Stopping Those Little Foxes
By Rev. James May
The Book of Song of Solomon contains the greatest love story that’s ever been told. Because of the style of writing and the tendency for people to focus on the fleshly nature of a relationship between a man and a woman in love, you seldom hear many sermons from this book.
But if we put the words of Solomon in the right context it truly reveals the very heart of Jesus and his absolute love for his Bride, the church. Also, it reveals just how much the church must love the Lord. For true love to be fulfilled it must be a two-way street. Both the Bride and Bridegroom must be willing cast aside all else, and focus completely on one another.
A lot of critics have said that the Song of Solomon is too much like a racy novel and should never have been included in the Bible. That’s because they are thinking in the flesh and not in the spirit. This book reveals the absolute purity and depth of God’s love for his church; and in return reveals that godly love in the church for the Lord is just as pure love.
Before you ever get the true meaning of the Song of Solomon, you must read it while looking for the greater spiritual meaning behind what is said.
This morning I want us to look at the Song of Solomon, chapter 2, and we will catch a glimpse of how powerful the Love of God is for you and me. Oh how much God would want us to see how much he cares; and the response that he would desire of us.
We begin with verse 8 and immediately we are shown the picture of a loving Bride who has been awaiting the arrival of the Bridegroom; and now He begins to reveal himself as he comes ever nearer.
Song of Solomon 2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
In this verse we can see the excitement in the heart of the church as we realize that the Bridegroom is coming soon. Jesus is getting ready to call his church home and those who are truly a part of the Bride of Christ and who have made themselves ready for this coming, are growing more excited every day.
All anyone has to do is simply listen, listen with your heart and spirit for the voice of the Lord speaking to his Bride as his coming draws ever nearer. Nearly every sermon you hear, every prophetic teaching and every speaker who is in tune with the Spirit are saying the same thing – prepare yourself for his coming!
I think this could be a picture of Jesus coming in the clouds of glory, leaping from Heaven to Earth and rejoicing as he comes to take his Bride away!
Can’t you sense his coming is very near! If you listen closely with your spiritual ears, it’s almost as though you can hear his footsteps. Behold, the Bridegroom Comes! The next sound you might hear will be the Trumpet of the Lord calling his people to join him in the air. The next step you might take will be through the gates of heaven with Jesus!
Song of Solomon 2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
Why would Solomon refer to Jesus as a “roe, or young hart”? What these refer to is either a deer or a gazelle, both of which are noted for their skills at jumping and swiftness to get from one place to another as they run, skip and jump.
The picture I get is of how Jesus came down from Heaven, and with great love and a sincere desire to make a way that people could once again be reconciled to God to become a part of his Bride, he was born of a virgin. That was a giant leap for the sake of mankind.
It was a leap that Jesus took to take on the form of a human being, to dwell in a body made of the very dust of the earth that he had created as he laid in that manger and then grew up to walk and minister to the lost and dying for 3 ½ years.
Then Jesus took another giant leap from walking the earth to hanging on the cross to pay the price for our sin, and then he took another leap from the cross to the grave and into the depth where souls were held in Paradise to set them free and open the way for them to enter Heaven.
The Jesus took another leap from the grave back to life to be the firstfruits of the resurrection so that all who believe in him might have that same power of a resurrected life to enjoy eternally.
One more leap was taken when Jesus ascended back to Heaven to sit down at the Father’s right hand for his work of Redemption was fully done. Now Jesus is there, serving the church he loves so much as our only Mediator between God and man.
And there’s a few more leaps coming! First to come and take his Bride away and bring us back to our Father’s house for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. And then another leap in his Second Coming to put an end to the reign of terror of the Antichrist and to establish the Millennial Reign where the earth will finally know a 1000 years of peace in the earthly kingdom of Christ.
Then finally one last leap as the final judgment and destruction of evil, of Satan and of every person who refused to accept him but rejected the Lord Jesus Christ is carried out and a new heaven and earth without sin is created.
All of these events are driven by the love of God that created the plan that Jesus completed so that men could be saved and become a part of the Beloved Bride of Christ!
When we accept Jesus and begin to serve him in this life, it is as though he comes to us but he stands behind our wall – the wall of our flesh. We cannot fully gaze upon him, but he sees us.
Jesus is looking into the windows of our heart, showing himself, revealing his love, his glory and his power in bits and pieces through all of the lattice work in our lives that tend to hide the fullness of his glory from us. We can’t see him clearly but we see enough to know who Jesus is and those little glimpses of how great and glorious the Lord is, is enough to let us know that we can truly love and trust him.
We can only see as though through a dark glass, catching only partial views of his beauty and the love in his heart. Yet he is there, ever watching, always trying to reveal himself even more. The more we look through the lattice work, the more of him we come to know and see.
Song of Solomon 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Can you feel the love from God’s own heart as he speaks to each of us to Rise up from the world of sin around us, experience the great love of God and Come Away with him? Separate yourself from the darkness, come into the Light, taste and see that the Lord is good and that his mercy endures forever! God’s perfect love for his church is seen in the term, “Fair One”!
