Song of Solomon 7:1-2
(Advanced in their marriage)
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skillful workman;
Your navel is a rounded goblet,
It lacks no blended beverage;
Your waist is a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.
First, Solomon complimented what he alone knew to be true about his wife.
Wives in Solomon's time didn't wear bikinis to the beach. A woman's body belonged exclusively to her husband and was for his pleasure alone. No other man other than her husband saw her upper legs and abdomen. Solomon focused totally on the positive. He never mentioned a single flaw in his bride. He praised her good qualities and brought them to her attention.
Second, Solomon complimented more than just his wife's physical attributes.
What did Solomon praise about his wife? Not only did he admire her body and its sensual curves. He also admired her strength. In the Bible, the upper legs are used as a symbol for steadfast loyalty and strength. The woman was strong in character, and she carried her strength in a beautiful way. In other words, she had inner strength clothed in graciousness. She didn't buckle under pressure or fall apart in a crisis. She didn't burst into anger or rage, or go into hysterics, when things didn't go her way.
Solomon admired her fruitfulness. Both wheat and wine are signs of harvest - wheat is harvested in the spring and wine is the result of a fall harvest of grapes. Solomon was conveying, "From beginning to end, you have been fruitful and diligent in your giving to me and to others." She was indeed the crown of a proud husband.
Content taken directly from The Book of Romance by Tommy Nelson, published by Thomas Nelson Publishing, copyright 1998.
