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Do Not Awaken Love Until The Appropriate Time
Do Not Awaken Love Until The Appropriate Time
“Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time” ( Song of Songs 8:4 ESV & CSB, and repeated in 2:7 and 3:5 with slight differences).
In the beginning, God created them male and female.
God created them sexual.
God restricted such sexual practices to those who are married to each other.
God condemned sexual acts outside of the marriage relationship.
· Pharaoh recognized taking Abraham’s wife was wrong (Gen. 12:15-20).
· Joseph knew having Potiphar’s wife was a great evil and sin against the LORD (Gen. 39:9).
· The law of Moses condemned such, with the death penalty attached (Deut. 5:18; Exod. 20:14; Lev. 20:10, almost all of Lev. 18).
· Jesus condemned such (Matt. 15:19; 5:27-28, etc.).
· The teaching of the New Testament repeatedly condemned such (Acts 15:20,29; Rom 13:13; 1 Cor 5:11; 1Cor. 6:9, 18;2 Cor. 12:21; Gal 5:19–21; Eph 5:5; Col. 3:5; 1Thess. 4:3-8; 1 Tim 1:10; Heb. 13:4; Rev 21:8; 22:15). Yes, you should look up and read all of these!
God created man and woman with desires that begin in their teenage years.
Within the marriage relationship, there was to be the satisfying of each other’s sexual needs and desires (Prov. 5:19; 1 Cor. 7:1-5).
Thus, we encounter the Song of Solomon. The problem is the ‘awakening of love’ before its ‘time’ and three times it is urged NOT to awaken it before its time. It needs to awaken by itself within a relationship that is based upon respect, love, admiration, friendship, and desire.
We live in an age that has seen a definite push to awaken such ‘love’ way to early. The message is that everyone is doing ‘it’. Of course, I do not need to go any further in describing this problem to you as it is impossible to miss within our current culture.
As we read through the Song of Solomon, we encounter rather graphic passages concerning the physical admiration and desire that comes with this awakening of love. Our problem is the use of language and descriptions that were common to THEIR age and culture, which frankly seem odd or funny to us! Yet, such phrases are there in these love poems and thoughts between the couple. They demonstrate the wholesomeness of such when shared within marriage.
Such awakening of love is a present, strong, and serious danger! This danger was strongly guarded against within their society, even discouraged and protected against. Even outward public displays between male and female were discouraged (SofS 8:1).
So, which culture handles it best? It doesn’t matter because this is not about culture but about the recognition of the importance and value of each person, both male and female. It seems that every culture throughout history has struggled with this. Most widen the door of accepted practice (pre-marriage sex, extra-marriage sex, homosexuality, etc., etc.). A few, very few, narrowed the sexual expression, some by limiting it to just ‘acts of procreation’. Here in Song of Solomon, we see the openness of physical desire and fulfillment WITHIN the bonds of marriage.
This is not just a religious thing, but rather it is based upon CREATION. Morality and marriage did not begin with Jesus, nor even Moses. God created. God designed. God regulated. God said. Before any religious covenant, they were created this way, male and female. We see then that the basic principle and concept of sexual practice transcended the covenants. It was as wrong way back then as it is today. AND, it is as wrong today as it was way back then!
“Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers” (Hebrews 13:4). Let us not awaken such love before its time. When we do, let us live joyfully with the mate of our youth until death do us part.
Hugh DeLong
