September 15 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Song of Solomon 6:

¹Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.
²My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
³I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
⁴Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
⁵Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.
⁶Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.
⁷As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
⁸There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
⁹My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
¹⁰Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
¹¹I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded.
¹²Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.
¹³Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Devotional:

A woman rightly resents being considered a sex object. As we have said, there are some who claim that this concept of woman stems from the Scriptures. This is a gross perversion. What help does this Song give us in understanding God's design for the woman?

It is interesting to note that in this poem there is a reciprocal enjoyment. The Shepherd King Lover expresses his appreciation for the beauty of his beloved here in verses 4-10. The Shulamite does likewise for him in chapter 5:10-16. This is a relationship of mutual loving and being loved.

Through the years the place of woman has changed, now for better, now for worse. How can people today expect us to believe that woman is experiencing a real improvement in her lot? The Playboy philosophy is with us and our world needs to see over against that the pure beauty of the Song of songs. Here is a woman who stands tall beside her man. They are equals. They are both thinking, feeling persons who desire each other and experience a mutual enjoyment of each other. There is no exploitation. There is liberty!

Does the world see in us, whether we are newlyweds or grandparents, the plan of God for marriage? Are we experiencing a redeemed relationship? If we are, we are being an unconscious testimony to a sick and dying world of what life is at its best!