Memory Text: Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV “Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.”

Sunday, February 12 Indivisible Life
What is the Bible’s view of the human body?
Genesis 2:7 Holman Standard Bible “Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.”
Psalm 63:1 Holman “God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.”
Psalm 84:2 Holman “I long and yearn for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Holman “19 Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Holman “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The positive idea of the human body dedicated to God is seen in these verses:
Song of Solomon 1:2,13 KJ21 “"2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. 13 A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night between my breasts.”
Song of Solomon 2:6 KJ21 “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.”
Song of Solomon 5:10-16 KJ21 “10 "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. 11 His head is as the most fine gold; his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. 12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. 13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers; his lips like lilies, dropping sweetsmelling myrrh. 14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl; his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. 15 His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold; his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."”
Song of Solomon 5:15 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Exquisitely turned and well-shaped; the sockets of gold may refer to his slippers. On these a profusion of gold and ornaments are still lavished in Asiatic countries.
Song of Solomon 7:1-9 KJ21 “1 ¶ "How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a skillful workman. 2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor; thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies. 3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins; 4 thy neck is as a tower of ivory. Thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. 5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in its galleries. 6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! 7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. 8 I said, ‘I will go up to the palm tree; I will take hold of the boughs thereof.’ Now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples. 9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak."”

Monday, February 13 The Loves of the Love Song
What are various aspects of love as presented in the Song of Solomon?
Song of Solomon 1:2,13 KJ21 See Sunday’s lesson.
Song of Solomon 2:10-13,16 ESV “10 My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, 11 for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. 12 The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. 16 “My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.”
Song of Solomon 3:11 ESV “11 Go out, O daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.”
Song of Solomon 4:1-7 ESV “1 ¶ <HE> Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. 2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost its young. 3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil. 4 Your neck is like the tower of David, built in rows of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. 5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies. 6 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. 7 You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.”
Song of Solomon 4:4 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE It is certain that bucklers were frequently hung about towers, both for their ornaments, and to have them at hand when their use was required; see Eze 27:10. But the allusion here may be to those pillars which are often seen in armouries on which weapons of various kinds are hung, formed into a great variety of shapes and very splendid. Whoever has seen the armoury in the tower of London, or such like places, has most probably seen something very similar to that of which the poet speaks.
Song of Solomon 5:16 ESV “His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
Song of Solomon 6:6 ESV “Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have come up from the washing; all of them bear twins; not one among them has lost its young.”
Song of Solomon 7:1-9 See Sunday’s lesson.
Song of Solomon 8:6-7 ESV “6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”

Tuesday, February 14 A Loving Knowledge
How does this book and Paul present a commitment to mutuality?
Song of Solomon 4:7-5:1 Holman “7 You are absolutely beautiful, my darling, with no imperfection in you. 8 ¶ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride–– with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. 9 You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. 10 How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride. Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam. 11 Your lips drip /sweetness like/ the honeycomb, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 My sister, my bride, /you are/ a locked garden–– a locked garden and a sealed spring. 13 Your branches are a paradise of pomegranates with choicest fruits, henna with nard–– 14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices. 15 ¶ /You are/ a garden spring, a well of flowing water streaming from Lebanon. 16 Awaken, north wind–– come, south wind. Blow on my garden, and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my love come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits. 5:1 ¶ I have come to my garden––my sister, my bride. I gather my myrrh with my spices. I eat my honeycomb with my honey. I drink my wine with my milk. Eat, friends! Drink, be intoxicated with love!”
Song of Solomon 4:8 COMMENTARY FAMILY BIBLE NOTES Come with me from Lebanon; these words seem to be spoken on the top of Lebanon, where Solomon, who represents the heavenly Bridegroom, has been showing his bride the glory of his kingdom. He calls her to take a like survey of it from the top of Amana and Hermon. De 34:1; Re 21:10 The ridge of Hermon lies east of Lebanon. It was called Shenir by the Amorites. De 3:9 Amana was probably a peak of the same range, from which the river of the same name flowed. From the lions' dens; that is, from the tops of the mountains, that abound in lions' dens. In showing his bride these goodly possessions, the king gives her a pledge that she shall share with him dominion over them.
1 Corinthians 7:3-5 MKJV “3 Let the husband give to the wife proper kindness, and likewise the wife also to the husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over [her] own body, but the husband. And likewise also the husband does not have power [over his] own body, but the wife. 5 Do not deprive one another, unless [it is] with consent for a time, so that you may [give yourselves to] fasting and prayer. And come together again so that Satan does not tempt you for your incontinence.”
How does the idea of “knowing each other” show us our relationship with God?
Genesis 4:1,25 NKJV “1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 25 “And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed."”
1 Samuel 1:19 NRSV “They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.”
Luke 1:34 NRSV “Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"”
John 17:3 NRSV “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
1 Corinthians 8:3 NRSV “but anyone who loves God is known by him.”

