Eros: The Longing of Desire

Day 41: Joshua 6-10; Song of Songs 1-4; Romans 1-3

Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
    For your love is more delightful than wine.
    The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;
    your name is perfume poured out.
    No wonder young women adore you.
    Take me with you—let us hurry.
    Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers. (Song 1:2-4)

Joshua is bringing down the house in Jericho, falling on his face at Ai and kicking butt everywhere in southern Canaan. Death and destruction fill the pages as Yahweh drives out the chaotic forces aligned with false gods and demons, the seven nations inhabiting the land.

From the other side of the conquest a wealthy and wise king surveys his established kingdom filled with peace and prosperity and says, "Futility! All is Futility!"

And The Apostle Paul sits on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in Corinth and writes to a church in Rome he has never met.

There is a longing expressed in each of the selections I read today.  Joshua longs to be the kind of leader his predecessor Moses was.  Can you imagine the pressure on Joshua as he tries to fill the shoes of Israel's greatest prophet?  Even the scriptures attest to the magnanimity of Moses in the mind of Israel. "No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. [He was unparalleled] for all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do... (Deut. 34:10-11a)."

Joshua is encouraged by the Lord at the crossing for the Jordan. "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses (Josh 2:7)."  And indeed the Lord did as He promised.  And the Lord lead the Israelites to take the fortress city of Jericho.  The walls came down after seven days of marching around the city.  The miraculous event further encouraged the armies of Israel and Joshua.

But there was a problem.  Achan, a descendant of Zerah, The twin brother of Perez ancestor to David, took booty for himself that was set apart for destruction as sort of a firstfruits to Yahweh.  He hid silver and fine cloth and money in the ground beneath his family's tent.  And the Israelites were defeated by the men of Ai at a time when they judged it would take a small number to take the city.  The Lord was not with them. 

Joshua, filled with grief and longing cries out to the Lord.  "Oh, Lord GOD ," Joshua said, "why did You ever bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites for our destruction? If only we had been content to remain on the other side of the Jordan (Josh 7:7)!"  Sounds just like his ancestors who died complaining in the desert.

God explains that one of their number has broken the covenant and taken the dedicated things.  Until the dedicated things are destroyed and the criminal destroyed with them (Achan became a firstfruits offering as it was written in Deuteronomy 7:25-26) they would continue to fail in battle.  Joshua does as God commands and destroys Achan and all His household and belongings along with the items he had stolen.

Joshua and the Israelites fight many more battles and win them all.  On one occasion the Lord killed more with hailstones thrown down from the sky than did the soldiers of Israel. God even stopped the sun from setting at Joshua's request that they might utterly defeat the enemy without delay due to nightfall (Josh. 10:12-14).  Very clearly Joshua is exalted by this sign in the minds of Israel.  His longing to be the kind of leader Moses was is fulfilled.

The Song of Songs (Also known as the Song of Solomon) is a romantic poem celebrating the courtship and love of the King of Israel, the Lord's Anointed, and a beautiful woman with a dark tan and perfect complexion.  The church has struggled with what to do with this book and it's erotic imagery.  The standard application is to think of the church as the bride of Christ longing for her love.  But the text would have been more of a royal text read to celebrate kings and their loves.  Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  In the ancient world this wealth of women was a sign of power and blessing.  If the king is blessed, so is the nation he governs. It is sort of the reverse of the tragedy of Achan.  His sin cursed all Israel. So it's a good thing to celebrate the not so celibate king! When the king is happy, we all get to be happy. 

But how can we be edified by the longing within the pages of Song of Songs?  I think it is in the wisdom shared with the young women who attend the bride to be. 

"do not stir up or awaken love
    until the appropriate time." (Song 2:7b)

To long is to suffer until the desire is fulfilled.  Why suffer needlessly before it is time for such things?  You can bet I shared these words with my daughters as they were growing into young women in my home.  There is a time for marriage and a time to be a girl.  I always encouraged my kids to enjoy the age they were at and not be so eager to be older.  It only comes once and then its gone.  Innocence is brief.  Nowadays it is even briefer than it was in my day.

But longing can be sweet as we dream of its fulfillment.  Paul writes to Rome and says, "I want very much to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine (Rom 1:11-12)."  He tells them he had often planned to come and see them, but was prevented.  He longs to have fruitful ministry among them.  He is "eager to preach the good news."

Paul's eagerness is met for the moment in his letter.  Little did he know the fruit his letter would bear.  Paul meant to introduce his message and ministry to the church in Rome.  He had no idea this masterpiece of his would become Christian scripture and part of the Holy Bible right along with the Torah of Moses and the writings of the prophets which he freely quotes throughout. 

Paul's longing to come to Rome was fulfilled in his arrest and transport there by the Roman government.  His letter had preceded him and been read in the churches in the area.  As he approached Rome under Roman guard the believers came out to greet him.

"And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ Now the believers ^[e] from there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us as far as Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage (Acts 28:14b-15)."

The psalmist says it beautifully about longing and desire:

Take delight in the LORD,
    and He will give you your heart's desires. (Psa. 37:4)

May all your godly desires be fulfilled as you wait patiently in hope in the Lord in whom you delight.