Of course He does. This post is a very brief exploration into some of the messages of the Bible regarding right relationships and, yes, right sex.
On Intimacy
The Song of Solomon is a picture of physical engagement as explicit and graphic as one might ask. Though at times wrapped in metaphor it is never the less quite clear in its descriptions.
In 2:7 we have a romantic strategy
That you do not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases
That means investing time. It means patience and awareness. Give her time and let her be ready on her terms. It also means not confusing stimulation with desire. Pornography is not a story of love. It is fake. It is not a true-to-life or practical and applicable story about the characters. Pornography is about the reader/viewer and training the student-reader in certain responses. Pornography manipulates the reader/viewer to accept something which can never be.
The verse prior to this (2:6) is quite specific
Let his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me.
Embracing and caressing, at the right time — when she is ready. Not just when he is ready. This, it seems, says that men do well to be patient because when the time is right he is overwhelmingly welcome into her arms.
On Property
It is assumed that, in all ancient cultures, women were mere slaves to men. With this is the idea that the Judeo-Christian ethic subjects women under domination to a head whom she is to serve unquestioningly. Such is a misunderstanding of both history and headship.
The book of Genesis covers this subject. Since it was written around 4000 years ago it would seem to hold weight describing the culture that spawned it. Abraham was seeking a wife for Isaac. This question was raised as he prepared his servant for the trip (Genesis 24:5)
The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing …
She did not have to go. She was not obligated. The objection, of course, is that her family was wealthy and that gave her an escape. Of course. But today’s women are no more free. Women today are driven just as much by economics in their choices. They settle, as equally often do many men. Of course there is more to it than this but we can say that women were seen as far more than property. The Judeo-Christian ethic advanced dignity both beyond the status of property and beyond (in today’s mindset) the zipper.
On Headship
A short post like this cannot explore all of the nuances available as the variations are many. Let’s just say that there is a “type” principle in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus which defines the situation. Headship is not about authority but about responsibility.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her (5:25)
It is about guarding the relationship
husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself (5:28)
Maintain this relationship is the responsibility of both parties
Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband (5:33)
The married couple is as such not viewed as two separate individuals but as an inseparable unit.
Paul takes it beyond the practical and shows women to be, to use a technical term, ontological equals with men. That is, in any ultimate sense women and men stand before God with equal reward and moral responsibility.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28)
Peter made s similar statement. He said that wives are
heirs with you of the gracious gift of life (I Peter 3:7)
This is of course not exclusive to the Judeo-Christian system. Other cultures over time have given improved status to women. That was a good thing. But it appears only the Judeo-Christianity seems to provide a systematic and long-term solution to the situation.
Pornography, on the other hand, reduces both parties to animals by eliminating dignity. Choice is reduced to a sexual and pleasure-driven question. The grace that God has shown each of us so frequently surpasses short-term excitement. This is a grace of God that is available to all people. There are no blurred lines. No civil or ecclesiastical law can enforce God’s grace. It must be considered, accepted, practiced, and enjoyed over a lifetime.