Real Romance: Sex in the Song of Songs


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Real Romance: Sex in the Song of Songs
 Copyright © 2023 by Mark & Grace Driscoll
 
 This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher, except brief passages for purposes of reviews.
 
 For information, contact XO Marriage™
 P.O Box 59888
 Dallas, Texas 75229
 1-800-380-6330
 
 xomarriage.com
 
 
 XO Publishing
 
 All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
 Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
 Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.
 
 All Scripture marked with the designation “GW” is taken from GOD’S WORD®. © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. Used by permission.
 
 Any emphasis or parenthetical comments within Scripture are the author’s own.
 
 All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other—without prior permission from the publisher.
 
 ISBN: 978-1-950113-93-4 (Paperback)
 ISBN: 978-1-950113-94-1 (eBook)
 ISBN: 978-1-950113-95-8 (Audiobook)
 
 23 24 25 26 27—5 4 3 2 1
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PREFACE: What Scripture Really Says About Sex
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 1. Let Him Kiss Me 1:1–7
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 2. En Gedi 1:8–2:7
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 3. The Little Foxes 2:8–3:5
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 4. His Garden 3:6–5:1
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 5. My Beloved 5:2–6:1
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 6. My Dove 6:2–6:10
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 7. The Dance of Mahanaim 6:11–7:10
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 8. To the Countryside 7:11–8:7
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 9. My Own Vineyard 8:8–8:14
 
 
 
 MAKING YOUR (SEX) MENU!
 
 
 
 ABOUT THE AUTHORS
 
 
 
 ENDNOTES
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Preface
 
 
 
 
 
 WHAT SCRIPTURE REALLY SAYS ABOUT SEX
 
 God used the Bible to save our marriage.
 We met when we were 17 and in high school. We had both been in unhealthy dating relationships previously that were sexual and sinful. When we met, we had little to no clue about how to have a healthy romantic relationship. So we did what most people do—we rushed into a deep, emotional connection too quickly, started sleeping together, and did not seek wise counsel or anything that would resemble godly help. We cared for one another but were clueless about how to take care of one another.
 I (Mark) was a non-Christian; raised a Catholic, but I had no personal relationship with God. The only Bible I can remember was our giant family Bible that sat on the coffee table in our living room covered in enough dust to write “fornication” on it with your finger. Grace was a pastor’s daughter who knew the Lord but was in a prodigal daughter season and was not walking with Him (which explains why she was walking with me). As we headed off to different universities, we were headed for the same misery. Thankfully, the Lord not only saved us from going to hell, but He also saved us from ourselves and from making hell of our lives.
 
 The Bible Saved Our Marriage
 
 I (Grace) had enough conviction left to know God’s plan for me was not to be dating a non-Christian. I should have broken up with Mark, but instead I bought him a Bible as a gift. I wasn’t spending much time reading my own Bible, but hypocritically, I thought he needed one. I knew the Bible would tell us what we should do. Despite my lack of wisdom, God showed incredible grace to Mark and me. We feel very humbled to be able to teach what we learned the hard way so that others don’t have to go through the same experience. The Bible has been a foundational part of anything good in our marriage. We are excited to help you learn from a book of the Bible, as we study Song of Songs.
 I (Mark) became a Christian reading the Bible that Grace gave me. I quickly found a wonderful, Bible-teaching church and became excited about learning from God’s Word, which has led me to preach through books of the Bible as a senior pastor since 1996. Today, we are both teaching the Bible most weeks to the men and women at Trinity Church, which we founded as a family ministry in Scottsdale, Arizona, along with our five children (the two oldest of whom are now married). We give our Bible teaching away to help people in their relationships with God and others through RealFaith Ministries.
 Without the Bible, we would not be married. Either we would have so badly ruined our romantic relationship while dating that we would never have made it to marriage, or if we did marry, it would have ended badly. We have sought to build our life, marriage, family, ministry, and legacy on the Bible, and God’s Word has never failed us. We want to be honest with you so that you can be honest with God and each other. If God can take a lost guy who was sleeping with a pastor’s daughter and give us a