Skip to main content

TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE

Jesus taught that all scripture testifies about him so that in him we might have life (John 5v39-40). King David taught that it is only by living according to God's word that we're kept on the right path (Psalm 119v9). What then could be better than reading the entire Bible? Click the menu to read about the program, choose a month or Bible book - or just work through the blog posts day by day.

(220) 8 August : Proverbs 15v27 / Songs 6-8 / Psalm 51v18-19

BEGIN WITH PRAYER
"Lord open my eyes and my heart."

Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world.

Wisdom to chew on

Understanding to grow in
There is a reason so many songs are about love, and why love get's so many into trouble. Because it reflects the delight God has in us and we are to have in him, it is supremely powerful and pleasurable. And it needs to be, to unite husband and wife for life. Yet because of that it needs caution. The refrain throughout the book is "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" (7v4). We must guard our children so that their hearts are not unleashed to love until at a time of life in which that can find full expression in marriage, and with someone who is an appropriate spouse. And we must gaurd ourselves too, that if married, we do not allow our hearts to be drawn out to any but our wife, and if single, that we do not let our hearts draw us to someone who is not a committed Christian who shares the Bible's conviction about the right boundaries of love. Yet there is another lesson in this final section too, that challenges any cold attitude to ideas of romance Christians may have: Where such love is fitting, it can be dived into and enjoyed within marriage. And just as it is right to make time to enjoy our relationship with God, so it is right to make time to enjoy our spouse (7v11-13). As you read note why we should be cautious of love.
Song of Solomon 6-8

Finish this reading by pausing to ask yourself:
1) What’s the main thing it teaches me about God or his purposes in Christ? Then praise him for this.
2) What’s the main thing it teaches me about his will for me or the world? Then pray that home.

Devotion to offer up
You could read this aloud and perhaps as a springboard to further prayer.