Romantic
passages in the Bible are often not read or viewed as an allegory
of divine love. Better to leave scripture just as it is. God is
the author of romance. The Bible celebrates it. And so should
we.
As
in the Biblical book of Genesis (2:23-25), the Bible's Song of
Solomon celebrates God’s gift of bodily love between man
and woman.
Song
Of Solomon 5:2-7:
(New Living Translation)
Young Woman: "One night as I was sleeping, my heart awakened
in a dream. I heard the voice of my lover. He was knocking at
my bedroom door. 'Open to me, my darling, my treasure, my lovely
dove,' he said, 'for I have been out in the night. My head is
soaked with dew, my hair with the wetness of the night.'
"But I said, 'I have taken off my robe. Should I get dressed
again? I have washed my feet. Should I get them soiled?'
"My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled
within me. I jumped up to open it. My hands dripped with perfume,
my fingers with lovely myrrh, as I pulled back the bolt. I opened
to my lover, but he was gone. I yearned for even his voice! I
searched for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I called to
him, but there was no reply. The watchmen found me as they were
making their rounds; they struck and wounded me. The watchman
on the wall tore off my veil.
Song
7:10-13
Young Woman: "I am my lover's, the one he desires. Come,
my love, let us go out into the fields and spend the night among
the wildflowers. Let us get up early and go out to the vineyards.
Let us see whether the vines have budded, whether the blossoms
have opened, and whether the pomegranates are in flower. And there
I will give you my love. There the mandrakes give forth their
fragrance, and the rarest fruits are at our doors, the new as
well as old, for I have stored them up for you, my lover."
Song
1:2-4
Young Woman: "Kiss me again and again, for your love is sweeter
than wine. How fragrant your cologne, and how pleasing your name!
No wonder all the young women love you! Take me with you. Come,
let's run! Bring me into your bedroom, O my king."
Young Women of Jerusalem: "How happy we are for him! We praise
his love even more than wine."
Young Woman: "How right that the young women love you!
