LITTLE FOXES

Time with Jesus - 30 Oct 2013

Hi all,

As a young Christian in the 1960’s there were certain books in the Old Testament I avoided. Mostly they were the major and minor prophetic books. I’d found them difficult to read and understand. 

Oliver Cromwell

The first six chapters of Daniel were not too bad. Most of these chapters were written in the third person. Furthermore, stories like Daniel in the Lion’s Den along with the tale of the three Hebrew young men being thrown into the fiery furnace, were easy to follow. Nebuchadnezzar and his strange dream were also familiar from my schooldays.

Was this merely my immature thoughts about the Bible? Anyway, who do you ask when you are 18 and feeling uncomfortable with infant baptism and the church being divided into clergy and laity? On top of this, I found it difficult to understand why the things I read in the New Testament were not seen all around where I was living. 

It was several years later that I realised, most of the clergy didn’t believe the miracles of the Bible. They were also undecided about the nature of Jesus. To “fob me off”, I was told that there were many contradictions in the Bible. 

No one would point them out to me, so I felt I’d been brushed aside by those who should have been able to help. Incidentally, I’ve found that today, many University Professors and teachers are unbelievers. I’ve even read of Bishops in the Anglican Church denying the resurrection. 

I feel like pointing out to them Paul’s letter to the Corinthians which states: ¹³ For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 1 Cor. 15:13-14 NLT In other words, the Bishop has no right to say he is a Christian. He can’t be.

What then is meant by “Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love.” To better understand what is taking place, look at the passage from which the quotation is taken.

The lover says to her ¹⁰ My lover said to me, "Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one! ¹¹ Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. ¹² The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. 

¹³ The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!" Son 2:10-13 NLT

She replies ¹⁴ My dove is hiding behind the rocks, behind an outcrop on the cliff. Let me see your face; let me hear your voice; for your voice is pleasant and your face is lovely. ¹⁵ Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming! ¹⁶ My lover is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies. Son 2:14-16 NLT

Before looking at the meaning for us in the 21^st century, we must understand that SoS is a love poem. It is the story of the love of a young man for a young woman and her love for him. 

You and I have been there at one time in our lives, so we need not be surprised at the passion in the words. He loves her and she loves him. They celebrate their intimate passion in words typical of the marriage bed. Let’s therefore not disturb them.

SoS is not merely the love story of a man and a women. It is much deeper than that. It is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for His bride. He loves His bride with an indescribable passion. 
His bride is both corporate and individual. He has demonstrated His love for His bride by laying down His life for her. We are supposed to love Him the same way. We will do as we get to know Him more and more. 

As a man it’s difficult for me to grasp the love of a woman for her husband. The love of a husband for his wife is the best I personally have known. But Jesus wants more than that! He wants me to know something of the love He has for me as well as the love of a woman for a man. It’s impossible without using the language of a young couple in the marriage bed.

He wants to love you and me far more than a groom loves his bride. Writing in Ephesians, Paul speaks of the marriage relationship between a husband and a wife. It is an attitude of complete submission by the bride to her husband. 
She surrenders herself to him and trusts him completely, knowing that he only has her best interests at heart. As his bride, we must surrender to Him and trust Him completely. As we do so our love will be consummated in ways that are beyond our wildest dreams. Indeed, we long for Him and don’t want anything to disturb our love. 

We want to exclude all the possible distractions which might interfere with our love. Today it would be cell phone calls; a knock at the door; the maid bringing a meal, calls by well-meaning friends. These are some of the possible little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love.

For the “older Christian” the little foxes would be those who interfere between the love of husband and wife. e.g. an extra-marital relationship. They could be comments by unbelievers. Perhaps the teaching of a “backslidden bishop” teaching the heresy he believes true; Churches that reject the plain teaching of the Bible. 
All these become the little foxes which might ruin the vineyard of our love for the Lord. Don’t let it happen!

