The Dominion of Desire: A Love That Labors
Introduction: The War on Love
We live in an age that is drowning in sentimentality and starving for true love. Our culture speaks of love constantly, sings about it incessantly, and yet understands it almost not at all. The modern conception of love is a flimsy, self-centered thing, a consumer good to be acquired for personal fulfillment and discarded when it no longer provides the desired emotional kick. It is a love that begins with "me" and, not surprisingly, ends there as well. It is a narcissistic echo chamber, not a covenantal bond.
Into this sentimental wasteland, the Song of Solomon lands like a meteor. This is not a book for the faint of heart, nor for those who wish to keep their religion in a neat, spiritual box, safely separated from the gristle and glory of embodied life. This book is about the love between a man and a woman, a love that is earthy, passionate, exclusive, and profoundly theological. It is a picture of what God intended from the beginning, a portrait of Edenic love, redeemed and restored. And because of this, it is a direct assault on the sterile and selfish counterfeits offered by the world.
The love described here is not a retreat from the world, but a strategy for taking it. It is a dominion project. It is a man and a woman, bound by covenant, laboring together to build something fruitful and lasting. The passage before us is a beautiful summation of this reality. It is a declaration of mutual belonging, an invitation to shared labor, and a celebration of the abundant fruit that such a union produces. This is not just a roadmap for a successful marriage; it is a living, breathing icon of the love between Christ and His Church.
The Text
I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go out into the fields, Let us spend the night in the villages. Let us rise early and go to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has flourished And its blossoms have opened, And whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love. The mandrakes have given forth fragrance; And over our doors are all choice fruits, Both new and old, Which I have treasured up for you, my beloved.
(Song of Solomon 7:10-13 LSB)
The Grammar of Redeemed Desire (v. 10)
The Shulamite begins with a declaration that is the very heart of covenantal love.
"I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me." (Song of Solomon 7:10)
The first clause, "I am my beloved's," is a statement of glad possession. It echoes her earlier declarations in 2:16 and 6:3, but here it stands with a new and potent addition. This is not the language of slavery, but of joyful belonging. It is the security of knowing your place, your identity, is found in your union with another. In a world that screams at us to "find ourselves" by looking inward, the Bible shows us that we find ourselves by giving ourselves away within the bonds of a God-ordained covenant.
But it is the second clause that lands with the force of a theological thunderclap: "And his desire is for me." This is the reversal of the curse. In Genesis 3:16, as a consequence of the fall, God tells the woman, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." That word for desire there points to a grasping, manipulative longing, a desire to control, which is met with a corresponding rule. It is the sad, distorted grammar of fallen relationships. But here, in this portrait of redeemed love, the grammar is gloriously healed. The word for desire is the same, but the direction is reversed. It is not her manipulative desire for him, but his glad, holy, and passionate desire for her. This is what the gospel does. It does not obliterate desire; it redeems it. It sanctifies it. It makes it a source of mutual blessing instead of mutual conflict.
This is a stunning picture of Christ and the Church. The Church, the bride, declares with confidence, "I am my beloved's." We belong to Him, purchased by His blood. But the wonder of it all is that His desire is for us. Think of it. The transcendent, all-sufficient God, who needs nothing, desires His people. He delights in His bride. "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing" (Zeph. 3:17). This is not the reluctant affection of a distant deity; it is the passionate, pursuing desire of our Bridegroom.
A Love That Labors in the Fields (v. 11-12a)
Based on the security of that mutual desire, the bride issues an invitation. It is not an invitation to an inward-gazing retreat, but to an outward-facing project.
"Come, my beloved, let us go out into the fields, Let us spend the night in the villages. Let us rise early and go to the vineyards;" (Song of Solomon 7:11-12a)
Notice the movement. They are going "out into the fields." This is not a cloistered love, hidden away from the world. It is a love that inhabits the real world of work and community. They will lodge in the villages, among the people. Their love is the foundation of a household, which is the foundation of a village, which is the foundation of a culture. This is the Christian vision of marriage. It is not two people staring into each other's eyes for fifty years. It is two people standing shoulder to shoulder, looking outward at a task God has given them.
