“How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your charms! "Your stature is like a palm tree, And your breasts are like its clusters. “I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its fruit stalks.’ Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of your breath like apples, And your mouth like the best wine!” “It goes down smoothly for my beloved, Flowing gently through the lips of those who fall asleep. “I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me. “Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country, Let us spend the night in the villages. “Let us rise early and go to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has budded And its blossoms have opened, And whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love. “The mandrakes have given forth fragrance; And over our doors are all choice fruits, Both new and old, Which I have saved up for you, my beloved.
The answer to the trivia question is, he wants to climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit stalks. We will talk about this and so much more in this episode. Stick around to learn more.
He says she is beautiful and pleasant with all her delights or charms. She is his loved one. Looking over her body he describes her like a palm tree which once again, features her breasts, as they are enticing to him like choice fruits on the vine. He is not domineering but is simply telling her that he is willing to climb to obtain her delicacies. He is willing to be a love maker and not just a love taker (this is a problem in some relationships). When he refers to her tall slender form, he then exclaims that he wants to climb up the tree and as he climbs, he wants to hold and taste her fruit. In this context, her breasts are the clusters of the vine. In Proverbs 5:19 we read instructions to a husband about his wife, “let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.”
Next, he refers to her breath (some say nose) being like apples, her mouth providing fresh wine (sweet wine). So, after he has reached the top of the palm tree (her body) he looks forward to her kisses. In other words, he wants to be involved in passionate lovemaking with this beloved girl that he calls his very own. She is obviously captivated by his speech as she willingly acknowledges that she gives herself to him by saying, “It goes down smoothly for my beloved gliding over lips and teeth.” She wants everything that he is desiring. This is the purest form of sexual intimacy. She finishes by saying, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me." It is good to be desired and know that a partner is excited to be with you. She is comforted and primed for love by his desires for her only.
She continues in the next section of the Song to tell him of her plans for their love. This most likely would add to his desire for her. She tells him in verses 11-13 to go with her to the countryside or fields and enjoy the lovemaking in the bushes of the villages. Once again, the springtime is associated with their lovemaking as they are going to see if the vines have budded and the fruit is ready. This is all symbolic of their love relationship as she concludes by telling him that when they get there, she will give him her love. If that was his desire, then she would fulfill it. She takes the initiative, extends the invitation, and then tells him that she has a mutual desire and great plans for seeing that they are fulfilled. The text continues with a poetic nuance to mention mandrakes which in Hebrew also has the definition of love caresses. She mentions that they have all the choice fruits available. But notice that she had laid it up for him. She has been preparing for them to be together and she will fulfill his every passionate desire.
It might be good to note here that sometimes a stale relationship or one that needs to excel again in some areas, may need a romantic rendezvous where one or both parties in a couple plan a love excursion. Sometimes we become so busy with “other” things that we forget about the “one another” things. It is good to renew and refresh a relationship with a special night out or a new way of sharing our love with our spouse. She concludes all that she has to say here with the words, “O, my beloved.” They are equally desirous of pleasing each other, and that is the only way that a relationship can have lasting fulfillment. This is God’s will. Paul said in I Corinthians 7:1-5, “Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise, also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
The two lovers in our Song are not worried about the deprivation or withholding of lovemaking, but they are eager to be together in mutual fulfillment. While there will be times in a love relationship that we will have to refrain from being intimate, but always remember that it is important to return to intimacy.
SPIRITUAL APPLICATION
The Lord claims us as His own. It is up to us to claim Him in the same way. The word of God reveals I will be their God and they shall be my people. We belong to Him and He to us. There is also expressed here the ability or willingness to save (fruits) oneself solely for love with the one that our soul loves. We are unable to love both the Lord and riches or the Lord and (you fill in the blank). We cannot serve God and any other. We must be completely devoted to Him as He promises to be faithful to us.
QUESTIONS:
1. When you consider that the lover here wants to climb his beloved girl to obtain the fruit of love, what kind of work goes into a relationship as we pursue the fulfillment or climax of love?
2. Notice that the desires that we have must be completely devoted to one lover to which we have been married. What kinds of temptations are faced in the world today that could cause us to give away our love to another?
3. What charms does your lover offer to you that cause you to give them your undivided attention?
4. What do you love about your lover and how would it affect your relationship to know that they had shared themselves with another person outside of your relationship?
5. When you consider our spiritual walk with Christ, He only has eyes for His bride, the church. Do we demonstrate the same loyal love to our beloved Savior without loving the things of this world? How are we saving ourselves for the Savior?
This brings our show for today to a close. If you are benefitting from this study, be sure to join us next time in Song of Songs 8:1-4 in a message titled, “Love Acceptable”.
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