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 30 October 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	LITTLE FOXES
It is commonly believed that Oliver Cromwell, when he was Lord Protector of England, gave a very clear instruction to his portrait painter, Sir Peter Lely. It seems that Cromwell’s face was not particularly attractive. It was disfigured by ugly warts. Portrait painters in those days always tried to do their best to make the subject look good. So if there was anything unsightly, the defect would not be shown on the canvas. It is believed that Cromwell told Lely to paint him, “Warts and all”. Today we would talk about spin doctors who are paid for making the person look better than they really are. It’s the difference between truth and a “snow-job”. Traditionally, Song of Solomon was written by King Solomon as a young man. The book is said to be a sort 950BC description of the physical relationship between a man (the King) and the woman he loved. It’s a bit “racy”, But if you look beyond the physical descriptions you read of the passionate love Jesus has for the woman of His choice; the Bride of Christ. There is a sense in which it could be written no other way. How do you describe God’s love for anyone or anything? We know it is not an intellectual appreciation of love between a man and his wife. It cannot be. It must reflect, in some incredible way, how Jesus feels about his people. He loves us passionately in a way we can’t quite understand. The way newly-weds feel about each other on honeymoon. It is said that they try and “eat” each other. But how do you describe the love of Jesus for His people? Certainly not coldly and dispassionately. It must be described in understandable language. This way cannot be a full description. We wouldn’t be able to grasp that anyway. So, describing it inadequately using a medium we all understand is more or less all that can be done. It is described to us “warts and all”. With all the defects that are inevitable when God seeks to convey truth to His people! So God uses the language of the bed-chamber so that we can get the “feel” of what He is saying to us. The little foxes are the intrusions into the physical relationship brought about by our circumstances. For you and me, the little foxes are sin. Sin always comes between God and His people. Paul wrote, 5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Colossians 3:5 NLT. Sin is idolatry. It means we are worshipping another god. It is the same as adultery. We can’t passionately love Jesus while we are in sin! Such little foxes must be excluded. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming! Song of Solomon 2:15 NLT	All the little foxes that come and spoil the vine, Are like the little errors that spoil the love of mine For Jesus and His Kingdom. We know that they are sin. And illustrates the difficulty you and I are in. The lovely book of poetry which Solomon once wrote, Speaks about two lovers. The one a man of note, The other of a maiden and how they both relate, Loving one another like husband and his mate. The lover in the poem is like Jesus Christ above. Speaking with a passion, about His awesome love, For the one He’ll marry as soon as He returns. It speaks about the fire, that deep inside Him burns, To be with His beloved for whom He gave His life And live with her forever as husband and His wife. The poem shows the problems, hindering the pair. And of those tender moments, when no one else is there. Of how the little foxes often come between, The Lord and His beloved; the one who’ll be His queen. All the other verses describe just what will be, If we will continue with our quest for purity. The Scriptures tell us plainly of the sins which we commit. They damage our relationship and render us unfit To being with our “husband” and fails to find His grace, If any root of bitterness comes in to take His place. We’d been running perfectly, but we have been deflected. The course of true obedience in us was not detected. We’d become unworthy of the Gospel of the Lord. Only by repentance we will not face His sword! It seems our biggest problem is the wagging of the tongue. Gossip is unrighteous; it places us among, Those who worship idols; the things their hands have made. Just to think about it, should make us feel afraid. The tongue that worships Jesus, must never worship Baal. That’s a certain practice which causes love to fail. Can you see the foxes that suddenly appear, Spoiling our relationship? They stop us drawing near, To the only person on Whom we can depend? Our everlasting Lover, our Saviour and our Friend. Jim Strickland Written 30 Oct 2012
			12 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Psalms 19:12 TNIV
			15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; Hebrews 12:15 ESV
			7 You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? Galatians 5:7 MSG
			6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 NLT
			27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, Philippians 1:27 ESV
			5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:5-8 ESV
			6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6 TNIV