knowlton:
“So how do you use SOS to make a difference in your life? How do you make this a part of your devotion? A friend of mine told me that her pastor recently preached a sermon on it and encouraged husbands to tell their wives they are beautiful. So there you go husbands! God wants you to complement your wives! Use lots of flowery words! (Check out youtube for examples on how to use King Solomon’s words to make your woman swoon!) Ok, that was a little facetious. Seriously, most woman do want to know her man desires her (but maybe not in the words of chapter 4) and God has provided an example of this along with His blessings. My friend thought of another take on SOS. She thought that since her husband was being encouraged to tell her she’s beautiful, she should make more of an effort to be beautiful. She looked at verse 1:6 when the Shulammite woman tries to hide from Solomon. So my friend decided that in addition to not wearing sweats all day, she would close the door while using the powder room and not burp or otherwise display gross behaviors in front of her husband. We all laughed when she told us that he didn’t notice but her point was that we shouldn’t take our husbands for granted and we should make an effort to be beautiful for our husbands. We also need to keep in mind verse 2:15, “ Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. The chorus talking here, saying not to allow anything to spoil the man and woman’s relationship. Good advice for all of us in any relationship. The world may have cheapened the physical relationship between a man and a woman, likening it to something as casual as a game of ping pong. SOS reminds us that it is truly a wedding gift from God that is to be treasured, embraced, and protected. So if you are married, read today’s reading with your spouse and have a great night! ; )”
God made sex. And He made it good. To be enjoyed by one man and one woman who are married – meaning they have committed their lives to one another til death do them part. There are a lot of verses in Song of Solomon that have never been made into refrigerator magnets or wedding invitations – but I do love 2:16a “My beloved is mine and I am his.” Such a beautiful declaration of a deep, mutual devotion to the love of your life. It is indeed perfect for a wedding invitation! But, how many couples can say the same thing 10, 20, 30, 50 or more years down the road. How do we keep the love from growing cold – which will happen when the fire isn’t tended? Marriage is complex and there is no one easy answer – but Song of Songs does have some useful tips for fanning that flame with your spouse.
If you aren’t married yet – what is the greatest take-away you found in Song of Solomon?
If you are married – what is the greatest take-away you found in Song of Solomon?
Why do you think God included Song of Solomon in the Bible?
Hebrews Introduction
The title of the book of Hebrews suggests it was written to Jewish Christians. We don’t know who wrote the book. Although some suggest the author may have been Paul, Hebrews 2:3 almost certainly refutes this. Whoever it was knew their Old Testament very well, and wrote persuasive arguments showing that Jesus is greater than everyone and everything in the Old Testament, including angels, priests, the law, Moses, sacrifices, etc.
The book of Hebrews points out that the law was only a shadow of the good things that are coming (Hebrews 10:1). Colossians 2:16-17 goes on to say that the reality is found in Christ. And Jesus became the ultimate high priest, who offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice once and for all.
The two main points of Hebrews are to encourage Christians to endure, and to warn Christians to remain faithful in following Christ.
Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, is probably the best well-known chapter in Hebrews. One of the most well-known verses is 11:4, “And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Song of Solomon contains poetry written by Solomon. Some people try to spiritualize it, suggesting it describes the relationship between God and a follower of God. Those who think that have obviously not read it. Song of Solomon describes the intimate relationship between a husband and a wife, sometimes a little graphically. If you’ve never read the Bible before, the Song of Solomon just might pique your interest. I’ll share a few verses from chapter 2.
SoS 2:2 says, “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.” Husbands and future husbands take note. Highlight what you appreciate about your wife, and make sure she knows it well and often. But the praise must be sincere. And if it’s appropriate and if she would appreciate it, make sure you extend this praise publicly. But don’t just stop with praise. Treat her like she is precious because she is.
SoS 2:4 contains part of the wife’s response, “His banner over me is love.” All by itself, this sounds pretty weird. I think this is saying that her husband is publicly proclaiming his love for her – sort of like writing it on a flag, and waving it around for everyone to see. He is not ashamed to acknowledge her publicly. Again, husbands take note.
In SoS 2:6, the wife goes on to say, “His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.” I’ll leave it to your imagination to consider their position and presumed activity. Husband’s again take note. If you shower your wife with love. If you make her a priority, and she knows it. If she knows you’re never ashamed of having her at your side. Things will go a lot better with your love life.
