What the ring means...
I wear a ring on my finger; it shows that I am married to Christ Jesus my Lord. Everyone who becomes a Christian comes into marriage with Christ; we are all His bride. Our love and purity belong to Him. Only He can give us away. The Song of Solomon, also known as the Song of Songs is a love song in the greatest proportions. But inside of that love song, is a plea that has increasingly been placed on my lips in prayer, and into my heart. Song of Solomon 3:5 reads;
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases. (NASB)
This is something of such importance I think it needs to be read again;
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. (NIV)
What does it mean to “adjure” someone? Webster’s Dictionary says that it is “1. To command or enjoin solemnly, as under oath. 2. To appeal to earnestly: ENTREAT.” In other words, it is a command to someone. But it is much more than just that. It is also a plea, in this case it is a plea not to stir up feelings for someone until it is time.
“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,”
“I command you, I beg you, women of the world,” this is no simple request, the NIV reads this way;
“Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you”
No, this is no request in any way. This is a challenge. The woman’s dignity, her purity rests on this charge. But what is it that they are being charged to do? How can this verse pertain to purity?
This verse like this book is all about love. Love is the most dangerously beautiful gift God has ever given us outside of salvation. Love acted upon correctly will bring glory to God, but incorrectly, will only bring shame to the one acting upon it. Before we go much deeper into this verse, let us first go into what “love” is.
I have found no better verse to describe love in the bible than 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
O how I wish I could say that of myself.
The most important aspect of 1 Cor 13:4 is that “Love is patient,” it is not in a hurry, it is not something you grow into, like the growth of a tree. It takes time; it takes getting to know each other in diverse situations, seeing them with their other friends, and them seeing you with yours. Love takes time, but it does come, and when we obey God’s will with it, it is truly something that blesses our lives.
There is some debate over who is speaking in Song of Solomon 3:5, it is either Solomon, or his beloved, but no matter who it is, they recognized that love for another must come in God’s time. “Do not arouse or awaken my love until she so desires.” That is what the women of the world are being charged to. There is a fine line sometimes between friendship and love; Solomon is charging the women of the world not to allow the men of the world to cross that line, not to help them along the way.
Most of the Christians I know view flirting as a harmless thing. I am increasingly beginning to disagree. Flirting does just what Solomon above charged us not to do. It arouses or awakens feelings of love that may not be time to have awakened. If we go on in our lives, dating this person then that, falling in love with this person, then that, then when we finally come across the one for us, we have all this emotional baggage that we carry with us. Our love is not just theirs but it is shared with all the other people we ever fell in love with before them.
I am not saying that we cannot find the one meant for us this way, I am only suggesting that maybe this way is not the best. Some people would argue, “Well how do you know what you’re missing if you do not experience other women/men?” I would respond, “Why would I want anything other than what God says is the best for me?”
I “fell” into love once, I did not allow it to grow, I did not nurture it and give it time to mature. I fell in love with a woman, who I ultimately had sex with, there were no real bonds, just our mutual lust, but we called it love. My story is a story I have heard way too often. That is one of the dangers of rushing into love, to put it one way, if you skip waiting for Gods time to love some one, why wait for His time to have sex with them?
I realize that the desires, and the want for sex will still be there in a Godly relationship, but that is why it is so important to keep the relationship FROM THE START rooted in God. The desire to lay with a member of the opposite sex is a God given desire, and when it is with your spouse, it is a beautiful thing in God’s eyes, it is one of His gifts opened to us. But when it is with some one we “Love” outside of the bounds God set for us, then it becomes a deplorable act in Gods eyes, one that breaks His heart.
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. (NIV)
There is a woman in my life that I am starting to care for very deeply. But I have not known her nearly enough to warrant telling her. “Falling” in love is something that has caused me too much grief in my life. Instead, I think I will try to grow in love this time. I am not saying that this is easy, some days I just burn to tell her my feelings. But I know that if she is the one meant for me, my telling her now would be opening a gift before God’s time. I have gotten into the habit of praying everyday Song of Solomon 3:5. It would be one of the greatest blessings in my life if this person is the one, but I will only find out if I wait on Gods time.
