Be Careful of the Little Foxes.  By Laura Carson.

This morning as I was waking up, I was hearing parts of some familiar scripture running through my mind.  It was the beginning of John Chapter 15.  In verses 1 through 4 we read,

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

Just as a farmer cares  for his vines, so the Lord our Heavenly Father cares for our lives.  He uses various means to strengthen us as His branches so we can further carry out His will.  We are coached to ABIDE; obey, follow, keep to, hold to, conform to, adhere to, stand by, act in accordance with, defer to, respect.

After rereading those verses in John, I was prompted to check out the concordance in my Bible. Under vines I was referred to Song of Solomon 2:15

“Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.”

That scripture prompted me to do a little research about foxes.  I paused to pray because I almost had a sense of foreboding.

Historically foxes have represented cunning, trickery and are deemed sly, crafty or dishonest.  Those characteristics surely apply to the enemy of our souls.

If someone is called a fox, in this instance they are not referring to exceptional good looks.  But rather someone that gets whatever they want often by underhanded means.  In some cultures, foxes are a bad omen.  To them, the creatures represent deceivers, and thieves.  Some of these negative connotations of fox are found in the Bible. In Luke13:31-32

“On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” And He said to them, “Go tell that fox, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.”

That was Jesus speaking.

We as Christian’s need to be ever vigilant to keep those foxes at bay.  We do this by studying God’s Word and maintaining our relationship with our triune God through prayer , praise and worship and abiding in Him.