If you are reading the Old Testament for the first time you might find this next book shocking. Maybe shocking isn’t the right word—embarrassing? The title of this book is basically saying that this subject is just the greatest you could ever write about. So, what is the subject? Romantic love. Sex. See, I told you it was shocking! Shouldn’t the Bible be talking about more ‘churchy’ things like God, or prayer, or something like that?
But if you have been reading along with us and have gotten this far, you know that the Bible isn’t going to shy away from any topic at all. Song of Songs is dedicated to the thrill, joy, and adventure of falling in love. This is one of only two books in the Bible that don’t mention God explicitly, and this one happens to talk about a lot of other things in explicit language instead! The pages to follow are full of innuendo and poetic description, and if something here sounds like it might be describing sex it probably is. Now if you are thinking to yourself that the subject matter is just dirty and shameful, and it shouldn’t be in the Bible, I want you to know that you are proving exactly why it should be.
Sex isn’t dirty or wrong, it is created by God. Having and expressing sexual desire isn’t a bad thing, and we need to learn to stop describing as bad the things that God has called good—by doing so people have done great damage to themselves and others in many ways throughout history. Sex is good, and it is very powerful. Just like anything powerful, sex is also dangerous.
Think back on your own life and story. No matter what you’ve done, or what has been done to you, God has grace, healing, and love for you. You need to hear that because sex is one of the key ways that people hurt each other, but this still doesn’t make it inherently bad.
Think of fire; fire in your fireplace can heat your home and create a great ambiance. Fire in your hair is going to ruin your day very quickly. We can’t call something bad just because it has the potential for harm. Instead, we need to put clear and wise boundaries around sex so its power serves us instead of harming us. God sets those boundaries, and failing to follow them is another way people have caused and continue to cause great harm. God gave us this book because he knew we fall so often into one ditch or the other, and this beautiful poetry teaches us to refuse the path of shame, and the path of recklessness so we can walk the path of God-honoring love instead.
God of abundant creativity, you have given us a myriad of ways to connect with each other and express love and intimacy. When we do that well we participate in forming the world around us, and this truth is never more apparent than when the expression of our love creates the life of a human being! What a gift it is for a child to learn that their very existence was caused by his or her parents communicating their love and commitment being to each other. But God, the shadow side of this is that sex often isn’t used that way; we twist it to control others and selfishly serve ourselves. Remind us again today that this is a critical reason why you lovingly created marriage between one man and one woman as a vessel to contain such a powerful resource. Make our lives holy so that we don’t abuse or idolize this gift that You have given. Amen.