The Bathwater

***This post is a continuation of the posting Uncomfortable. I do not think it is suitable for young unmarried persons***


After taking some more time to mull over Ann's last chapter -mull has two meanings: to ponder, or to make a mess of- I think I know the bathwater. There is a big baby in that book, but I -hopefully humbly- submit that here is the bathwater:

There are two ways to interpret the Song of Solomon. I don't know if one is exclusively correct, but I don't think either supports Ann's analogy in the last chapter. SOS is either a practical handbook on sex - a gift from God- in the context of marriage, or it is a picture of God and his love for Israel and by extension Christ and his Bride, the church.

As far as my memory serves, I do not see that God ever uses, in His Word, the analogy of marriage or the marriage bed to describe the unity of God with an individual believer. The picture of the husband and wife, Bridegroom and Bride, is always reserved for God and the CHURCH. I think Ann erred in applying the analogy to God and the individual believer.

Not that there is not intimacy with God for the individual believer. Taking the cues from Scripture, though, and I find that the description of intimacy between the Trinity and an individual is that of platonic or non-sexual relationships: Father to Son, Brother to brother, adopted heirs, children, family. In the parable of the bridegroom we are likened -as individuals- to bridemaids, not the bride. There is an extreme connotation of closeness in these relationships. I think, based on David and Jonathan, that some brothers or close friends are considered closer in some respects than spouses.

So, YES, we can, as individuals, enter into close fellowship and communion and union, and co-habitation with God. We are called to abide. We are ingrafted into the vine as branches.

And, NO, we, as individuals, should not imagine ourselves as an individual bride to The Bridegroom.

The Baby: a call for me as an individual to dwell in gratitude with God. An inspiring personal challenge to go deeper in fellowship with God through thanksgiving.

The Bathwater: using an analogy of sexual love and marriage to convey the above-mentioned ideas.

This is my currently held position. I desire discussion. If you see a different perspective that is defensible from Scripture, I invite it. Please join me in processing these thoughts.