STUDY 6

Intimacy Recovered

SONG OF SONGS 6

Tenderness and devotion go through emotional cycles in relationships. Not every day is as exciting as the honeymoon. One of our God-given blessings is that we can develop stronger bonds of intimacy by overcoming occasional dry relational periods. Song of Songs shows how two lovers accomplished this.

1. Couples seeking divorce often say that their marriages are boring. Good counselors help them examine their real motives. What can we do to put fresh life and sparkle back into our relationships?

READ SONG OF SONGS 6:1-3.

2. This scene closes with the friends’ assurance that they will help the bride search for her bridegroom (verse 1). The lovers then find each other and relate the joys of intimacy recovered. What figures of speech does the bride use to describe their encounter (verse 2)? (See also 4:16.)

3. Why can she fully enjoy intimacy with her bridegroom (verse 3)?

4. Compare their relationship with the following scriptures. What does each passage say about God’s desire for marital intimacy?

Genesis 2:24

Ephesians 5:21-33

1 Corinthians 7:1-7

Mark 10:1-12

READ SONG OF SONGS 6:4-9.

5. As they recover their intimacy, the bridegroom breaks out in ecstatic song about his bride. List the things he extolled about his bride in chapters 4 and 6. What new lyrics does he add this second time? How does he emphasize both her beauty and her character?


List 1 (4:1-7)       List 2 (6:4-9)

6. Why does the bridegroom’s song bear repeating? Of what value was it to the bride to hear his song again? Of what value was it to him to sing it again?

7. What does the bridegroom say to highlight his bride’s uniqueness (verses 8-9)? Why was this necessary?

READ SONG OF SONGS 6:10-13.

8. In what way do the troubadours in our musical reinforce the bridegroom’s song and help him to rediscover intimacy (verse 10)?

9. The bridegroom responds in verses 11-12. What poetic images does he use to picture their reunion?

10. We hear the queen identified by her hometown in verse 13. To what do the singers call the queen? Why?

Reflections

11. What did you find especially moving about this scene? Why?

12. In the flush of romantic love, we often make great promises to each other: “There is no one like you.” “I will love you forever!” What spiritual resources can we draw upon to keep our vows, our promises, and our single-minded dedication? In what ways does our culture militate against keeping marital vows?