365 Reflections

Having talked about how important sex is for a man in the last post you may think the Bible is misogynistic. This is the accusation of many. It is not true. Of course, there were many misogynistic men in the Bible, but the moral truth of the Bible clearly elevates the status and value of women to equal regard with men.  In Song of Solomon 6, Solomon describes the importance of sex for a man and how his wife's giving this to him opens her up to passion as well. But now in chapter 7, he shows us the great gift a man can give his wife in exchange.  What is that gift? Compliments.  But what does he compliment? Song of Solomon 7:1 (ESV) How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O noble daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand. He starts with her feet! The ugliest part of a person is typically found here. But to the husband of this love story, they were beautiful. He works his way up to the legs. And then things get spicy.  Song of Solomon 7:2...

Song of Solomon 2:7 (ESV) I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. This passage in Song chapter 2 is a very important warning for young women. The writer (who in this case is the voice of Solomon's love interest) is warning young girls to keep themselves away from premature sexual expression until the right person arrives.  But the eternal question is this: How do we know the right person? The previous and following verses paint a picture for us.  In the first verse of this chapter, the woman calls herself this: Song of Solomon 2:1 (ESV) I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. But in the next verse, her lover, the king elevates her status: Song of Solomon 2:2 (ESV) As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women. Brambles are thorns. While she saw herself as singular among others, he sees her as far better than all others. He esteems her worth more than she does ...

2 Samuel 13:1–2 (ESV) Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her. 2 And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. Notice the language of idolatry. Nothing is wrong with beautiful women but Amnon is both tormented and heartsick that he cannot have his beautiful sister. Idolatry is evident when our desires affect our emotions and well-being. That's because idolatry turns something good into something ultimate. It becomes the only thing we can think about. We see that Amnon's desires affected him enough to be noticeable to others.  2 Samuel 13:3-4 (ESV) But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amn...

We come to the fateful episode of David's life. His tryst with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. 2 Samuel 11:1 (ESV) In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. The first thing we see David doing wrong is not going out to fight when he should have. He is king. This is what they do. The reason spring is mentioned is because of the dry ground it affords military marches and conquests. On top of this, we must remember that David's chief gift is military strategy. This is God-given gift. He wasn't called to sit on it and relax. I find that the less I give myself to what I know God has called me to do, the more time I have to ponder the enemies alternatives and be tempted by fleshly indulgences. Why does David stay home? I believe it has to do with this enemy - the Ammonites. Remember the last chapter when David...

Ruth 3:6–9 (ESV) So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” Ruth is making a bold move here in relation to Boaz. She is literally asking him to marry her. It will be the decisive move of her life and change the trajectory of her entire being.  But it is a bit removed from what she was advised to do. Naomi had told her to do everything up to that moment where Ruth asks for Boaz to spread his garment corner ("wings") over her. In Naomi's original advice, this is how she left it: Ruth 3:4 (ESV) But when he lies down, observe t...

Deuteronomy 22 has a lot to say about sex and death. When there was adultery in Israel, people were to die. When a woman "whored in her father's house" she was to die. When a man raped a woman, he was to die. When a man slept with a virgin to whom he was not married, his singlehood was to die - that woman became his wife for life. All in all, this is a fun bit of text! First, we learn, sex is a matter of life and death to God. In our culture, we couldn't be further away from God on this very point. Sex in the minds of many in the West is a "non-issue". Though we still take rape very seriously, sex outside of marriage is basically considered a right of passage for many young people in America. How very different than what we hear from God on these matters from the Law. Sex is serious. God says illicit sex can cost you your life and bring shame upon your whole family. The question the West is grappling with belligerently today is this: On the matter of sex...

Your body belongs to God. He made it, He formed it, He loves it, He cares for it. The Bible is clear that what we do with our bodies sexually can be either beneficial or tremendously harmful. The laws of Leviticus 20 outline this reality with a repeated word, "nakedness." Leviticus 20:17–21 (ESV) “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to make naked one’s relative; they shall bear their iniquity. 20 If ...

Leviticus 15 would cause anyone fits to see why it matters but it does in so many ways. It is about the bodily discharge of both males and females as well as sexual intercourse in relation to worship and faith. We MUST understand the original context in which these laws are handed down. We must also understand the purpose of God in using these regulations to preserve for Himself an ancient people who are still around to this day. First the strange laws: Leviticus 15:1–2 (ESV) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. Leviticus 15:10 (ESV) And whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:16 (ESV) “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until t...

It continually astounds me how often the Bible, 2000 years old now, continues to be backed up by observable science. Observable, as in we can touch and see it. Not philosophical guesstimating as to how old the Earth is. Consider the following statement from Paul to a Church filled with sexually immoral people: 1 Corinthians 6:18 (ESV) 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body . Sexual sin is different. It just is. It hurts your body. Any cursory study of the STD epidemic in the world will prove this scripture 1000% reliable. The world has no problem flaunting sexual immorality and the Church needs to have no problem talking about it plainly! Today sex sells and sells and sells. Is it any wonder why? Who does Satan hate almost as much as he hates God? You and I. What will destroy us faster than any other sin? Sexual immorality. Nevermind the diseases physically, there are co...