Today you should read: Song of Solomon 3
Today we are going to be focusing on verses 1-5 of chapter 3. Chapter 3 opens with what many scholars say is a dream. It is a dream that reveals the woman’s strong desire for her future husband.
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not.
I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but found him not. (v. 1-2, ESV)
In her dream she goes on to find him and takes him to an intimate location. And then verse 5 seems to be an aside to the women she is talking with that serves as a warning:
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases. (ESV)
This verse, perhaps spoken from experience or simply from wise people around her, is advocating for the purity of heart and mind that should be pursued in a dating relationship. This verse has implications for all people however, because everyone is accountable to be submissive to God’s design for sexuality, whether you are married or not.
- To singles, are you treating relationships with an appropriate amount of caution? Are you planning even now about how you will keep yourself pure if/when God brings someone you are pursuing a dating/future marriage relationship with into your life?
- To those dating, what are you doing to guard yourself from sexual temptation in your relationship? Do you have purity guidelines that you and your partner have set, and do you have an older, more mature couple to keep you accountable to it?
- To those who are married, are you seeking sexual fulfillment through your spouse and your spouse alone? Who do you have to keep you accountable so that you do not allow something like an affair or secret sexual sin to lead you astray from God’s design?
By: Graham Withers — Pastoral Ministry Associate
God is honored when we intentionally seek Him in prayer. As a church, we want dependent prayer to be something that marks us. Use the comment section to post prayer requests and experiences of how God has answered prayer and/or changed you through prayer! If you would like to be enrolled to get weekly prayer reminders, text @cpclex to 81010.
JumpstartCPC.com 
Good word today Graham! We live in such a highly sexualized culture in America that we can easily become desensitized to the dangers. (just look at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show). The standard God requires is radically different than our culture in 2020. People may laugh and call us “old fashioned” for keeping God’s standard but I’d rather please God that gain the acceptance of a lost & dying world.