Sunday, September 6, 2009

Ps119 89-176, Song of Solomon

Now this boys and girls is a love poem.....take notes, boys....

I couldn't stop reading, at one point I noticed that I was completely slumped over in my chair with my nose about an inch from the book. I sat up and tried to act like a responsible adult reading a love poem in the Bible. I was confused on a few things, such as at the beginning she described herself as dark from working in the vineyards. Later its all about her being fair (which I realize can mean other things such as beautiful) but also ivory and marble. Perhaps she got a buttermilk bath like Mammie used to have to give Scarlett when she stayed in the sun too long.

I love that one of the super hot compliments they give to each other is, "your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming from their washing, of which all are in pairs, and not one of them is missing" sweet!

The best thing this says to me is to wait, do not force love. She says like 3 times "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem … do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready!" This is a lesson that would be so super great if we could learn and believe. All things in their own time, when you are ready to meet THAT person, when the time is right.....there they shall be. Don't give yourself away to the wrong person. I don't think I can get into it on the blog, butt this does make me ponder my own situation many years ago....and I wonder.

I do of course see that at one level it is a love poem about the love between a man and a woman and at a different level between God and human. It is hard however in out sex saturated world to read deep enough to get through the muck. At every level it is beautiful, however.

119 is a whole different love story and it is not hot but incredible strange to me. This guy is soooo in love with Gods laws that he has basically become a hermit 119:139. And he would totally hate me vs113, which may be why I find it all so unsettling. This guy would be some kind of extremist nut job today, I think. Imagine him at a party.....good times.

4 comments:

Jamie said...

The Song of Solomon is a beautiful book. Perhaps, the most beautiful in all the Bible.

It is about Christ (the bridegroom) and the us (the church, the bride).

113 means to me that he does hate the double minded [in religion]. Those who want to be "religious"....to appear to be "good", but are truly focused on this world and its material offerings. The undecided is probably more a matter of lack of patience and frustration that they haven't found what he's found. Not good, but understandable, because all are like that who strongly believe what they believe and can't understand why others don't believe the same.

There is one verse that talks about being separated from people who do not follow God's law, because they can lead you astray. When someone becomes a believer they must re-evaluate their relationships, and in many cases re-define them. Crystal and I have talked about his before. You don't have to break off all contact with your non-believing friends or even strangers, but you must be careful about the depth and extent of those relationships, because it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for you to live a new life living God's word if you are constantly around those who do not.

Also, there are parts about Ps 119 that seemed to me to be talking about more than just God's moral laws, but also His laws of nature (physics, science, math, etc.) The laws that explain His creation and how it works. Being an extemist in the parts of the Bible that are crystal clear is what God wants...in the New Testament He even tells us that He wants us to be hot or cold, not luke warm. The problems come in when people want to take the more interpretive parts and apply their interpretations to the extreme, and expect everyone else to accept them as fact. I think it's important to look at each individual part of the Bible, the context as a whole, and all of the combinations in between; the historical contexts in which certain things were written, and apply the God given common sense we all have, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in interpreting what it means without prejudice or favor to our own personal situations or desires.

Jamie said...

Tomorrow, Prov. 1-6

Whendsome said...

If it is indeed only a story about the love between Jesus and us then lets reconsider what she means in not forcing love. Instead of meeting your true love when you are ready, you will come to terms with your faith when you are ready. Does that then mean that you should not take your beliefs for granted (go to church because your family has always gone to church). Your understanding will come when it comes? Meaning then, don't baptize babies as they are then being forced into the relationship.

Jamie said...

For the most part I agree with that. Esp. about the babies being baptised. Baptism is supposed to be a testimony, a public declaration of your salvation....letting everyone know that you've become a believer. So how certain religions baptise infants or children too young to understand or to have given [with understanding] their lives to the Lord is beyond me.

But I would draw a line about taking your time as though time is not of the essence. Afterall, you could die before you come to believe. And you lose time here on earth to be able to do God's work, which is not good either. So, although, I think it's saying that God wants us to come to Him willingly, I don't think it's saying you've got an infinite amount of time to do it. We've talked about this before...about the parallels between many of these men in the Bible seeking willing brides, or their fathers seeking willing brides for their sons....that is the way of the Lord. You notice that when one of these fathers [God] have sent their servants [the Holy Spirit to find willing brides [us, the church] for their sons [Christ] they never say wait there for a year while she makes up her mind. Instead, they wait a day or two. This isn't because God isn't willing to wait until as long as it takes (even if you're 90 on your death bed), but just to show that time is of the essence for the reasons I gave initially.