Wednesday, February 15 Love at the Right Time
Genesis 39:7-9 NRSV “7 ¶ And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me." 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, "Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"”
Proverbs 5 NRSV “1 ¶ My child, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, 2 so that you may hold on to prudence, and your lips may guard knowledge. 3 For the lips of a loose woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; 4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol. 6 She does not keep straight to the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. 7 And now, my child, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house; 9 or you will give your honor to others, and your years to the merciless, 10 and strangers will take their fill of your wealth, and your labors will go to the house of an alien; 11 and at the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, 12 and you say, "Oh, how I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 Now I am at the point of utter ruin in the public assembly." 15 ¶ Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. 16 Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for sharing with strangers. 18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be intoxicated always by her love. 20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, by another woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? 21 For human ways are under the eyes of the LORD, and he examines all their paths. 22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare them, and they are caught in the toils of their sin. 23 They die for lack of discipline, and because of their great folly they are lost.”
Proverbs 5:15 COMMENTARY BY MATTHEW HENRY Let him that is married take delight in his wife, and let him be very fond of her, not only because she is the wife that he himself has chosen and he ought to be pleased with his own choice, but because she is the wife that God in his providence appointed for him and he ought much more to be pleased with the divine appointment, pleased with her because she is his own.
Song of Solomon 8:8-10 NIV “8 ¶ We have a young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for? 9 If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar. 10 I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing contentment.”
Song of Solomon 4:8-12, 16 NIV “8 ¶ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards. 9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. 10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice! 11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon. 12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. 16 Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.”
Song of Solomon 5:1 NIV “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.”
Song of Solomon 5:1 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Eat, O friends-drink abundantly] These are generally supposed to be the words of the bridegroom, after he returned from the nuptial chamber, and exhibited those signs of his wife's purity which the customs of those times required. This being a cause of universal joy, the entertainment is served up; and he invites his companions, and the friends of both parties, to eat and drink abundantly, as there was such a universal cause of rejoicing.
Those who regret their past sexual choices may take heart from these verses:
1 John 1:9 NRSV “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Psalm 103:12 NRSV “as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.”
Isaiah 55:7 NRSV “let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
John 8:11 NRSV “She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."”
John 8:11 COMMENTARY ROBINSON’S NT WORD PICTURES One can only hope that the woman was really changed in heart and life. Jesus clearly felt that even a wicked woman can be saved.

