Reading
SAA Notes
The illustration of the little foxes in the vineyard is about fornication as something to be detested – you have to picture the little foxes poking up into the greenery to eat the grapes. The contrast is with the joys and good pleasures of the marriage relationship using very explicit images from nature – both animal and plant.
SJA Notes
“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.”
This is the second time we read this exhortation from the lovely wife.
And whether we are married, single, widowed or divorced – This wisdom is for all of us.
As God calls us to be singular in our devotion to Him, He calls us to be chaste and faithful in our relationships with others (particularly here in Songs in terms of romantic love).
Because married folk need to be reminded not to stir up or awaken love in the wrong places. So do single never-married folk, as well as those who have previously been married.
Romantic love is a beautiful God-honouring thing – In His order.
* Faithful God,
Thank You for the wonderful bounty of relationships we can have through our lives.
Thank You for romance, for the love we read here in the Song of Solomon.
Please help us to be faithful, singular in our devotion – To You and to the situation You have placed us in, whether that be singleness or marriage.
Mark us as a holy people, set apart, different because we walk obediently under Your will.
Amen.