You might not think of yourself as being so beautiful! You might think of yourself as someone so unworthy, so imperfect, so tainted with sin, that it’s hard to imagine that God could ever love you!
But you are the apple of his eye and you are the very heartbeat of God! He loves you and calls you his “Fair One” for in the eyes of the Lord, there is nothing more beautiful that you who are his Bride!
It has been said that Beauty is in the eyes of the Beholder! Jesus is the Beholder! You are the object of his great love and affection! All Jesus sees in you is your heart that loves him in return! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL TO THE LORD! He gave his own life for you. He shed his blood for you! You are precious to the Lord! You are his Fair One!
Song of Solomon 2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
Song of Solomon 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
Song of Solomon 2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
When you give your heart to Jesus and his love begins to take effect in your life, it is truly as though the harsh winter and the cold rain of a life of sin that was ever flooding your soul are gone!
The darkness is gone and the Light of God begins to reveal a whole new world! It’s the springtime of your life, for all things have passed away, and now all things have become new! You are made a New Creation in Christ!
Where once there was mourning, now there is singing and rejoicing; and the voice of the Lord is heard in our hearts always speaking peace and forgiveness. The Spirit of God within us is ever witnessing that we are a part of that Bride of Christ and reminding us that we now adopted children of God.
The great love of the Bridegroom is ever being revealed in us and it brings joy and gladness for we know that all is well with our souls.
The “turtle” refers to a “turtle dove”, a symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit within, and also a symbol of harmlessness, meekness, purity and love. It was a dove that was seen to represent the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan River.
The voice of the Spirit is ever speaking of the perfection of God’s love and its impact upon the church, leading us down a pathway in life that helps us to take on the image of Christ as best we can in this body of flesh.
As the church is transformed into the image of Christ we will also begin to display his characteristics. The church must become as wise as a serpent, but as harmless as a dove. As we grow in Christ we allow the Love of God to shine through us and the whole world can see how great Jesus is!
This process is accomplished as we begin to walk with the Lord and the Fruits of the Spirit begin to manifest in our lives. As the Fruits of the Spirit begin to be revealed in us, then our lives begin to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God and we lead others to Jesus! All of these together are like a sweet aroma to the Lord who loves us. His great desire is that the Bride be fruitful and multiply and bear more fruit, ever bringing souls to Jesus. The sweet aroma of fruit ever growing in God’s kingdom is something that brings great joy to the Heart of God! That’s what we are all about; bearing fruit and being a pleasing Bride for the Bridegroom!
Now we hear the words of the Bridegroom that the church begins to relate to us that we may know the heart of the Lord toward his people.
Song of Solomon 2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
The true heart of love that Christ has for his Bride can be seen again in the affectionate words that he uses in calling us “his dove”. First we are called His “Fair Ones” and now “His Doves”. Those are God’s chosen words for us. We might speak to one another with such affectionate terms as “Sweetheart”, “Darling”, “honeybunch”, “Baby Doll” or “Honey”, but God calls you his Fair One and his Turtle Dove.
As we are walking with the Lord each day, he hides us in the crevices and clefts of the Rock, and that Rock is Christ himself! We are hidden in Jesus, in the secret places with Him as we walk the stairs of life!
How does the Apostle Peter describe that which we should adorn ourselves with so that the world will see Jesus in us?
1 Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
As we walk closely with Jesus, he is every keeping an eye on us, and we are ever seeking to know his face! The things in our hearts that are a part of the nature of Christ are what sets us apart from the world.
In the 14th verse we also hear the words of Jesus as he says that he wants to hear our voice! There is nothing more pleasing to the Lord to hear the voice of the Bride calling out to him, speaking to him in praise and worship, speaking to him in prayer and supplication. He longs to hear your voice as you call upon his name in your hour of need, in your hour of praise and in your times of both sorrow and joy. He looks upon your face with great compassion and mercy! His banner over you is love! He knows the beauty of your heart and the real you hidden behind the veil of flesh, and Jesus calls you beautiful! Bring joy to heart of God by just talking to him. He loves the sound of your voice!
Song of Solomon 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Here now is the place where we, the church, must be careful to not allow anything to enter into our hearts and lives that will destroy our connection to the vine that gives us life, joy, peace, mercy, grace and perfect love!
Listen to the words of Jesus as he speaks to his church in John Chapter 15.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
We must guard against the little foxes that spoil the vine. Jesus is the vine from which we all grow as “branches”, or smaller vines. He is our source of all things that are good. Unless we stay connected; we will lose it all.
We are God’s children, just beginning to produce the fruit that God seeks through us. Little grapes – those things in our lives that are like Christ. Perhaps it’s a right attitude, a caring spirit, a compassionate heart that we never had before for the lost and hurting of this world. Maybe it’s a new song in our hearts, or the birth of a Spirit of praise! Or maybe it’s just that we are taking our first spiritual baby steps in becoming more like Jesus!
Whatever the case, we have to be ever on guard against the “little foxes” that can begin to destroy our connection to the Vine by eating through our root to stop it all and cause us to lose that relationship with Jesus!