And what is that task? "Let us rise early and go to the vineyards." This is a call to shared labor. They are not just lovers; they are partners. They are joint-stewards. The vineyard, throughout Scripture, is a symbol of God's people, Israel, and the Church, a place that requires cultivation to produce fruit. A marriage is a vineyard that God gives to a husband and wife to tend. It requires rising early. It requires diligence. It requires getting your hands dirty. A godly marriage is not a vacation; it is a vocation.
This is the dominion mandate applied to the home. God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. That project begins in the covenant of marriage. A husband and wife are to take the little patch of creation God has given them, their home, their family, their resources, and make it fruitful for the glory of God. This is a glorious, adventurous, and demanding calling.
The Inspection of Fruitfulness (v. 12b)
Their purpose in going to the vineyard is specific. It is for an inspection.
"Let us see whether the vine has flourished And its blossoms have opened, And whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love." (Genesis 7:12b)
They are looking for fruit. They are checking on the progress of their joint enterprise. This is a crucial aspect of a covenantal marriage. Are we being fruitful? Is our union producing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience? Is it producing godly children, discipled in the faith? Is it producing hospitality, generosity, and good works in the community? Is our vine flourishing?
The imagery is lush and beautiful. The flourishing vine, the open blossoms, the blooming pomegranates, all speak of life, health, and impending abundance. This is what God desires for a marriage. And notice the connection she makes: "There I will give you my love." Her love is not given in a vacuum. It is given in the context of this shared life, this shared labor, this shared fruitfulness. The physical intimacy of marriage is not detached from the rest of life; it is the celebration and consummation of a fruitful partnership. It is the seal on a life lived together for the glory of God. Sex in a Christian marriage is not a recreational escape; it is a covenantal renewal, celebrated in the midst of their shared dominion project.
The Stored-Up Delights of Home (v. 13)
The scene concludes with a picture of the home that this love has built.
"The mandrakes have given forth fragrance; And over our doors are all choice fruits, Both new and old, Which I have treasured up for you, my beloved." (Song of Solomon 7:13)
The mandrakes were anciently associated with love and fertility, and their fragrance speaks to the sweet and intoxicating atmosphere of their home. Their love has created a place of beauty and delight. But it is more than just an atmosphere. "Over our doors are all choice fruits." The fruit they have labored for in the vineyard is now harvested and brought home. Their home is a place of abundance.
And notice the character of this fruit: "Both new and old." This is a beautiful picture of a mature love. There are the "old" fruits, the established patterns of faithfulness, the shared memories, the inside jokes, the deep, settled comforts of a long life together. And there are the "new" fruits, the fresh delights, the ongoing discoveries, the new acts of love and service. A healthy marriage does not run on nostalgia. It is rooted in the past but is always producing new fruit in the present.
And for whom is all this? "Which I have treasured up for you, my beloved." All the fruit of her life, all the abundance of their home, is not for herself. It is an offering she has stored up for her husband. This is the essence of covenantal love. It is not about what I can get, but what I can give. It is a life of joyful, mutual self-offering. This is the opposite of the world's grasping selfishness. This is the freedom of gospel-centered love.
Conclusion: The Great Union
This passage, in just a few lines, gives us a complete theology of marriage. It is a union founded on redeemed desire and mutual belonging. It is a partnership that engages in fruitful labor out in the world. It is a stewardship that is constantly being evaluated for fruitfulness. And it is a home where the fruits of that labor are stored up and offered gladly to the other.
But it is always more than that. This is the song the Church sings to her Lord. We are His, and His desire is for us. He calls us to come with Him, to rise early and go into the vineyards of the Great Commission. He calls us to labor with Him in the fields of this world, checking for the fruit of repentance and faith. And all the fruit that our lives produce, by His grace, is not our own. It is treasured up for Him. One day, at the great wedding feast, the Church will present to her Bridegroom all the choice fruits, new and old, that she has treasured up for Him. And there, in the new creation, we will fully know the joy of giving Him our love, forever.