10Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.
This bride would fit right into our day and age! She has lots of piercings! It is amazing how beauty has changed over time, and how it has stayed the same. Song of Solomon is a love poem between a husband and wife. With a little imagination you will hear some very erotic statements woven into its words. But it is important to hear these playful words as those spoken between a couple. The Media today portray such a shallow picture of dating, courting, engagement and marital love. It is all about what happens between the sheets, or when ripping the other’s clothes off because they lack self-control. There is almost never the portrayal of long, slow, gently warming love and passion. It would not fit in the two hour schedule of a movie. But this is exactly the kind of building that we will read in Song of Solomon. There is a toying and playfulness, a building and anticipation that leads to intimacy of a totally different degree. It is the restraining of desire that increases the fulfillment rather than the unrestrained, undirected passions of the moment that lead to really great sex and intimacy. It is the date on the calendar for the weekend and the small anticipatory reminders during the week that find their greatest place in the heart of a couple. The quickie while the kids are down for a nap is good, but in the absence of the simmering, stewing of respect and admiration, the quickie means little. Solomon sees his wife’s piercings and is drawn to her. He wants her. He chooses her.
The Arnold Journey 