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Bible reading for May 3 --4 May 3 -- Song of Solomon 8 and Hebrews 8 May 4 -- Isaiah 1 and Hebrews 9  ================    "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD." (Song of Solomon 8:6)  FINAL CHAPTER (ch 8). The couple's love continues to grow and mature. For a good summary of this concluding chapter see Constable's notes here . One note on the "little sister" (6:8-10)... This a poetic expression of the Shulammite's older brothers protecting their sister's purity in her earlier years. The Bible teaches the primacy of the family in guarding the purity and sexuality of the children. It is not the place of the schools or government or media to override parents in their role of teaching children about God's design for human sexuality. Our culture is seriously perverted in this regard.   THE POWER OF LOVE. Wh...

Bible reading for weekend April 30 -- May 2 If you are receiving these posts by email through Feedburner -- the Google app on this website, soon to be deactivated -- this will be your last emailed post. If you wish to continue receiving these posts by email you will need to subscribe to my Buttondown newsletter listed here .   Apr 30 -- Song of Solomon 5 and Hebrews 5 May 1 -- Song of Solomon 6 and Hebrews 6 May 2 -- Song of Solomon 7 and Hebrews 7 ================    "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me." (Song of Solomon 7:10)  DIFFICULTIES (ch 5). The couple has moved from courtship (1:2-3:5) to the wedding night (3:6-5:1) and on to maturity (5:2-8:14). There's a time in every marriage when one or the other partner lacks energy or passion to overcome the obstacles to continued love. Marriage partners must rise above their selfishness to keep pursuing their beloved. The Shulammite finally rouses herself to pursue her lover. She searches and is beaten ...

Bible reading for April 28 -- 29 NOTE: the FeedBurner app sending emails from this site will be deactivated at the end of this week. To continue receiving these posts by email you must subscribe via Buttondown .  Apr 28 -- Song of Solomon 3 and Hebrews 3 Apr 29 -- Song of Solomon 4 and Hebrews 4 ================    "You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you." (Song of Solomon 4:7)  THE BEAUTIFUL BRIDE. You may have noticed, there is a wedding theme running throughout Scripture. It begins with Adam's words, "...this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh..." (Gen 2:23) and culminates in the wedding feast when "...the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready..." (Rev 19:7)(see also Psalm 45; John 2; Eph 5).  I've officiated quite a few weddings over the years ( 75 at last count ), and I can't remember a single ceremony where the bride wasn't beautiful! A lot of time, effort, and exp...

Bible reading for April 26 -- 27 Apr 26 -- Song of Solomon 1 and Hebrews 1 Apr 27 -- Song of Solomon 2 and Hebrews 2 ================    "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." (Song of Solomon 2:4)  THE GREAT ROMANCE. Biblical wisdom contemplates the great mysteries of life. Job dealt with pain, and now Solomon deals with pleasure. Proverbs warns against sexual sin, and Ecclesiastes tells us to enjoy our family life, and here is a book dedicated to extolling the beauty of courtship, romance, marriage, and sexuality. It's a book filled with sensual (in a good sense) imagery and metaphors drawn from nature. Marriage in all of its dimensions, including sexual relations, is good. Josh McDowell used to say, "Sex is God's idea. He even created the plumbing!" The Song of Solomon (also called the Song of Songs) is about our marriages and also about our relationship with the Lord. Everything beautiful in love and marriage -- its co...