The Little Foxes That Destroy Fruitfulness

UV 1419/10,000 The Little Foxes That Destroy Fruitfulness
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Song of Solomon 2 v 15
Samson could triumphantly catch 300 large foxes, tie them tail to tail, set them on fire and send them into the fields of his enemies, the Philistines. But he could not see the little fox of adultery in the shape of the woman Delilah. He could not see the little fox of deception that Delilah set upon him to discover the secret of his great strength. These little foxes nibbled on Samson’s vulnerabilities and rendered him powerless, blinded, shackled and humiliated. The little foxes are too tiny to be noticed unless one is very sensitive and alert. The little foxes come in pairs –for example, adultery and deception, pride and folly, greed and selfishness, laziness and carelessness and so on. The pair of little foxes take turns at nibbling on us and the vineyard of our fruitfulness, usefulness, productivity and blessings. The little foxes bleed and weaken us internally. They know our areas of weakness through which they can enter the vineyard of our lives. The little foxes are so cunning that they can delude and deceive even the learned and the wise. It could start off as just a little entertainment, some fun and frolic but end up as a life trap. In the very first generation of mankind, Adam and Eve fell to the little fox of deception and believed a lie. They then hid themselves from God in the garden of Eden. In the next generation, that little fox of deception metamorphosed into the little fox of envy in Cain for his sibling Abel’s blessedness. Human rebellion matured into murder within one generation. Solomon himself known as the wisest of men and the one who is believed to have authored the Song, fell a prey to the little foxes. He was influenced by the beliefs of his many wives and concubines.

The little foxes are cunning, charming and seductive as symbolised by their lovely hues and bushy tails. They penetrate our defences very easily and run in and out. The little foxes of doubt and scepticism have run amuck in human history and brought a plague of disbelief and “misbelief” upon our race. Darwinian philosophy of survival of the fittest seems very attractive to those who pride themselves on their independence and take faith as a sign of weakness, a crutch on which weak people lean as Marxists began to propagate. The doctrine of evolution began to be taught in schools and colleges as ultimate truth when it has neither proof nor scientific basis as it goes against the very grain of science-cause and effect, that every effect has been caused by some action, that ultimately there is a first cause that set all things in motion. Evolution taken to its logical conclusion justifies an amoral if not an immoral lifestyle. The little fox of religiosity, having the outer form without the inner power is equally if not more dangerous. Dogmatism and rigidity replace compassion and love when this little fox is allowed freeplay.

Among the faithful, the tendency to take God for granted and the consequent prayerlessness are little foxes that damage the vines with tender grapes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Those who have tried to even catch a pair of rabbits in their garden know how difficult it is to catch or capture the little foxes that are on the rampage. The wiser thing to do is to build our fences of prayer and the Word and not let the little foxes in. If we are tuned in to the Holy Spirit we will be able to identify the little foxes in our nature and be able to trap them before they trap us. The faithless or negative words we speak create gaps in our spiritual fencing through which the little foxes enter. The thoughts and feelings we entertain in our hearts and minds also create breaches in the moral and spiritual fencing of our lives. The significance of this uni-verse in the Song of Solomon is that each human being and all of us collectively are the beloved of the Lord. God’s purpose is to see that man who has been created in his image become fruitful gardens. Satan’s purpose is to send in little foxes. The little foxes do not remain little. They grow and mature into adult ones who can be easily identified from even a mile. As Jesus said, “ A tree is known by the fruit it bears.” When the little foxes that are subtle and tiny to begin with grow, when small compromises, the draw of temptations and the drag of flaws mature, the evil will even fill our own nostrils with the stench.

Prateep V Philip