{"id":31660,"date":"2024-06-26T22:00:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T05:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-21_15-25-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-06-18T13:56:33","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T20:56:33","slug":"song_of_songs-1_1-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/song_of_songs-1_1-17\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Reasons We Can Feel Insecure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Song of Songs 1:1-17 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today we begin the book called\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs.\u00a0 Here is some background info that you may find helpful:<\/p>\n

– This book was most likely written by King Solomon or a musician in Solomon’s court in approximately 970 B.C.<\/p>\n

– According to\u00a01\u00a0Kings 4:32, Solomon wrote over 3,000 proverbs and\u00a01,005\u00a0songs.\u00a0 However, this is the only\u00a0song\u00a0of\u00a0Solomon’s that made it into the Bible.<\/p>\n

– Over the centuries,\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a0has been known as one\u00a0of\u00a0the most difficult books in the Bible to interpret.\u00a0 For this reason it is no surprise that this book has been interpreted to mean so many different things: an allegory\u00a0of\u00a0God’s love for Israel, a picture\u00a0of\u00a0Christ’s love for the church, a script for a Jewish stage production, and a historical account\u00a0of\u00a0a real life romance in Solomon’s life, among other theories.\u00a0 However, it may be best to treat this book mainly as an intimate love\u00a0song\u00a0between two lovers that celebrates (and also teaches some important lessons about) romantic love and marriage.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Song of Songs 1:1-17.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a01:1-4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n1<\/sup>\u00a0Solomon’s\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Let him kiss me with the kisses\u00a0of\u00a0his mouth–\u00a0for your love is more delightful than wine.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Pleasing is the fragrance\u00a0of\u00a0your perfumes;\u00a0your name is like perfume poured out.\u00a0No wonder the maidens love you!
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Take me away with you–let us hurry!\u00a0Let the king bring me into his chambers\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-4a:\u00a0 There are two main characters in this\u00a0song: a girl and a guy who are very much in love with one another.\u00a0 Clearly the girl feels a strong sexual attraction to the guy, and as we will see in later verses, the guy feels the same way about the girl.\u00a0 The fact that not just these verses but the entire\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a0is so explicit in talking about sexual desire suggests that\u00a0physical attraction and sexual desire are important, healthy parts\u00a0of\u00a0a romantic courtship and marriage<\/strong>.\u00a0 Christians, be careful not to overspiritualize romance or to underestimate the importance that physical attraction and sexual desire play, both in a courtship as well as in a marriage.\u00a0\u00a0Of\u00a0course, physical attraction and sexual desire are not the only components\u00a0of\u00a0a healthy courtship or marriage, but they are still a component and like other aspects of a relationship, need to be kept within healthy, God-honouring boundaries.<\/p>\n

Song of Songs 1:4 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u2026We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine.
\nHow right they are to adore you!<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 4b:\u00a0 In addition to the guy and the girl (or as some translations call it the “lover” and the “beloved”), there is a third character who appears in\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs: it’s a chorus\u00a0of\u00a0the girl’s female peers.\u00a0 Some translations call them the girl’s “friends”.\u00a0 Yet when you read what these “friends” say, sometimes they seem more like the girl’s critics or the girl’s competition.\u00a0 For example, here in verse 4, notice that these other girls are enamored with the same guy that the girl is interested in.\u00a0 This may have caused the girl to feel a bit insecure, as we will see in verse 5.\u00a0 When she says, “How right they are to adore you”, she may be wondering: “How will this guy notice me when there are so many other girls who are interested in him?”<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 In this chapter we will learn 3 reasons why a woman can sometimes feel insecure.\u00a0 These 3 reasons are not limited to women; men can feel insecure in these same ways as well.\u00a0 But given the context\u00a0of\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs, we’ll talk about it here mainly in terms\u00a0of\u00a0a woman’s insecurities.\u00a0 Here in verse 4b we learn the first reason:\u00a0\u00a0a woman or man can be made to feel insecure because\u00a0of\u00a0comparisons to others.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you are someone who plays the comparison game a lot, often comparing yourself to others and feeling insecure as a result, know that your worth is not dependent on how you compare to others.\u00a0 Your worth was decided at the cross where Jesus died for you.\u00a0 If Jesus was willing to sacrifice His own life for you, what does that say about your worth?\u00a0 In God’s eyes, you’re priceless, and He’d rather die than be without you.<\/p>\n

Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a01:5-6 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Dark am I, yet lovely,\u00a0O daughters\u00a0of\u00a0Jerusalem,\u00a0dark like the tents\u00a0of\u00a0Kedar,\u00a0like the tent curtains\u00a0of\u00a0Solomon.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not stare at me because I am dark,\u00a0because I am darkened by the sun.\u00a0My mother’s sons were angry with me\u00a0and made me take care\u00a0of\u00a0the vineyards;\u00a0my own vineyard I have neglected.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-6:\u00a0 Here in verses 5-6 we learn another layer to the girl’s insecurity: her physical appearance.\u00a0 Having a dark complexion from working in the fields, this girl felt self-conscious because her darker skin meant she did not conform to the perception prevalent in Solomon’s time that a fair complexion was more attractive.\u00a0 Thus she says, “Do not stare at me because I am dark” (v6).\u00a0 When she says, “my own vineyard I have neglected”, it’s as if she is apologizing for the way she looks.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Here we learn a second reason a woman or a man can feel insecure:\u00a0\u00a0because\u00a0of\u00a0her or his physical appearance<\/strong>,\u00a0especially when feeling like her or his physical appearance does not measure up to society’s definition\u00a0of\u00a0what is beautiful.\u00a0 If you have insecurity in this area, know what the Bible says about you: you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).\u00a0 You are made in the image\u00a0of\u00a0God (Genesis\u00a01:27).\u00a0 You are God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).<\/p>\n

Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a01:7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock\u00a0and where you rest your sheep at midday.\u00a0Why should I be like a veiled woman\u00a0beside the flocks\u00a0of\u00a0your friends?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 7:\u00a0 Here the girl is trying to look for the guy but does not know how to get to him (v7).\u00a0 When she says, “Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks\u00a0of\u00a0your friends?” (v7) this could be her way\u00a0of\u00a0saying, “There are lots\u00a0of\u00a0other guys out there, but if I settle for any\u00a0of\u00a0them instead\u00a0of\u00a0you, I would be like a veiled woman in mourning.”<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Don’t settle for less than the best when it comes to the person you court or marry.\u00a0 Know the kind\u00a0of\u00a0guy or girl you are looking for.\u00a0 That\u2019s because if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anyone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>After a couple failed relationships, I received some great advice from a number\u00a0of\u00a0mentors in my life.\u00a0 They said, “write down a list\u00a0of\u00a0the qualities you want to see in your future life partner.\u00a0 That list will help you to separate the wheat from the chaff and help you think objectively when your feelings might otherwise cloud your judgment.”\u00a0 It was one\u00a0of\u00a0the best pieces\u00a0of\u00a0relationship advice I ever received.\u00a0 Following this advice ultimately, by God\u2019s grace, led me to my wife, the best partner I could ask for.<\/p>\n

Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a01:8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n8\u00a0 \u00a0<\/sup>If you do not know, most beautiful\u00a0of\u00a0women,\u00a0follow the tracks\u00a0of\u00a0the sheep\u00a0and graze your young goats\u00a0by the tents\u00a0of\u00a0the shepherds.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 8:\u00a0 Some translations attribute this verse to the guy, but it is more appropriate to attribute verse 8 to the chorus\u00a0of\u00a0other girls that were talking earlier.\u00a0 If they are sincere in their praise of her as the \u201cmost beautiful of women\u201d, then this verse may be taken as them advising her to go where the shepherds are, since that\u2019s where she\u2019ll likely find the one she loves.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, some scholars interpret verse 8 as a form of sarcasm, in which case the chorus of girls are sarcastically calling her \u201cmost beautiful of women\u201d and telling her to go find someone else.\u00a0 If that is the case, then here we see\u00a0a third source\u00a0of\u00a0insecurity for a woman (or a man): the put downs and discouraging comments\u00a0of\u00a0other people.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0If you struggle with insecurity because\u00a0of\u00a0unkind, insensitive or hurtful words that others have spoken over you, know that God does not want you to live in bondage to that hurt.\u00a0 In Jesus there is healing for such hurts.\u00a0 Instead\u00a0of\u00a0focusing on those hurtful words, focus on what God’s Word says about you.\u00a0 The more you get to know the God\u00a0of\u00a0the Bible and what He says about you, the more you let His affirming, encouraging, truth-filled words define you instead\u00a0of\u00a0the hurtful words that others may have spoken over you.<\/p>\n

Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a01:9-10 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I liken you, my darling, to a mare\u00a0harnessed to one\u00a0of\u00a0the chariots\u00a0of\u00a0Pharaoh.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,\u00a0your neck with strings\u00a0of\u00a0jewels.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-10:\u00a0 In response to the girl’s insecurities noted above, the guy arrives and speaks affirming words to her that show his interest in her.\u00a0 When he calls her “a mare harnessed to one\u00a0of\u00a0the chariots\u00a0of\u00a0Pharaoh”, it’s the picture\u00a0of\u00a0a beautiful female horse who is among many male stallions and how all\u00a0of\u00a0them desire to be with her.\u00a0 Whereas the girl did not know how she would stick out to the guy because\u00a0of\u00a0her “competition”, the guy was actually fixated on her and was actually more concerned about other guys sweeping her up.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Husbands and men courting women, know that your words play such an important role in helping your partner with any insecurities.<\/strong>\u00a0 You letting her know that you desire her and find her attractive is so important.<\/p>\n

2. This reminds me\u00a0of\u00a0how\u00a0Jesus speaks affirming words to us His church<\/strong>, words that quell our insecurities and drive out our fears.<\/p>\n

Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a01:11 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We will make you earrings\u00a0of\u00a0gold,\u00a0studded with silver.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 11:\u00a0 This verse is more appropriately attributed to the chorus\u00a0of\u00a0other girls, who, in response to the guy’s words in verses 9-10, begin serving and honouring her.<\/p>\n

Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a01:12-17 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n12<\/sup>\u00a0While the king was at his table,\u00a0my perfume spread its fragrance.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0My lover is to me a sachet\u00a0of\u00a0myrrh\u00a0resting between my breasts.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0My lover is to me a cluster\u00a0of\u00a0henna blossoms\u00a0from the vineyards\u00a0of\u00a0En Gedi.
\n15\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>How beautiful you are, my darling!\u00a0Oh, how beautiful!\u00a0Your eyes are doves.
\n16\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>How handsome you are, my lover!\u00a0Oh, how charming!\u00a0And our bed is verdant.
\n17\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>The beams\u00a0of\u00a0our house are cedars;\u00a0our rafters are firs.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-17:\u00a0 See my comments on verses 2-4a about physical attraction and sexual desire in a healthy courtship or marriage.<\/p>\n

Father, thank You for all the lessons we can learn about romantic love through this book.\u00a0 I pray for every person reading this today.\u00a0 May they know in their heart that they are beautifully made in Your image, precious in Your sight, hand-picked, chosen and unconditionally loved by You.\u00a0 \u00a0In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today we begin the book called\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs.\u00a0 Here is some background info that you may find helpful:<\/p>\n

– This book was most likely written by King Solomon or a musician in Solomon’s court in approximately 970 B.C.<\/p>\n

– According to\u00a01\u00a0Kings 4:32, Solomon wrote over 3,000 proverbs and\u00a01,005\u00a0songs.\u00a0 However, this is the only\u00a0song\u00a0of\u00a0Solomon’s that made it into the Bible.<\/p>\n

– Over the centuries,\u00a0Song\u00a0of\u00a0Songs\u00a0has been known as one\u00a0of\u00a0the most difficult books in the Bible to interpret.\u00a0 For this reason it is no surprise that this book has been interpreted to mean so many different things: an allegory\u00a0of\u00a0God’s love for Israel, a picture\u00a0of\u00a0Christ’s love for the church, a script for a Jewish stage production, and a historical account\u00a0of\u00a0a real life romance in Solomon’s life, among other theories.\u00a0 However, it may be best to treat this book mainly as an intimate love\u00a0song\u00a0between two lovers that celebrates (and also teaches some important lessons about) romantic love and marriage.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Song of Songs 1:1-17.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31660"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31663,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31660\/revisions\/31663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}