Page 148 - The Poetic Books - Student Text

weakens the theme of the book.) All kinds of temptations cannot quench this love. Anyone who would
try to buy such love is completely foolish.

The example and advice (8:8-14): Using a somewhat crude but effective illustration, the woman explains
the training she received as a young woman. Her brothers were her protectors, encouraging her toward
sexual purity. She then made the choice for herself, and her choice later brought deep peace to her
beloved. With a powerful glance back at the garden metaphor, the woman contrasts herself with
Solomon. He has rented out his person for money to very many women, but the woman has kept her
vineyard special. (The place name “Baal-Hamon” literally means “Lord of a crowd.”) The man then turns
to any who might read the Song and invites those who also dwell in the garden of faithfulness to add
their testimony to the Song. The woman ends with an invitation to her beloved to enjoy her. The
strength of her resistance to Solomon is more than matched by her passion for her beloved.

We could spend considerable time applying the Song. It fits in quite well with Psalms (Psalm 127, 128)
and with Proverbs (chapter 5). Most people understand the romantic attraction aspect while setting
aside the friendship behind the phrase “sister bride.” Yet counselors often ask, “Is your wife – or
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husband—your best friend?” In many premarital counseling settings, couples are advised that “love
dies when partners spend little time together and stop sharing activities that are mutually enjoyable.”
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The example in the Song is good advice. “Someone once defined love as ‘friendship that has caught
fire.’”
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The Song addresses thoroughly the problem of temptation. The woman was offered jewelry, money,
status, and sexual pleasure. She and the shepherd were assured that the other would not remain faithful
under the circumstances. Today, especially in the internet age, we are bombarded by sexual possibilities
and by worlds-apart definitions of love.
Culture celebrates the best or strongest love
as the most uncontrollable. This is deeply
unfortunate. Many people fall into lust “to
avoid emptiness and find satisfaction” by
using “other people as food for their empty
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souls.” Understanding these differences as
portrayed in the Song, helps us make and
teach right decisions. The words of the
Apostle Paul are fitting, accurate, and healthy.
Figure 71: Temptation
“Each of you should learn to control your own
body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God (1
Thess. 4:4-5).”

Temptation cannot be avoided. ”Temptation is not wrong, though it should not be willfully entered.” We
should not “desire to desire.” We should not “indulge and cultivate desiring because we enjoy fantasizing

237 Howard Hendricks, Say It with Love (Wheaton: victor Books, 1972), 111.
238 Norman Wright, Premarital Counseling (Chicago: Moody, 1981), 180.
239 Bill Hybels, Fit to be Tied (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), 75.
240 Longman & Allender, 100.
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