Not About Sex. At least not for me at this time.

My new friend Brenda left a comment under my January 25th, 2009 post that makes me wonder if I better cover something about Song of Solomon (SOS) before I move onto verses 2 & 3 of chapter one.

When I replied to her first comment on my blog I made the observation that SOS was not about sex to me but about intimacy with God.

Her reply was as follows--

Brenda: "Wow, I don't think I found your blog my mistake either! I also need to get to a more intimate place with God. For quite awhile He has felt very distant even though I haven't given up pursuing Him by staying in the Word and prayer. It's been very frustrating to me. I'm looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on what you get from SOS. It is difficult to read about breasts, lips, mouth, tongue, thighs, and navel, and picturing God and me. It's much more fun imagining my husband in it. But, I'm going to give it a shot. Because you may just be on to something."

I'm very glad she brought this up. And please, those of you who check in here from time to time, bear with me as I try to explain this. I am getting to a very specific point. And it is about intimacy with God. But sometimes you have to wade through some stuff to get everyone on the same page, or at least in the same book.

As Brenda mentioned, breasts, lips, mouths, tongues, thighs, and navels are mentioned in this book. No wonder people immediately think about sex first thing. Especially in our sexually overcharged society. I mean, magazines and websites exist that are dedicated exclusively to large breasts. And sex is used to sell anything and everything. In a society such as ours, women can be viewed as sex objects. I mean, what other purpose is there for breasts than to attract men?
Well, actually, women's breasts do exist for something else besides sex. They exist for nursing babies. But with our sex oriented culture, it's hard for many to think of them for anything else. Women who want to nurse in public places, even discretely covered, are not looked upon favorably by many. Sometimes the outcry against such a thing is huge. Some people treat nursing as something nasty that needs to be hidden from the public eye. A private matter between a mother and her infant child. With this collective social attitude, no wonder many women resort to bottle feeding their babies. A gal might like to go out in public once in a while and feel caged within her home or have to run to a public restroom and sit on a toilet seat with no lid in order to nurse so as not to offend anybody.
Well, breasts have other uses besides sex, I think it's safe to say that lips, mouths, tongues, and thighs also have other uses. We don't need to automatically assume, sex.

I think you get my point. So enough of my nursing soapbox. That's not what this blog is about. What it is about is my journey out of bitterness.
When I started reading SOS I had no idea why God wanted me to study there.

But I was very much aware of something else.

I was aware that God uses symbols and pictures to reveal Himself to us and the relationship He wants to have with us.
~He uses sheep and Shepherd. He wants us to see His protection over us and how dependent we are on Him.
~He uses slaves/servants and Master. He wants us to see and respect Him as LORD.
~He uses children and Father. This is even as deeper and more intimate view than the servant/Master mode, as a child is more cared for than a servant or slave.
~He uses student/Teacher. We have a lot to learn from Him.
~Jesus, as the first born from the dead can also be looked upon as our older Brother. Hey, this is a good meditation. How do you think your life would be different if you had an older brother who was a prince or king? It would be a good thing if your brother liked you. Not so good if He didn't.
~After the disciples followed Jesus a while, He told them that they were no longer His servants, but His friends. This is definitely a step up.

~Then, of course, there is Jesus as the Bridegroom and the church as the bride. What greater place can there be than to be one with the Creator and Redeemer of the universe?

Of course, in this life, in this world, we can only see in a mirror dimly. In heaven we can see Him face to face.
But it is our job in this life, to try to get to know Him as best we can here. Why wouldn't we want to? After all, we will spend all eternity with Him. We shouldn't be practically strangers with Him when we die.

I had a friend who was orphaned very young. Because she had no earthly father, she meditate deeply on the fact that she had a heavenly Father. It brought her great comfort, made her feel loved and not rejected. But a mutual friend of ours pointed out to me that this orphaned friend was stunting her own spiritual growth by only focusing on one aspect of her relationship with God. She'd been in this place for years. She didn't need to let go of her understanding of Father. But she needed to not fear the deeper intimacy that God calls us all to.

It was from this perspective that I felt I should study SOS. And it is from this perspective that I'd like to share what I've learned so far.

And please, any one who checks in here, look at Brenda as a good example. If you don't understand something, or if I've not been clear, please ask me.
I am far from a perfect communicator. I may be assuming people know things that they don't. Or I may assume people have a similar view to my own when I shouldn't make such an assumption.