Catch Them Lil’ Foxes

Song of Solomon 2:15 reads like this:

“Catch us the foxes,

The little foxes that spoil the vines.

For our vines have tender grapes.”

In this beautiful book of the Bible, the vineyard seems to mean not only a vineyard, but in an allegorical sense,  our marriages.

Solomon’s bride was made the keeper of the vineyards, but her own vineyard she had not kept (vs. 1:6).  How often are we busy attending to the needs of others, even helping others with their marriages and lives, but neglecting our own?  I am guilty of this.  I need to first attend to my own vineyard – my own home and family and marriage – to ensure that it is well-kept, orderly and safe.  Then I will be better able to help others with their vineyards.

And then there’s them lil’ foxes.  We need to catch them, because they are destroying our vineyards.  Notice it’s not the big things that come in to destroy – a tornado, a pack of wild dogs, a hurricane, a deep frost – these would get our attention more easily.  But it’s the foxes – and little ones at that.  They sneak in stealthily, when we’re not paying attention, or sleeping.  They’re quiet and sly.  But they destroy.  They eat our vines, destroying the tender grapes.

It’s the little habits that come in to eat away at our marriages. An unkind word here, a  neglect of kindness there, a disregard for our spouse in the small things…this is where coldness of heart begins.  This is where tenderness is destroyed.  These are the little foxes that we must catch.  We cannot sit by and hope they stop destroying.  We must be proactive and set traps to catch them. They won’t go away on their own.

Let us be attentive keepers of our vineyards, and successful fox-catchers.