READING: Song of Solomon 1-8
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: Today’s reading is the entire book of the Song of Songs. Whether you see this book as simply the description of marital love or a picture of God’s love for His people (or both), Solomon’s love for his wife cannot be ignored. I cannot read this book without considering my wife, Pam. So, I write to her today with gratitude to God.
1. There is nobody like you. Among all the women of the world, you far exceed them. You are the lily among the thorns. As one writer has suggested in analyzing this text, our love is a safe place in the midst of a hostile world.
Song 2:2 Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women.
2. You have stirred up my heart. Though scholars differ about whether this verse refers simply to the heart’s being moved or to sexual arousal, the picture is still the same: you make my heart beat faster. You leave me breathless.
Song 4:9 You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.
One of my mentors always talked about spouses having a “sweetheart love” for one another — that is, that overwhelming, fun, “I can’t wait to see you” love that dominates your thinking and gives you hope for tomorrow. That’s surely the kind of love we must always have for our mates.
PRAYER: Please pray that I will love my wife with this kind of love.
TOMORROW’S READING: Song of Solomon 1-8