I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

....By the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases (Song 2:7). Tradition has it that until they were thirty, the Jews were not allowed to read this Old Testament book that talks about the love of Solomon for his Shulamite bride.  Certainly parts of it are somewhat racy, the previous verse for example essentially describes foreplay. A primary Christian interpretation/application of the book is of Christ's love for His bride. It goes along well with what Paul says about the mystery concerning Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32). And there is much that is valid here. In particular it is empowering to know that Christ is ravished (in a non sexual way) with my love for Him (4:9). But there are also times when  in my opinion, this is forced. In particular, this morning's verse comes in the context of the foreplay mentioned above. It shows that the primary interpretation of love here,  is sexual love.

That the Bible should seek to teach us about sex should not be surprising. After all God invented sex. He's not up there looking down saying “What are they doing?” But what this morning's verse is saying, is that there is a time and a place for sexual love to be stirred up and awakened.  The Judaeo-Christain teaching from the Scriptures is that God's perfect plan for sexuality is one man one woman in lifelong monogamous relationship. In particular we are to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthian 6:8). If we do not flee,  we will certainly stir it up, especially if it has already been awakened.  One therapist described our culture as being possessed by pseudo,  hyper sexuality.  Pseudo, because it is a counterfeit of the real thing. The Lord's intention is that it be the culmination of  emotional and spiritual intimacy, a union of body, soul and spirit.  A friend of mine likened sex outside of marriage to playing the cymbals at the wrong time in a concert.

It is hyper because so many are running round jumping in and out of bed, often with complete strangers. I do not come to you this morning in self righteousness, in fact most of us have blown it, but as long as we have breath we can repent and obey. And we need to realize that the propaganda that comes out of Hollywood that has normalized all forms is sexuality,  is a lie. In particular we cannot engage in such behaviour without consequences. And I am not just talking about STD's and pregnancy. Every time we engage in an illicit sexual union we weaken the bonding mechanism and we devalue, and pollute this precious gift that God has given, making it only slightly more significant than shaking hands.  This is not even to mention that we become addicted to it, for “he who sins is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). Many of us have discovered that awakened promiscuous sexual appetites do not disappear simply because we got married!

Father, the verse “remember not the sins of my youth” (Psalm 25:7) comes to mind. What Your Word teaches may seem old fashioned and outmoded in today's world Lord, but it is devastating marriages and relationships,  and the children are the ones who are suffering the most. Forgive us Lord, forgive me, and please grant us repentance,  so that we may live holy and righteous lives that are well pleasing to You our joy and our hope. In Jesus Name I pray Amen