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. (NIV)
I wear a ring on my finger, it says “True love waits” that is just what I plan to do.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases. (NASB)
I wear a ring on my finger, I am married to Christ Jesus our Lord.
True love waits.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases. (NASB)
This is something of such importance I think it needs to be read again;
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. (NIV)
What does it mean to “adjure” someone? Webster’s Dictionary says that it is “1. To command or enjoin solemnly, as under oath. 2. To appeal to earnestly: ENTREAT.” In other words, it is a command to someone. But it is much more than just that. It is also a plea, in this case it is a plea not to stir up feelings for someone until it is time.
“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,”
“I command you, I beg you, women of the world,” this is no simple request, the NIV reads this way;
“Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you”
No, this is no request in any way. This is a challenge. The woman’s dignity, her purity rests on this charge. But what is it that they are being charged to do? How can this verse pertain to purity?
This verse like this book is all about love. Love is the most dangerously beautiful gift God has ever given us outside of salvation. Love acted upon correctly will bring glory to God, but incorrectly, will only bring shame to the one acting upon it. Before we go much deeper into this verse, let us first go into what “love” is.
I have found no better verse to describe love in the bible than 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
O how I wish I could say that of myself.
The most important aspect of 1 Cor 13:4 is that “Love is patient,” it is not in a hurry, it is not something you grow into, like the growth of a tree. It takes time; it takes getting to know each other in diverse situations, seeing them with their other friends, and them seeing you with yours. Love takes time, but it does come, and when we obey God’s will with it, it is truly something that blesses our lives.
There is some debate over who is speaking in Song of Solomon 3:5, it is either Solomon, or his beloved, but no matter who it is, they recognized that love for another must come in God’s time. “Do not arouse or awaken my love until she so desires.” That is what the women of the world are being charged to. There is a fine line sometimes between friendship and love; Solomon is charging the women of the world not to allow the men of the world to cross that line, not to help them along the way.
Most of the Christians I know view flirting as a harmless thing. I am increasingly beginning to disagree. Flirting does just what Solomon above charged us not to do. It arouses or awakens feelings of love that may not be time to have awakened. If we go on in our lives, dating this person then that, falling in love with this person, then that, then when we finally come across the one for us, we have all this emotional baggage that we carry with us. Our love is not just theirs but it is shared with all the other people we ever fell in love with before them.
I am not saying that we cannot find the one meant for us this way, I am only suggesting that maybe this way is not the best. Some people would argue, “Well how do you know what you’re missing if you do not experience other women/men?” I would respond, “Why would I want anything other than what God says is the best for me?”
I “fell” into love once, I did not allow it to grow, I did not nurture it and give it time to mature. I fell in love with a woman, who I ultimately had sex with, there were no real bonds, just our mutual lust, but we called it love. My story is a story I have heard way too often. That is one of the dangers of rushing into love, to put it one way, if you skip waiting for Gods time to love some one, why wait for His time to have sex with them?
I realize that the desires, and the want for sex will still be there in a Godly relationship, but that is why it is so important to keep the relationship FROM THE START rooted in God. The desire to lay with a member of the opposite sex is a God given desire, and when it is with your spouse, it is a beautiful thing in God’s eyes, it is one of His gifts opened to us. But when it is with some one we “Love” outside of the bounds God set for us, then it becomes a deplorable act in Gods eyes, one that breaks His heart.
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. (NIV)
There is a woman in my life that I am starting to care for very deeply. But I have not known her nearly enough to warrant telling her. “Falling” in love is something that has caused me too much grief in my life. Instead, I think I will try to grow in love this time. I am not saying that this is easy, some days I just burn to tell her my feelings. But I know that if she is the one meant for me, my telling her now would be opening a gift before God’s time. I have gotten into the habit of praying everyday Song of Solomon 3:5. It would be one of the greatest blessings in my life if this person is the one, but I will only find out if I wait on Gods time.
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. (NIV)
I wear a ring on my finger, it says “True love waits” that is just what I plan to do.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases. (NASB)
I wear a ring on my finger, I am married to Christ Jesus our Lord.
True love waits.