Song of Solomon 2:15 ‘Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.’

DAILY READING – • Philippians 4; Ezekiel 24; Isaiah 52

In 2013, archaeologists from George Washington University and Tel Aviv University discovered a wine room in an ancient Canaanite palace in Kabri, Israel which gave an insight into the importance of the winemaking culture in ancient Israel.
Other excavation of archaeological sites have shown evidence of how wine production was a flourishing business throughout Israel in historical times

Indeed in ancient Israel, one of the biggest agricultural industries was wine production and so vineyards were considered very important.

The account in 1 Kings 21:1-29 shows us that a vineyard was considered to be so desirable that, it led queen Jezebel to plot to take away the life of the owner of a vineyard. She arranged for Naboth to be arrested on a trumped-up blasphemy charge, and then stoned to death so that her husband, King Ahab, could take over his vineyard.
However while owning vineyards was considered a lucrative venture, there were also great challenges involved because vineyards were very susceptible to attacks.
Lots of things could harm the growing grapes such as bears, thieves, wind and other natural disasters. And so owners of vineyards often came up with plans to protect their property against these threats.
However their greatest problem was not the big things but the little foxes that would sneak in at night, while the grapes were still growing. These foxes would gnaw on the tendrils and eat the flowers before the grapes were set and could end up destroying an entire harvest in a single night.

Song of Solomon 2:15 says ‘Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.’

Indeed small things that seem unimportant can spoil great things
As believers while we may be looking out to avoid the ‘big sins’ sometimes it is the little things that cause the worst damage.

Many of us can see the big picture of our lives and the great destiny before us, but we must be careful with the ‘little foxes’ if we are to succeed.
We must watch out for little resentments, white lies, envies, gossip, jealousy, pet sins, little dishonesty etc,. We must nip them in the bud and deal with them before they become strong habits or spiritual strongholds that end up difficult to uproot.

Indeed “little foxes” can cause great damages in the vineyards of our lives.
Fleeting thoughts of lust that may seem harmless today, can lead to a chain of events that can bring down a great Christian testimony tommorow.

Therefore we must constantly guard our hearts with all diligence and give no room to the devil.

Today, we live in a world where the weight of sin is being watered down.
Some have said it is not possible for a believer to live without sinning. And others have said a saint is only a sinner who sins less, but that is not true. God’s will is not that we sin less — God’s will is that we do not sin at all

In John 8:11 Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery “Go and sin no more!”
If Jesus says it is possible to sin no more, then it is.

James 4:7 says ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’.

We have a spiritual responsibility to resist the enemy.

Through feeding on the Word of God, our minds can be daily renewed to live righteous and holy.

Psalms 119:9 says ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.’

And Psalms 119:11 says ‘Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.’

All these scripture verses help us to understand that the war with sin can be won through the Word. Every struggle with the small foxes of sin can be overcome as we hide the Word of God in our hearts and daily draw closer to Him through intimate fellowship.

To live in victory, we can’t let the little foxes of life spoil the great harvest God has for our future.
Truly when we are faithful in the small things, God will entrust us with greater things (Mathew 25:21).

PRAYER: Lord, Please help me to always pursue holiness and righteousness in all I do. As I spend more time in Your Word, the little foxes of sin will never gain a hold on my life in Jesus Name. .
Quote
God is preparing you for the season He prepared for your breakthrough. WORDBITE 222