Song of Solomon 7 & 8 — Desire, Timing, Arousal, and the Wisdom of the Body
Welcome back to the Sex & Scripture Series — and honestly, it feels like a small victory just to be here again. This season has been chaotic, motivation has come and gone, and recording without the accountability of going live has been… a challenge. But we’re here. I’m here. And I’m committed to keep moving through this journey, even imperfectly.
I opened with prayer — grounding myself, inviting the Holy Spirit into this conversation about sex, love, intimacy, and embodiment — and then dove into Song of Solomon 7 and 8, the final chapters of the Old Testament readings for this series.
These chapters are rich, playful, erotic, emotional, and surprisingly practical. They form a kind of closing dance between desire, agency, timing, and wisdom.
Let’s get into it.
Chapter 7 — The Full-Body Wonder of Desire
Song of Solomon 7 starts with the man praising the woman from head to toe — literally. And yes, some of the metaphors are delightfully strange:
“Your belly is a heap of wheat.”
“Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon.”
But the imagery that stands out most is the palm tree.
“Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are its clusters.
I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit.”
It’s erotic, yes — but it’s also tender.
It’s foreplay in poetic form.
The Climb as a Metaphor for Exploration
If you imagine a palm tree, the “clusters” (the coconuts or fruit) are at the top — but he doesn’t start there. He climbs. He touches, explores, delights in the entire length of her body.
This is full-body intimacy, not just attention to sexual organs.
It mirrors something I wish more people understood: a woman’s body is a landscape of sensation, not a set of isolated “zones.” Pleasure is holistic.
And then we get:
“The scent of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine.”
“It goes down smoothly for my beloved…”
Tell me that’s not describing a deep, passionate kiss. Not a polite little peck — but a kiss you feel in your knees.
Female Arousal, Imagery, and the Pomegranate Moment
A second image in this chapter stopped me in my tracks:
“Let us go early to the vineyards… to see whether the pomegranates are in bloom.”
Throughout cultures, the pomegranate has long symbolized the vulva — the color, the seeds, the ripeness. When the text says the pomegranate is “in bloom,” my mind immediately went to female arousal:
engorgement
swelling
warmth
increased blood flow
And yes, women “get hard,” too. The clitoris is far larger than the tiny external glans we can see — and when arousal happens, the entire internal structure swells and awakens.
This passage, in its own poetic way, is describing a woman who is ready — physically, emotionally, sensually — for intimacy.
And in this book, that readiness is never assumed.
It is expressed by her.
That matters.
Mutual Desire and the Woman’s Voice
One of my favorite parts of Song of Solomon is how consistent the female voice is. She speaks. She invites. She expresses desire without shame.
“There I will give you my love.”
“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.”
In a world — both ancient and modern — where women’s desires are often minimized or policed, this is quietly revolutionary.
This book says:
A woman’s desire is holy.
Her pleasure is holy.
Her voice is holy.
Her timing is holy.
And that leads into the next chapter.
Chapter 8 — Timing, Wisdom, and Not Awakening Love Too Soon
Song of Solomon 8 includes one of the most quoted verses from the book:
“Do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.”
Some sermons use this to say “don’t have sex before marriage,” but the text itself doesn’t actually specify that.
The deeper, more universal interpretation is this:
**Do not force intimacy before you’re ready.
Do not override the wisdom of your own body.
Do not let culture rush you.**
That applies to:
emotional intimacy
sexual intimacy
vulnerability
commitment
Your body has wisdom.
Your spirit has wisdom.
Your boundaries have wisdom.
And when desire is ready, you’ll know.
When it’s not, you’ll know that too.
This verse felt like a personal reminder to listen inwardly — not to the expectations of others or the timelines culture tries to assign to relationships.
The Finale: Mountains of Spices
The final verse in Song of Solomon reads:
“Make haste, my beloved…
be like a gazelle on the mountains of spices.”
At first glance, it sounds dreamy and vague. But scholars note that “mountains of spices” is another poetic metaphor for the woman’s body — her erotic, embodied self.
This is not a shy ending.
It’s an invitation.
It’s desire spoken aloud.
It’s mutual pursuit, mutual pleasure, mutual readiness.
What a way to close a book.
What These Chapters Left Me With
1. Desire is holy when it is mutual.
These chapters celebrate sexual longing without shame.
2. Female arousal is acknowledged — and valued.
Not just tolerated — honored.
3. Timing matters.
Awakening intimacy requires maturity, readiness, and internal wisdom, not pressure.
4. Women have agency.
She speaks, invites, sets the pace, expresses pleasure.
5. The body is not an enemy of spirituality.
It’s a deeply important part of it.
Reading these chapters reminded me of what’s possible when love, respect, pleasure, and consent coexist in a relationship. Song of Solomon has become one of my favorite books in this series for exactly that reason.
And with this, the Old Testament portion of the Sex & Scripture Series is complete. Next, I’ll be moving into the New Testament — especially curious to see what Jesus himself says (or doesn’t say) about sex and intimacy.
If you want to watch the full reading, reactions, anatomy lesson (unexpected but very relevant), and all the nuances:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxmlmhkriXg