Summary

In the previous verse (Song of Solomon 6:12) we read that the husband gets ready to return home, back to his wife for whom he longs so much.

However, it is clear that it is not the husband or the wife who is speaking here. It concerns a group of people. The second part of Song of Solomon 7:1 is also part of this. We have to imagine that a group of people come to the woman with the following appeal: Turn around, girl from Shulam, turn around, turn around for we want to look at you. Do you see it, girls from Shulam, how she is dancing between two chains of dancers?

Here we are dealing with a typical worldly question. It is a question that we are very familiar with in our day; one that is often almost forced upon us. There are all kinds of programs on television and other media aimed at entertaining us with beautiful bodies. The purpose is to evoke sexual desires. Young people, especially women, are to appear on some kind of meat market to be approved, to entertain others. In advertisements, beautiful and provocative bodies should attract our attention. In films and music videos you also see this very clearly. Such scenes are necessary to keep sales and ratings high. Let us be honest that as Christians we are not immune to these things. Do we turn off the TV when we see these kinds of programs on the screen?

What we see happening here is what the apostle John wrote regarding the world in his first letter: For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:16–17).

The world’s demand is what we also hear here in the Song of Solomon. It is important to continually examine our hearts on this point. What do you look at in magazines, on television, on the Internet? Do we buy magazines that defiantly depict women with few or no clothes? Do we watch programs that are all about people entertaining us as much as possible, arousing desires in us with their beautiful bodies? Do we watch with pleasure when women who are created in God’s image are actually viewed as animals?

It is important that we examine ourselves in terms of how we think and speak about men and women. Do we only look at someone’s outward appearance? Do we tell our friends things like: that is a hot babe. I would like to spend an evening with her. Look at that one over there! She is nothing. Just look at how ugly she is! How do we look at the other person? It is important that we learn to look at the other person in such a way that we look at the whole person and not just their appearance. Then we look for someone with whom we can live together in love for Christ—someone who regards living with Christ and his church as the most important thing in life. Then we look at the purpose with which God created man and woman: to live for his glory.

Life is not about women entertaining others with their bodies. Man and wife can and may admire each other in marriage, also physically. We see this when the husband averts the longing glances of others by physically praising his wife with admiration. In this way he shows that she alone is his love.