— From the distaff side —

Little Foxes

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." — Sol 2:15

Our text is plucked from the midst of a vivid biblical description of a man-woman love relationship: Solomon and the Shulamite.  "Spoil” here meaning to bind or twist so as to pervert or destroy.  He was concerned that something from their past or present lives could threaten that budding love and wanted to excise anything that might injure or destroy it.  Just as she had (literally) rid the vineyards of “little foxes”.  Simply put, Solomon was protectively and passionately arguing for love insurance.

Metaphorically, their’s was a type of the intimate love-relationship between God and His people — whom scripture sometimes identifies as His vineyard (Ps 80:15; Is 5:1; Mt 20:1) or the "planting of the Lord" (Is 60:21; 61:3).  The “little foxes” represent Satan and his cohorts, always seeking to spoil fruit in the lives of God’s people — to ruin a harvest intended for His pleasure and divine use (Jn 10:10a; Eph 6:12).  This scenario began in Eden’s garden with the head “fox” sin-spoiling the seed and fruitfulness of mankind and has played again and again throughout history.  Thanks be to God for His redemptive intervention!  He has restored the possibility of a harvest from those who accept Jesus Christ and His sacrificial work on their behalf (Jn 3:16).

Scripture exhorts us to diligently locate and rid our lives of anything threatening our precious love-relationship with God and spoil its fruit.  If our fruit is to mature, we must be vigilant, to be much in His Word and in prayer; in submission to the divine “vine-dresser”.  There are many “little foxes” to take captive, beginning with the “garden” of our thought-life (2Cor 10:3-5).  Doubt, error beliefs, wrong attitudes, eye and flesh lusts, the pride of life, and all the works of the flesh (Mt 22:29; Mk 11:23; Mk 4:4-7; Gal 5:19-21).  Oh, thank You Lord for giving us Your power to deal with every spoiler so that we might offer up an abundant harvest of good fruit to glorify You,?our loving Father.

Please forgive this assertion, but in all likelihood at least one spoiler is now at work in your “garden”; whether recognized, denied, acknowledged or justified.  Take heed!  The enemy’s intent is to ruin any fruit in your life that glorifies God and which could bring you eternal blessings.  Even if you believe the yard of your life and love to be safely fenced, please pray with me: Father, in Your mercy, reveal the foxes in my life and help me get rid of them.  I am Your branch in Christ’s vine.  Help me fruitfully abide in Him that I may produce an abundant harvest to Your praise and glory.  A-men.  — D.

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