Thursday, February 16 Safeguarding the Creator’s Gift
What does the Bible say about sexual practices not in God’s plan?
Leviticus 20:7-21 NLT “7 So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD who makes you holy. 9 “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a capital offense. 10 ¶ “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death. 11 “If a man violates his father by having sex with one of his father’s wives, both the man and the woman must be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense. 12 “If a man has sex with his daughter–in–law, both must be put to death. They have committed a perverse act and are guilty of a capital offense. 13 “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense. 14 “If a man marries both a woman and her mother, he has committed a wicked act. The man and both women must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you. 15 “If a man has sex with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed. 16 “If a woman presents herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. You must kill both, for they are guilty of a capital offense. 17 “If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a shameful disgrace. They must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man has violated his sister, he will be punished for his sin. 18 “If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period, both of them must be cut off from the community, for together they have exposed the source of her blood flow. 19 “Do not have sexual relations with your aunt, whether your mother’s sister or your father’s sister. This would dishonor a close relative. Both parties are guilty and will be punished for their sin. 20 If a man has sex with his uncle’s wife, he has violated his uncle. Both the man and woman will be punished for their sin, and they will die childless. 21 “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has violated his brother, and the guilty couple will remain childless.”
Romans 1:24-27 NLT “24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-20 NLT “9 ¶ Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people––none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12 ¶ You say, “I am allowed to do anything”––but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. 15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
What does the Bible say to guide believers in their sexuality and that of others?
Romans 8:1-14 NLT “1 ¶ So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life–giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. 5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 ¶ And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. 12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:15-20 NLT 15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:18 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES But this is a sin where a man is safe only when he flies; free from pollution only when he refuses to entertain a thought of it; secure when he seeks a victory by flight, and a conquest by retreat. Let a man turn away from it without reflection on it, and he is safe. Let him think, and reason, and he may be ruined. "The very passage of an impure thought through the mind leaves pollution behind it." An argument on the subject often leaves pollution; a description ruins; and even the presentation of motives against it may often fix the mind with dangerous inclination on the crime.
Galatians 5:24 NKJV “And those [who are] Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Colossians 3:3-10 MKJV “3 For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ our Life [is] revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 ¶ Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness (which is idolatry), 6 on account of which things’ sake the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience, 7 among whom you also once walked, when you lived in these. 8 ¶ But now also put off all [these] things: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, shameful speech out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his deeds 10 and having put on the new, having been renewed in knowledge according to [the] image of Him who created him,”
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 MKJV “23 ¶ And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful [is] He who called you, who also will do [it].”
1 Thessalonians 5:23 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES For a cur to snarl and growl; for a lion to roar and rage; for a hyena to be fierce and untameable; for a serpent to hiss and bite; and for the ostrich to leave her eggs without concern, (Job 39:14,) involves no blame, no guilt for them, for they are not accountable; but for man to evince the same temper, and the same want of affection, does involve guilt, for he has a higher nature, and it these things should be subject to the law which God has imposed on him as a moral and accountable being.

Friday, February 17 Further Study
Ellen White, Mind, Character, and Personality, Vol. 1, p. 221 - In Noah’s day it was the inordinate, excessive love of that which in itself was lawful, when properly used, that made marriage sinful before God. There are many who are losing their souls in this age of the world by becoming absorbed in the thoughts of marriage and in the marriage relation itself.
Ellen White, Mind, Character, and Personality, Vol. 1, p.228 - Those who would not fall a prey to Satan’s devices must guard well the avenues of the soul; they must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts. The mind must not be left to dwell at random upon every subject that the enemy of souls may suggest.
Ellen White, Mind, Character, and Personality, Vol. 1, p.236 Meat should not be placed before our children. Its influence is to excite and strengthen the lower passions, and has a tendency to deaden the moral powers. Grains and fruits prepared free from grease and in as natural a condition as possible should be the food for the tables of all who claim to be preparing for translation to heaven. The less feverish the diet, the more easily can the passions be controlled. Gratification of taste should not be consulted irrespective of physical, intellectual, or moral health.
Ellen White, Mind, Character, and Personality, Vol. 1, p.237 Do not see how close you can walk upon the brink of a precipice and be safe. Avoid the first approach to danger. The soul’s interests cannot be trifled with. Your capital is your character. Cherish it as you would a golden treasure. Moral purity, self-respect, a strong power of resistance, must be firmly and constantly cherished.