“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.” Song of Solomon 2:7
“I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stip up nor awaken love until it pleases.” Song of Solomon 8:4
I believe that we are living in a day and age where more and more people are sexually frustrated. Why? Because they woke up (stirred up) something they shouldn’t have, and did so before it’s time.
We live in a society where sex is all around you. It’s in commercials, television shows, movies, books you read, on clothing, in music, in the news, in school, at work and at church. Sex is everywhere. With such a bombardment of sexual thoughts, inuendos, portrayals and debates, how does one NOT think about it? And, if you’re a virgin and trying to retain your sexual purity, how does all of this not turn into the biggest spoon ever to enter your pot?
“Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the swift gazelles and the deer of the wild, not to awaken love until the time is right.” Song of Solomon 3:5
So, when is the right time? Your wedding day. No, this is not written for those of you who have no concept of the covenant of marriage or for those who don’t see the fault in premarital sex. It is written for those who want to walk in integrity, not only in their conversation, but their lifestyle.
“‘When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,’ says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 16:8
When you get married, traditionally the father walks the bride down the aisle to her new husband. I want you to picture with me something that I saw when I read this scripture. When we are at the right age, the time of love, God Himself comes down and covers us. He does this with the protection of our parents, our pastors and His Word. He makes a covenant with us to cover us until the day He gives us to another.
Now, visualize the wedding ceremony of your dreams. The seating is decorated with flowers and bows, the altar is surrounded by those closest to you and the love of your life, the music plays gently and the back doors open to reveal a young bride with her father. They walk between all of those congregated to witness the blissful day of the joining together of their friend, sister, brother, son or daughter with the one they love. As they take each step you notice, there with father and daughter, God Himself walks on her other side. He, too, has a part to play in this service.
He has held this young women in the palm of His hand, covering her for years. His protection has shielded her from those that prowl for an immoral peek of such beauty. He has shaped her thoughts and with her submission to His guidelines kept her from wandering down paths of perversion and insecurity. He has preserved her tenderness and purity for the day she would give such a treasure to the one God fashioned for her.
Now, the covenant of marriage is entered by each with a simple “I do”, a signature and rings. God lifts the veil now for her new husband to see the beauty He has been conserving.
“Forty years ago, 29 percent engaged in sex before age 18, compared to 63 percent recently.” Sex, Love, and Health in America: Private Choices and Public Policies~ Edward O. Laumann and Robert T. Michael
Too often, young ladies don’t wait to awaken their love. They may or may not know how God feels about sex before marriage, but more often than not they remove God’s hand to reveal themselves before time. This not only leaves them prey to the devices of the world, it sets them up for heartache and disappointment when their prince is not the Prince of their dreams.
“Child/adult sexual experiences: Roughly one in eight women and one in 16 men have had sexual experiences as children with an adult. People who have had such experiences tend to exhibit much higher levels of erotic behavior during adulthood. Women who have had that experience are more than three times as likely to have had more than 10 sex partners in their lifetime, twice as likely to have had a sexually transmitted disease, nearly three times as likely to report high sexual dysfunction during adulthood, and nearly four times as likely to be forced sexually as an adult.” Sex, Love, and Health in America: Private Choices and Public Policies~ Edward O. Laumann and Robert T. Michael
I could write about this all day and include countless facts and quotes about such a topic, but I want to end with this. If you waken love before its time, you’ll never know why it was worth the wait…
Reflections of His Image 