{"id":4548,"date":"2019-05-22T11:08:49","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T16:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=4548"},"modified":"2020-03-16T11:37:19","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T16:37:19","slug":"the-formal-banquet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-greatest-love-song-written-a-study-of-the-song-of-solomon\/the-formal-banquet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Formal Banquet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Chapter 5<\/h2>\n

The Formal Banquet<\/h1>\n
4<\/sup> \u201cHe has brought me to\u00a0his<\/i>\u00a0banquet hall,
\n\u00a0 \u00a0And his banner over me is love.\n5<\/sup> \u201cSustain me with raisin cakes,
\n\u00a0 \u00a0Refresh me with apples,
\n\u00a0 \u00a0Because I am lovesick.\n6<\/sup> \u201cLet his left hand be under my head
\n\u00a0 \u00a0And his right hand embrace me.\u201d\n7<\/sup> \u201cI adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
\n\u00a0 \u00a0By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
\n\u00a0 \u00a0That you do not arouse or awaken my<\/i>\u00a0love
\n\u00a0 \u00a0Until she pleases.\u201d<\/blockquote>\n

The action moves to a banqueting hall. The phrase literally means \u201chouse of wine.\u201d It refers to a place where formal social gatherings are conducted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Apple<\/p><\/div>\n

The love between these two people has been building. The banner she is referring to is the battle standard used in battle to relay instructions about troop movements. During the noise of battle, you cannot rely on anyone\u2019s voice being loud enough and messengers between flanks can be slow or even killed in the action. Our young woman is saying that Solomon has his signal flag up and is broadcasting to everyone that he is in love with this young woman. Perhaps you have seen this when a couple walks into a room and you know they are in love. Every move they make and the way they gaze at each other tells everyone how they feel about each other.<\/p>\n

She is so excited that she feels herself becoming faint. She needs something sweet to sustain herself so she can get through the evening. Her feelings are so strong that she is almost becoming ill from being in love.<\/p>\n

And she begins to fantasize. Solomon is laying next to her. His left arm is under her head and with his right arm is pressing her tight against his body. . . .<\/p>\n

HOLD IT! STOP RIGHT THERE!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Gazelle<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Hind (Female Deer)<\/p><\/div>\n

Fantasies are nice but we must restrain our thoughts. These two love birds are not married yet and fantasies about sex are not appropriate at this stage in the relationship (Matthew 5:28). The young woman gets a grip on herself and temporarily steps out of her role. Turning to the audience, she warns the young women there not to arouse or awaken love until the proper time. We tend to rush things too quickly and if we allow ourselves to fantasize about inappropriate behavior, it will not be long before we start acting out our fantasies (Proverbs 23:7). Gazelles and does are sleek, graceful creatures who, when startled, will quickly disappear. By bring up these animals, the young woman is warning that in a rush for love, we can easily lose the very thing we are pursuing.<\/p>\n

True, lasting love needs time to develop. It cannot be forced and hurried along. Moving into sexual relations before love has come to fruition and before a solid commitment is made will spoil the very love these two people want to have for each other. How much trust can a couple have for each other, if they know that sexual passion overrides their reason? If they cannot restrain themselves even for the relatively short period before marriage, how will either of them know for certain that the other can restrain himself from sexual temptation after the marriage?<\/p>\n

Questions:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. What signs indicate that two people are in love?<\/li>\n
  2. Why are fantasies about future sexual relations dangerous during courtship?<\/li>\n
  3. What is causing the strong desire in the woman?<\/li>\n
  4. Why is there concern about frightening off love?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Greatest Love Song Written\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Chapter 5 The Formal Banquet 4 \u201cHe has brought me to\u00a0his\u00a0banquet hall, \u00a0 \u00a0And his banner over me is love. 5 \u201cSustain me with raisin cakes, \u00a0 \u00a0Refresh me with apples, \u00a0 \u00a0Because I am lovesick. 6 \u201cLet his left hand be under my head \u00a0 \u00a0And his right hand embrace me.\u201d 7 \u201cI adjure…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4463,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4548","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20808,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/the-removal-of-vashti\/","url_meta":{"origin":4548,"position":0},"title":"The Removal of Vashti","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Removal of Vashti Text: Esther 1 Understanding What You Read What was the purpose of the 180-day banquet? What was served in plenty during the king\u2019s week-long banquet? Who did the king order to appear and for what purpose? What concern did princes have regarding Queen Vashti\u2019s refusal? What\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21965,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/esthers-banquet\/","url_meta":{"origin":4548,"position":1},"title":"Esther’s Banquet","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Esther's Banquet Text: Esther 7 Understanding What You Read What did the king want to know? What did the queen request? How did Ahasuerus react to the request? Why did Haman stay behind when Ahasuerus went to the garden? What did the king see as he came back into the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4463,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-greatest-love-song-written-a-study-of-the-song-of-solomon\/","url_meta":{"origin":4548,"position":2},"title":"The Greatest Love Song Written: A Study of the Song of Solomon","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 21, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Greatest Love Song Written A Study of the Song of Solomon by Jeffrey W. Hamilton An Introduction to the Song of Solomon (Song of Solomon 1:1) A Country Girl in King Solomon's Court (Song of Solomon 1:2-11) Daydreams of Love During Dinner (Song of Solomon 1:12-14) Dreams of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/SongOfSolomon.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20799,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/","url_meta":{"origin":4548,"position":3},"title":"A Study of Esther","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Study of Esther by Jeffrey W. Hamilton, 2020 Esther approaches the king Esther 5:1-2 Content Background The Removal of Vashti (Esther 1) The Marriage of Esther (Esther 2) Haman\u2019s Plot (Esther 3) Convincing Esther to Intervene (Esther 4) Esther Plays on Haman\u2019s Pride (Esther 5) Mordecai Is Honored (Esther\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0027-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0027-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0027-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20803,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/background-of-esther\/","url_meta":{"origin":4548,"position":4},"title":"Background of Esther","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Background to the Book of Esther Assignment: Read through the entire Book of Esther as a story. Understanding What You Read List out the people mentioned in Esther and what you know about them. What do you think is the purpose of this book? What is God trying to teach\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22506,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-esther\/","url_meta":{"origin":4548,"position":5},"title":"Survey of the Bible – Esther","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - Esther Text: Esther 4 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Esther\u2019s story takes place between the first return from captivity, led by Zerubbabel, and the second return lead by Ezra. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It would fall between the 6 and 7 chapters of Ezra. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The author is unknown. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not the same style as\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4548\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}