Oh no, not another book on marriage! I have to be honest and say that this was my first reaction on receiving this book to review. There are more books on my shelves on this subject than any other.
However it wasn’t long before I was gripped and intrigued by the author’s treatment of the subject. The book is focused around the Song of Songs and the author’s intention is that the wisdom in those texts should be applied to romantic love, marriage and human sexuality.
The book is not intended to be a ‘self-help’ manual and avows to ‘help you to see your “first love” by looking through the lens of human love’. Discussion questions ensure that the reader has the opportunity to apply the teachings of the book to their own lives. The book deserves a very thoughtful read.
For me, one of the strengths of the book is the emphasis on the companionship/friendship aspect of the marriage relationship. This is a real antidote to the over-concentration on the erotic approach which characterises our society. And I even found a reference to my new hobby ‘scrapbooking’ on page 135!
The author’s view of submission as ‘leading’ and ‘leaning’ should help younger readers to get to grips with these issues. And by the way, for those interested, the book is written from a complementarian perspective.
