A Lil' More on SOS 2:3

I had been unsure how to approach SOS since it is such a sensitive and provocative book. I've wanted to handle it with the deep care it deserves. I'm sorry that it has taken shock jock preachers (yes there is more than one) to pull me out of my hesitation. Here is a quote from John MacArthur's four part series that is just shocking. It is not attributed to the shock jock I've alluded to before but an unnamed preacher. http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/Posts.aspx?ID=4168 MacArthur sets the stage for the quotes: "Thus we are told that the Shulammite's poetic language invoking the delights of an apple tree (Song 2:3) is a metaphor for oral sex. The comfort and delight of a simple embrace (2:6) is not what it seems to be at all. Apparently it's impossible to describe what that verse really means without mentioning certain unmentionable body parts. We're assured moreover that the shocking hidden meanings of these texts aren't merely descriptive; they are prescriptive. The secret gnosis of Solomon's Song portray obligatory acts wives must do if this is what satisfies their husbands, regardless of the wife's own desire or conscience. I was recently given a recording of one of these messages, where the speaker said, "Ladies, let me assure you of this: if you think you're being dirty, he's pretty happy." Such pronouncements are usually made amid raucous laughter, but evidently we are expected to take them seriously. When the laughter died away, that speaker added, “Jesus Christ commands you to do this.” That approach is not exegesis; it is exploitation." MacArthur then goes on to call it rape. And he is correct. Bravo, Pastor MacArthur. The woman writing this post who disagrees with you on the allegorical nature of SOS cannot agree with you more on the above quote. Again, thank you for dealing with this ugly dragon that has stolen it's way into the pulpits of America and abroad. In the past, while I innocently meditated on this wonderful, refreshing piece of God's Word, wicked men, men who don't know the voice of the Shepherd have come in and defecated on what is holy. When I heard mention of what these wolves had to say about SOS, it was like pig's blood splattered in the holy place. An abomination. God has hidden rest and refreshment in SOS to women and men individually and the church as a whole. Even if one refuses to accept the allegorical nature of SOS, SOS 2:3 should be viewed as the Beloved describing the presence of the Lover as protection and refreshment. It should not be turned around and made into a command for women to service their husbands like common prostitutes. These shock jocks do not speak for God. The are steeped in the Porn culture's view of women as objects to be used. They are like the Beloved's evil brothers in SOS 1:6 who forced her into service, caused her sorrow, and exposed her to the heat of the sun to be burned. From an allegorical standpoint, they have stripped a verse that speaks about the believer's rest of it's liberating power and turned it into a mockery. Instead of women being allowed to enter the Sabbath rest God promises all believers in Hebrews four, they are pressured into distasteful behavior and then told it is pleasing to the taste. They are told that the bitter is sweet. They are lied to and told it is the command of their Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Hebrew 4:9 There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Vs 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Vs 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same examples of disobedience. Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fullness of joy; In They right hand there are pleasures forever. Friends, let us abide in the Vine and enter His rest. Apart from Him we can do nothing. Enter into to His presence which if full of joy and pleasures. Then out of the abundance of what He gives us freely, we are able to reach the hurting and wounded of this world with God's healing, rest, and peace. We are not able to reach the hurting and wounded if we are hurt and wounded ourselves by the false teachings of the shock jock preachers. These agents of darkness ignore the hearts of women in order to stroke their consuming sex addiction. They oppress and wound the hearts of women on the altars of their raging libidos. They break the two greatest commandments of Jesus for some off-the-wall interpretation of SOS 2:3 Let us guard our own hearts against this wickedness and seek the Lord while He may be found.