She goes on to say in SoS 2:7, “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” I would say that differently. I would say “save sex for marriage” – and then, it is a wonderful blessing from God for both husband and wife to enjoy to the fullest together.
In his reply, in SoS 2:15, the husband says, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom”. I think the idea here is that there are always little things that can attack the relationship, and these things need to be caught and stopped. Some examples may include selfishness, pride, never admitting that you are wrong, finding fault, unforgiveness, mistrust, etc. All of these have to be dealt with and removed in order for the love to blossom and flourish.
In SoS 2:16-17, the wife says, “My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee…”. She is talking about how exclusive the marriage relationship must be. (Unfortunately, Solomon didn’t do very well in this regard. Maybe she should have said, “my lover is mine, and I am his and a thousand other women are his.” Can you imagine how that would make your wife feel – if this wasn’t an exclusive relationship? Husbands, again take note.
And you have to love that part in verse 17 where she says, “until the day breaks and the shadows flee…”. It sounds like she is talking about being intimate all night long. So, husbands, if you want verse 17, you have to have to practice verses 2 and 4 and 7 and 15. In other words, if you want a great sex life in your marriage, adore your wife. Let that show in everything you do and in every way you treat her, and you will see results.
Oh yeah, and do the same with your relationship with God, and you’ll see great results there too – both now and forever.
–Steve Mattison
Application Questions
If you aren’t married yet – what is the greatest take-away you found in Song of Solomon 2?
If you are married – what is the greatest take-away you found in Song of Solomon 2?
Why do you think God included Song of Solomon in the Bible?
As I mentioned yesterday, there is quite a discrepancy of opinions among Biblical scholars about SOS (Song of Solomon). Commentators such as Matthew Henry and James Durham believed SOS was solely allegorical. Whereas, in the “Passion Pursuit” class, the ladies referred to the Shulammite woman as a “Smokin’ Hot Mama”. In his commentary, Ray Stedman states that the Bible, especially here in SOS, handles physical passion frankly and forthrightly. In my research, I found an excellent commentary that blends both lines of thought (it was also mentioned several times on the Authentic Intimacy website). How to Love God With All Your Heart by Keith Simons and Mark Kirkpatrick analyzes each verse in both its literal and allegorical interpretations.
I really appreciate being able to pull from both interpretations when it comes to real life applications. If you are single, the literal application may not apply. If you only take the allegorical application, you will miss the beauty of physical love and permission from God to be a “smokin’ hot mama” or “dude” in the marital realm.
It makes a lot of sense that SOS follows the other poetic books of the Bible not only because of its poetic nature but also because it offers wisdom for living as do the other books. Ray Stedman refers to the 5 books of poetry as each containing a “cry.” Job is the cry of the spirit. Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are the cry of the soul. SOS is the cry of the body for love. He goes on to say that because the devil pushed this beautiful gift to extreme evil, Victorianism pushed sex into prudishness, as if it were something to be ashamed of. SOS represents “sex as God intended it to be, involving not just a physical activity, but the whole nature of man.”
When having “the talk” (one of many) with our son, we described the reproductive purpose of sex and the bonding purpose. Husbands and wives need to “reenact SOS” to bond. In fact, I learned in the “Passion Pursuit” class there are many studies that show that the same hormone that bonds a mother to her child, oxytocin, is released during sex and plays a role in bonding a man and woman together. Of course, discussing the bonding purpose of sex with our son was a little harder than the reproductive purpose. Both of our children were adopted so he knew that wasn’t an issue… was hoping he wasn’t going to put 2 and 2 together for the other purpose! But alas….
SOS is also a beautiful allegory for God’s love and want for intimacy with his people. The New Testament also compares Christ and the church as a groom and his bride. So clearly, God created marriage as an allegory for this relationship. I cannot state all of this nearly as well as Simons and Kirkpatrick, so I really encourage you to read How To Love God With All Your Heart ( http://www.easyenglish.info ) or just Google it!
I didn’t recall signing up for writing a devotion on SOS at Family Camp. I just wanted to do the devotions between school semesters. But I’m really glad I did. I got to use some of the stuff I learned in “Passion Pursuit” and I did research I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to doing if I didn’t have to write about it. We all make jokes about King Solomon’s pick up lines, but in truth, SOS is a beautiful book to be read on several levels. I think God included SOS in scriptures so that we know that “every good and perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:17)
God bless you and the reading of His Word!
