I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.” I have taken off my robe, must I put it on again? I have washed my feet, must I soil them again? My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him. I arose to open for my lover, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock. I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer. Song of Solomon 5:2-6 (NIV)
The Song of Solomon is the love story of King Solomon and a young woman called the Shulamite woman. While it is often taught as an allegory about Christ’s love for his bride, the Church, it is also a guidebook for physical intimacy between a husband and wife. It tells of the young couple’s courtship, decision to remain abstinent despite increasing longing for each other and finally, it tells of their wedding night. It also tells of their relationship after the wedding and how they keep the passion alive. The verses quoted here are a contrast to the delight and desire of the rest of the book. In this passage, time has passed since their wedding and the Shulamite woman has become complacent about her relationship with her husband. She chooses to put her own needs first. After all, she has already washed her feet and will get them dirty if she gets out of bed to open the door. She won’t let her husband into her bedroom and keeps her door locked. Even though he knocks repeatedly on her door, she refuses to let him inside. Here is a modern translation:
Wife (getting into bed): “I am so tired. I had a really rough day. All I want to do is go to sleep”.
Her husband puts his arms around her and whispers in her ear.
Wife: “TONIGHT?! Didn’t you hear me say how tired I was? I am exhausted. Oh, all right. But, get up and lock the bedroom door so the kids can’t come in”.
Husband gets up out of bed and locks the bedroom door. He almost gets back to the bed.
Wife: “You forgot to close the bathroom door. You know how I hate that sound of the dripping faucet. When are you ever going to fix that? It is so annoying and what a waste or water”.
Husband closes the bathroom door. Once again, he almost gets back to bed.
Wife: “It is so hot in here. Will you turn on the ceiling fan?”
Husband finally gets back into bed and snuggles up close to his wife.
Wife: “What was that? I think someone is out there. One of the kids must be up”.
She jumps up and opens the bedroom door.
Wife: “Oh, it is just the dog. Wait a minute. The washing machine has stopped. I need to go and move that laundry into the dryer or the kids won’t have any socks to wear to school in the morning. I will be right back”
She leaves the room. Upon her return, she looks at her husband who by now is sound asleep.
Wife: “Well, I guess he really wasn’t in the mood!”
There are many ways to lock the door and shut our spouses out of our lives, not just in our physical relationships, but also in our emotions and feelings. Is your bedroom door locked tonight? If so, unlock it. You will be glad you did.
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