Let him kiss with the kisses of his mouth
For your love is better than wine. Song of Solomon 1:2 NKJV
Who says there’s no romance in the Bible? This book negates that notion. It’s a testament of the deep, abiding love and romance between a man and a woman.
Only one chapter with seventeen verses, God uses the marriage relationship between a man and a woman to show us what that relationship should be but also shows the relationship between God and His children which is another aspect of the book. The commitment theme runs throughout the book as the woman and man converse with one another and it echoes God’s commitment to His children.
Detailing a couple’s story from their first meeting to courtship and then their marriage, the book isn’t in chronological order. Instead, we read the magnificent snapshots of the man and woman’s romantic and sensual human love. Their desires are God-given, and they are committed to one another throughout the book.
Today’s verse is the maiden’s passionate desire for her beloved. To experience his love. She is strong and dynamic but doesn’t initiate the kiss but asks for him to kiss her because she recognizes he is the leader and is to be respected. His love energizes her. She adores her man.
This is what love and romance look like. Today, it’s sad to see both the man and the woman want to be the stronger of the two within a relationship and don’t seek God for their role within the relationship.
When my husband and I were about to be married, we went through marriage counseling even though we were seasoned adults. What struck my core was when my husband said to me, “Honey, I’m only middle management. I have to answer to God if I mistreat you.” Talk about a man who understands his position within marriage. Those two little sentences emphasized how we would succeed. Side-by-side with Jesus central to our marriage. My husband lifted me up when I was down and I did the same for him when necessary. We’ve practiced being one another’s strength for almost twenty years. We’ve had our bumps in the road but through it all, we both knew Jesus was the strand that kept us bound and influenced how we’d move forward.
How is Jesus central to your marriage?
This verse was the response to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who had lost not only her husband but also her only two sons. Naomi wanted her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, to stay in Moab, the country of their birth. But she, Naomi would travel to her hometown of Bethlehem. In those days a childless widow was among the lowest and most disadvantaged. They had no support you and had to live on the generosity of strangers. Thus, Naomi was desperate and had to leave but didn’t want Ruth or Orpah to come with her as they had family in Moab.
But Ruth’s dedication to remain with Naomi was the noble and loving commitment of a daughter-in-law to a mother-in-law. Something we lack today. Naomi’s life and love of God made an indelible impression on Ruth. Naomi had lost her husband, her two sons…her entire family and yet she continued to honor God. Her character was impeccable. She trusted God to take care of her.
Her story is one that is beautiful. She honored her mother-in-law and God had mercy on her and gave her another husband.