Maria Knowlton
(Maria’s devotion shared this week were originally used as part of a year-long Bible reading plan following 2015 COG Family Camp at Camp Mack. We thank her for permission to reprint them here).
I hadn’t gotten around to registering for the “mom’s” conference, Hearts at Home, until a few days before and couldn’t find the class descriptions so I had to sign up for classes just based on the names. I saw one called, “Passion Pursuit,” taught by Dr. Juli Slattery and Linda Dillow. I’ve heard Dr. Slattery on Focus on the Family and at previous Hearts at Home conferences and really enjoyed learning from her. I also figured I’d like to figure out what I have a passion for, so I signed up for this class.
Pursuing one’s occupational or spiritual passion was NOT what this class was about! It was about that one book your pastor rarely, if ever, speaks on, the book I personally have never done a jr. church series of lessons on, and as of yet, the one book we’ve never had the kids memorize verses from. That’s right! I’m talking about The Song of Solomon (SOS)! (Signal collective blush from everyone’s cheeks.)
Over the years, there has been debate about what this book is about and why it is in the Bible. I did a little bit of research and almost everyone agrees that this book is about God’s great love for His people and the intimacy He wants to have with both the Israelites and those of us who have chosen to become adopted seeds of Abraham. Where debate and controversy lies is that other meaning. As Bob Jones stated in his book, “ The 5W’s and 1H of Genesis Through Malachi,” Song of Songs is to be seen as, “literally describing the sanctity and beauty of human physical love…Maybe God wants us to read this book so that we return marriage and sexuality to the holy place He has always intended them to occupy.” p. 70 The ladies teaching “Passion Pursuit” agree with Bob. SOS is a book celebrating God’s love for us but it is also celebrating the gift God gives a couple upon their marriage. Those of us who have taken those vows are to embrace this gift to the fullest.( Dr. Slattery and Mrs. Dillow created an online ministry to help people do this called “Authentic Intimacy.” I highly recommend checking this out. They have scriptural advice and instruction for anyone looking to have greater, true intimacy with God and their spouse or in preparation for marriage.)
Yes, there are a few problems with the actual book. If Solomon was the author, which most consider as fact, he wasn’t exactly a one woman man. My study Bible states he probably had 140 wives and concubines at the time and more throughout his life. Not exactly a fact that would make a woman feel special!
This is also a very hard book to follow. They’re in a garden, she’s having a dream, they’re married….What is going on???? They are also talking in metaphors and similes…they’re in an actual garden, He’s in her “garden.” And if it weren’t for the headings in my Bible, I would have no idea who is talking. The Shulammite woman is talking, a whole bunch of women are talking (where did they come from?!) And even God speaks once. This is a book you’ll benefit from reading along with a commentary.
So how do you use SOS to make a difference in your life? How do you make this a part of your devotion? A friend of mine told me that her pastor recently preached a sermon on it and encouraged husbands to tell their wives they are beautiful. So there you go husbands! God wants you to complement your wives! Use lots of flowery words! (Check out youtube for examples on how to use King Solomon’s words to make your woman swoon!) Ok, that was a little facetious. Seriously, most woman do want to know her man desires her (but maybe not in the words of chapter 4) and God has provided an example of this along with His blessings.
My friend thought of another take on SOS. She thought that since her husband was being encouraged to tell her she’s beautiful, she should make more of an effort to be beautiful. She looked at verse 1:6 when the Shulammite woman tries to hide from Solomon. So my friend decided that in addition to not wearing sweats all day, she would close the door while using the powder room and not burp or otherwise display gross behaviors in front of her husband. We all laughed when she told us that he didn’t notice but her point was that we shouldn’t take our husbands for granted and we should make an effort to be beautiful for our husbands. We also need to keep in mind verse 2:15, “ Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. The chorus talking here, saying not to allow anything to spoil the man and woman’s relationship. Good advice for all of us in any relationship.
The world may have cheapened the physical relationship between a man and a woman, likening it to something as casual as a game of ping pong. SOS reminds us that it is truly a wedding gift from God that is to be treasured, embraced, and protected.
So if you are married, read today’s reading with your spouse and have a great night! ; )
– Maria Knowlton
(photo credit: cartoon by Andrew Fraser – found at http://www.cartoonsidrew.com/2014_10_01_archive.html)
Seek Grow Love 