God on Sex: The Creator's Ideas About Love, Intimacy, and Marriage by Daniel L. Akin Read Free Book Online Page B

stretches from Mt. Carmel to the Egyptian border. Wild flowers grew in great abundance here. “Lily of the valleys” may refer to a lovely white blossom with six leaves and six petals. “This flower was especially associated with nuptial occasions.” 7 Shulammite, because of Solomon's praise, sees herself as a beautiful wild flower, free and untamed by any gardener. She is unique and uniquely Solomon's. She possesses a natural beauty and a natural desire for her man. No one has cultivated this unpicked flower. That is an assignment and privilege reserved for her husband and him alone.
    Solomon's statement that she is “like a lily among thorns” only reinforces the imagery of uniqueness. Shulammite is not just a flower among many flowers; she is a lily, a beautiful wild flower amidst thorns. She is a flower. All other women are thorns. By comparison other women bring pain and are totally undesirable. Shulammite is his love. She is like an only flower in a world of thorny weeds. Such praise will not cause other women to applaud him. It will, however, cause his love to adore him. There is not another like her as far as he is concerned. This is how to fan the flames of love.
Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest,
     so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
     and his fruit is sweet to my taste. (v. 3)
     
PROCLAIM THEIR PROVISION (V. 3)
    Verse three is specific and it is sensual. The passion of love is running full throttle. Solomon has told Shulammite some of the real joys she brings to him and how she is the only woman in his life. The confidence she feels in their relationship frees her to give herself even more in unreserved abandonment. Solomon has created a romantic atmosphere. He has built his bride up by focusing on her positive features and gifts. Her response is nothing short of awesome.
TELL OTHERS HOW THEY PROTECT YOU
    An apricot or apple tree in the woods would be rare and something you would not expect to find. It, of course, would be sweet to the taste and would provide needed sustenance. Solomon said she was a flower woman among thorny women. Shulammite says that Solomon is a special tree amidst common woods. Finding him brought her “great delight,” and she decides to sit down in his shade. She delights in him. She is comforted by him. She is protected by him and only him as never before. “I never knew love before, then came you” could be the song of Shulammite's heart.
TELL OTHERS HOW THEY PLEASE YOU
    Apples were believed by some in the ancient world to have sensual and erotic qualities. Shulammite is secure and safe in Solomon's shade, his watchcare. She now longs for physical intimacy, for lovemaking and sexual union. She simply says, “His fruit is sweet to my taste.” The language is chaste and appropriate. It is not lewd or out of bounds. It is also highly suggestive and erotic. What I find in him I like. What I taste, smell, and feel is sweet and causes me to want more and more. 8 Romance truly is an environment which prepares us for sexual union. As they anticipate their wedding night (4:1–5:1), the flames of passion are under control but burning. Is God really in favor of what is ahead? Absolutely!
    In fact, God has given us some biblical principles governing sex. Given that our text anticipates the issue, let us consider some good guidelines given by a good God.
1. Sexual relations within marriage are holy and good. God encourages intimate relations and even warns against their cessation (1 Cor. 7:5).
2. Pleasure in sexual relations is both healthy and expected (the bodies of both parties belong to the other) (Prov. 5:15–19; 1 Cor. 7:4).
3. Sexual pleasure is to be guided by the principle that one's sexuality is to be other-oriented (“rights” over one's body are given in marriage to the other party) (Phil. 2:3–4).
4. Sexual relations are to be regular and normal. No exact number of times per week is right or correct, but the