Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
A loving doer, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
Making love is like a well of water.
We could paraphrase this for wives:
Rejoice in the husband of your youth.
A gentle stag, a strong deer—may his hands and mouth satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by his love.
The Bible often uses water as a very powerful and fitting metaphor for cleansing, healing, and rejuvenating. There are beautiful images like "streams in the desert,” and “water of life”, and “beside the still waters.” What a tremendous portrayal of the dynamic nature of lovemaking: to compare it to a cistern, a well, a stream, and a fountain. It is like a cool, refreshing drink from your own safe supply.
In one way, your marital sex life is like a cistern in which you have stored many amorous, erotic memories and a sexy repertoire of arousing activities. You can dip into it again and again in your fantasy life and lovemaking for excitement and fun. In another way, making love is like a stream or spring of water. Sex in marriage has an ever-changing, renewing quality to it. Just as the ancient Greek philosopher Heradeitus gazed into the river and realized life was a dynamic process that never stayed the same, so you can anticipate infinite variety and newness in making love.
A routine sex life is not God’s design. Read this book, renew your minds and attitudes, and get sexy and playful. You can make love four times a week for the next fifty years and still never plumb the surprising depths of this mysterious sexual “stream” becoming one flesh.
I appreciate the words rejoice, satisfy, and captivated in the Proverbs passage. Pleasure and fun are an intended part of making love. Our creativity, imagination, and love allow us to rejoice and remain ever enthralled sexually with the lover of our youth, continually satisfied and captivated for a lifetime.
I really appreciate this saying from the Talmud, the Jewish teachings on the first five books of the Bible:”God will hold us accountable for every permitted pleasure that we forfeit.” We as Christian couples and individuals may need to adjust our attitudes on rejoicing, being satisfied and en-thralled, and enjoying sexual pleasure. You can experience tremendous joy, excitement, and fulfillment if you allow God to bless your lovemaking and you follow His design of being a fresh spring of water to your partner.
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