Waiting for...

Today I was reading again (yeah.. I seem to do that a lot now).. and Song of Solomon 4:7 and then 8:6-7 really seemed to punch me in the gut. Here's what I mean, let's look at a few versions of this.

verse 4:7 (ESV) --You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.

(The Message)-- You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.

(NLT)-- You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.

Now I just listed these differing versions to show that this isn't just a one translation fluke. Solomon is telling his love that she has NO FLAW!!! How can this be? The Bible doesn't lie, right? How then can Solomon say that his woman has no flaw? He can't! His woman isn't Christ.. that'd be sick! He's not being allegorical.. this is an actual love relationship he's talking about!!!!

So then what does he mean?

I think he's saying that his woman is perfectly imperfect!
What do I mean by this? First let me preface by saying that we need to be listening to Solomon more if that IS what he meant. Don't we need to be telling our women that their imperfections make them perfect? They are perfectly imperfect, aren't they?

Solomon was saying that every little thing about his woman is what makes her his. They are one and he doesn't want to be one with 1,000,000 other women (at least at this time he didn't). He wants to be one with a unique woman that God has set out just for him. His desire is not for a bland mass produced cheap wine that he can liken to love... but for a woman that is a unique wine with a distinct spice & features that set her apart as different from the rest of the fold! He wants to compliment her every body part from head to foot only to later compliment her again from foot to head. Isn't that the zeal & depth of love that we all want?

Shouldn't we remember this more, guys? Should you remember this more, ladies?
Even if Solomon turned out to be a man ruled by his passions in the end.. we can still learn something from his early years with the LORD.

Take a look at this passage from chapter 8.

(Song of Solomon 8:6-7)- Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.

Just look at how a woman responds to a man that shows this kind of love to her.. we can see it.. the summation of it all.. here's how the message paraphrases it--

Hang my locket around your neck,
wear my ring on your finger.
Love is invincible facing danger and death.
Passion laughs at the terrors of hell.
The fire of love stops at nothing—
it sweeps everything before it.
Flood waters can’t drown love,
torrents of rain can’t put it out.
Love can’t be bought, love can’t be sold—
it’s not to be found in the marketplace.

& here's how the NIV version puts it --

6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Now you can't tell me you don't want that kind of love. That's the kind of love that really can & will leave with no option but to think of Christ love & mercy! Why would I deserve another human to complete me in that kind of way? Why would I deserve another human to help me honor Christ in that way.. ??? and for it to be pleasing for us to be pleased with the sight and experience of each other at the same time!!! God really is amazing.. What else could Song of Solomon lead us to say?

I know it may seem like "Biblical erotica" to the older people, but that's okay too. God created sex. He wants to remind us that everything he created is good and that includes having fun... it just needs to be in the right season. But then again, isn't that kind of love worth waiting for?