Christians—called ‘saints’ in the Bible, which is what Solomon ostensibly was—are frequently called prudes who think sex is dirty. If, instead of being falsely accused, they were judged by what they profess to believe, the conclusion would be that they find sex more delightful than dirty:
“While the king sitteth at his table,
My spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me;
He shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire
In the vineyards of En Gedi”
(Song of Songs 1.12-14.)
If Christians believe this part of the Bible, and if they exploit it for their fulfillment, it must be that they are not prudes who have sex for no other reason than to make babies:
“I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse:
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk:
Eat, O friends; drink, yea,
Drink abundantly, O beloved”
(Song of Songs 5.1.)
The couple’s enjoyment of each other here is exhaustive, at least in the casual sense of that word; it is comprehensive, significant, and intimate. Solomon and his beloved knew what it means to become one flesh bodily, emotionally, and on the intuitive level. But like what happens to so many men when temptations tumble into life, be it from position, power, or plenty, Solomon failed to control his desire. It got away from him, and he enhanced his harem until it was preposterously huge. Nevertheless, at some point in his life he was disposed by God to write this epitome of love between man and woman. One of the trickiest things for a writer to do is to write about sexual love both poetically and purely. One of the things deemed ‘too wonderful’ for Agur the son of Jakeh to come to terms with was ‘the way of a man with a maid’ (Proverbs 30.19.) King Solomon was divinely assisted to write about this, or at least the sexual aspect of it; God inclined him to do it in good taste. The result was the composition of what is now the standard text for Christian lovers to turn to, learn from, and be animated by.
