Love Without Covenant (Illicit Desire)
Category: Failure of purity
Could endure: Guard love within marriage covenant.
“Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (Song of Songs 2:7; 3:5; 8:4)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 5:18–19; Hebrews 13:4.
Chose wrongly: Awakened passion outside God’s timing.
“Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you… do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (Song of Songs 8:4 — warning against wrong path)
Cross-Refs: Genesis 39:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5.
Endured (negatively): Shame, regret, and damage to purity.
“Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” (Proverbs 6:27)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 7:21–23; 1 Corinthians 6:18.
Why (wrong motive): Lust, impatience, lack of self-control.
“Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” (Proverbs 9:17 — principle of forbidden desire)
Cross-Refs: James 1:14–15; Galatians 5:19.
Result: Ruin instead of joy, regret instead of blessing.
“But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.” (Proverbs 9:18)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 22:14; Romans 6:21.
Adultery as the False Counterfeit of Love
Category: Failure of covenant faithfulness
Could endure: Faithful intimacy within marriage.
“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” (Song of Songs 6:3)
Cross-Refs: Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31–32.
Chose wrongly: Substitute lust for covenant love (contrast with pure union celebrated in the Song).
“Her house is a highway to the grave.” (Proverbs 7:27 — direct warning in contrast).
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 2:17–19; Hosea 2:2.
Endured (negatively): Broken trust, destruction of relationships.
“The adulterous woman preys on your very life.” (Proverbs 6:26)
Cross-Refs: Malachi 2:14–16; Hebrews 13:4.
Why (wrong motive): Pursuit of fleeting pleasure.
“The lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil.” (Proverbs 5:3)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 9:13–18; James 1:15.
Result: Bitterness, death, ruin.
“In the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.” (Proverbs 5:4)
Cross-Refs: Psalm 73:18–19; Revelation 2:22.
Lust as Distorted Desire
Category: Failure of self-control
Could endure: Channel desire into holy covenant love.
“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death.” (Song of Songs 8:6)
Cross-Refs: 1 Corinthians 13:7; Galatians 5:22–23.
Chose wrongly: Pursued love as lust detached from covenant.
“Do not lust in your heart after her beauty.” (Proverbs 6:25)
Cross-Refs: Matthew 5:28; James 4:1–3.
Endured (negatively): Consumed by desire, enslaved to passion.
“Many are the victims she has brought down.” (Proverbs 7:26)
Cross-Refs: Romans 1:24; 2 Peter 2:19.
Why (wrong motive): Seeking satisfaction apart from God’s design.
“Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” (James 1:14)
Cross-Refs: Galatians 5:19; Titus 3:3.
Result: Ruin, while true covenant love endures.
“Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.” (Proverbs 5:5)
Cross-Refs: Ecclesiastes 7:26; Revelation 17:2.