The Bride will never be what Jesus intends us to be unless we get rid of the foxes. The church will never experience true revival, or experience the miracles of God, or be given the privilege of seeing all of the gifts of the Spirit in operation in our midst unless we can get rid of the little foxes.
The fox is a rather peculiar animal. It loves to dig underground to build its den and feast on the roots of grapevines where he can kill the grapevine without being seen. It’s a very quiet animal and, as you can see in the picture, when they are still small, there can be several in one place. As they grow older they tend to run alone.
A fox also has incredible senses of sight, smell, and hearing. It is very sly and sneaky as it goes after its prey and has even been known to play dead in order to attack a bird that gets within its striking range.
When you go hunting after a fox, it is very smart and devious, and is often capable of misleading its pursuers with great skill. The fox has always been considered as an emblem of slyness - cunning - craftiness - mischief. He is fast, slick and very sneaky.
He’s also very small, and most people find him to be a pretty little animal, and because it’s so small and cute, most people don’t take him too seriously; at least not until he gets into the hen house. That’s when his true nature shines through!
Can we say then, that there are a lot of things that can come into our lives that can act like that little fox and spoil our relationship with Jesus; keeping us from experiencing the best that God has to offer?
Little foxes in your life can be as simple as something that steals your time with the Lord.
They can be things that divide your attention, causing you to not hear the voice of the Lord as he speaks, or even causes you to have a spiritual blindness so that you don’t get the vision that God wants you to have.
Little Foxes can be things that fill your heart so that there is no room for Jesus anymore if we aren’t careful!
-Watch out for the little things that can tear you down
-Little things that can destroy your home
-Little things that can destroy your Marriage
-Little things will hinder your Prayer Life
-Little things will Stunt your Spiritual Growth
-and even little things that might cause you to eventually turn you away from following Jesus!
We have to be ever on guard, always listening for that still-small voice that speaks to us that something in our lives is becoming a little fox that’s going to kill our connection to the heart of God!
Often, the little foxes are things that we just like to do a little too much. They don’t’ seem very bad; and in fact, they are enjoyable and have nothing wrong with them on the surface. But like that sneaky little fox that plays dead, those things can become deadly and destroy you if they are allowed to get too important.
Maybe it’s the TV, the computer, the cell phone, just talking to friends, a little too much attention to sports or even reading novels. I can’t tell you what your foxes are, but I can guarantee that every one of us has a few that are already chewing away at the roots of your connection to the Vine.
You have to speak to those things in your heart and declare to them that they will not destroy your relationship to Jesus! Remind yourself every day that there is really only one true priority in your life – to stay connected to Jesus so that you can receive from him what you need to live every day.
• Speak to that little fox and declare that he will not destroy your love and commitment to Christ!
• Speak to that fox and declare that he is dead to you; that he will not win; that he will not distract you from what is truly important; that he will not steal your prayer time; your “going to church time”; or your time needed to study the Word of God!
• Speak to the fox that keeps you from praising the Lord!
• Speak to that fox that keeps you from serving the Lord in ways that you know you should!
• Speak to that fox and declare unto him that you belong to the Jesus, that you are the Bride of Christ and that you refuse to be found unfaithful to Jesus!
Those little foxes in your life may seem harmless and even cute; but they are deadly! Little Foxes grow into big trouble; and the longer they are allowed to remain, the harder they are to cast out!
We must ever be on guard, knowing the time is short for the coming of the Bridegroom. Satan is hard at work, trying to create those little foxes that can keep us from being ready when Jesus comes! There are going to be a lot of people who will miss the Rapture of the Bride simply because they’ve allowed the little foxes to spoil the vine and sever that relationship with Jesus!
Don’t be caught by the foxes in your life! Speak the Word of victory over them. Plead the blood of Jesus over them. Ever seek the face of the Lord so that you can know to cast off the bondage of the foxes.
Every day we should ask the Lord to reveal to each of us the foxes that we have in our lives and help us to speak to them and overcome them in Jesus’ name!
Victory over the foxes is ours, if we will only cast them out of our lives and learn to draw ever closer to the Heart of God!
Then shall we see a greater victory in God! That’s when we will have a closer walk with Jesus than we ever thought possible. That’s when we will be close enough to hear him call our name in that day when the Bridegroom comes again to take his Bride away.
In this hour in which we live, the little foxes are hard at work in the lives of Christians everywhere, so be on guard against them and make sure that you are ever dwelling in that place of perfect love and relationship with Jesus.
God loves you so much, but you must love him in return for his will for your life to be fulfilled. We have to stay connected to the vine, but the little foxes are there to sever that connection. Don’t let it happen! Seek after that which is good for your life in the eyes of the Lord and run the little foxes off before they bring you down.
Don’t ignore them! Don’t think that they won’t hurt your relationship with Jesus! The things that occupy your heart and mind right now may not seem so bad. It might be cute in the beginning, but in the end that little fox means death. Take care of it now before it grows into something much larger.
It’s time to run the little foxes off before the vine is severed!
Don’t let seemingly innocent little things in your life come between you and your Lord! Speak to them from your heart and declare that they have to go!
You must have victory over the foxes!
