It is the small foxes that destroys the vine This phrase comes from the book of Song of Solomon, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” Song of Songs 2:15
Let us take a look at a post that was posted by Roots and Wings Ministries International.
Many to most people, believers and sinners alike place emphasis on outward sins that are considered by them as large or outrank other sins. Such said sins are lying, stealing, killing or murder, cussing, fighting and for some; drinking or drunkenness and smoking and drugging, gossiping, cheating, adultery and other sexual sins. The sins that can be physically seen and outwardly detected are the sins deemed as great and to some opinions; these sins will get the greater of the wrath of God than others. One important truth to bear in both mind and heart is the following news flash: “ALL DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD IS SIN. ALL DISOBEDIENCE TO BOTH; GOD’S WAYS AND HIS WORD IS SIN AND ALL SIN’S ORIGIN IS WITHIN THE HEART OF MAN.’
There are sins that can be easily detected while and yet other sins are hidden and lay very low under the radar. What are the small foxes that destroys the vine? `Little foxes in the lives of people and more specifically believers, have a very long listing. Little foxes are those things that robs a believer of fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Fruit=souls for the kingdom of Christ. Fruit=the character and the characteristics of Christ Jesus. Little foxes are the hidden sins of the heart that hinders many believers in their walk of righteousness. Little foxes are the desires and lusts that have not been given over to the Holy Spirit to be mortified or put to death. Little foxes are the sinful thoughts, talk and deeds that many consider not important enough for God or his Spirit to take great notice of.
In our overview of Achan, we have found that he too thought that his sin was not important enough to be considered and or bring forth a penalty. Again, we must remind ourselves that ALL disobedience to God is sin. All disobedience not repented of will incur a penalty. There are still and yet some acts of disobedience that will incur a penalty even after repentance. Adam’s act of disobedience incurred a penalty that has reached down throughout the ages. Though he repented, though Eve repented, the penalty for the sin brought forth death, even the death of Christ. In the case of Achan, his thought to be unimportant sin caused 36 men to lose their lives. Achan’s seemingly unimportant sin caused there to possibly be widows and fatherless children. Achan’s seemingly unimportant sin brought death to him and his entire family. Achan’s seeming unimportant sin brought doubt to peoples mind about God and his promises. His sin caused false accusations to be thrown at God. No one, not even Joshua had a clue what was in Achan’s heart and mind. No one had an inkling about the small foxes that were nibbling away at the inner core of Achan. An overview of Achan’s short but powerful story shows that there were quite a few foxes that were destroying the vine.
Sin, no matter its size, no matter its weight, travels with its partner: destruction. One of the more important things that I learned about the small foxes is that they are considered to be solitary animals. They don’t travel in packs. They are call sly because of their crafty hunting skills. Many to most of the times the small foxes will hit the vineyard at night. They go in when there is no one around. Many times the vinedresser does not know that the small foxes have hit the vines until after the destruction of the vine is manifested which happens to be dying or destroyed vines. The destruction does not manifest at the time of the attack on the vine. The small foxes like to gnaw on the trunk, dig holes around it and expose the roots. They don’t simply eat the grapes, they like to destroy the entire vine! Foxes eat berries and fruit. Little foxes will eat the shoots and the fruit and may even dig up the root of vines. Bear in heart and mind that small foxes expose the roots. Small foxes through its gnawing and digging expose those things that are in the heart of a person. The destructive behaviors, unclean thoughts and talk, etc are the things that are rooted in the heart. We identify the little foxes as small faults and errors; “a little white lie, the helping of ourselves to a grape at the grocery store unpaid for and the helping of ourselves to other small objects desired and not given by permission or paid for, shorting someone of a debt owed, speaking ugly things about someone in a manner that is displayed as teasing or joking. Envying the possessions and positions of others inwardly but displaying supposed joy outwardly, attitude. While attitude carries both positive and negative meanings we choose to use the following definition for implication of our discourse: uncooperative behavior; a resentful or antagonist (opposing or hostile) manner.
What we call small faults and errors; if not put into check by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, can manifest some devastating effects and can cause great destruction and in some cases; Mass Destruction. Many to most of the times what we call a blow out began with a slow leak.
The tender grapes that are mentioned in Song of Solomon 2:15 are representation of our characters. One of the more promising works of the Holy Spirit is to conform us into the very image of Christ. He does so by searching the deep things in the heart of man and bringing to the forefront the things within us that are not like Christ. The Holy Spirit will then either lead us to the Word of God that instructs on the sin or bring to our remembrance what we have read from the Word of God referencing the sin that we are calling a small error or fault. He then allows us to make a decision about what we want to do with what has been both shown and the instructions to put into action. The authentic believer will of course, cry out for deliverance from any and all such things that are not like Christ while as yet the mixed hearted will struggle with what has been shown and the instructions provided.
Naming more of little foxes that spoil the vineyards”, the sins of the spirit that hinder the fruit of the Spirit in our lives are jealousy, pride, greed, envy, strife, unforgiveness, bitterness, and so much more and remember that these foxes are not seen until the destruction manifests but God can see these ‘secret’ sins. King David tried to cover up his sins of adultery and murder, but he could not hide his sins from God. He saw David’s wickedness and sent Nathan the prophet to confront David. “(2 Samuel 12:7). Later, David confessed his sins and received forgiveness. He wrote in Psalm 32:5: “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.”
Many who have read “Walking in a Dead Man’s shoes” says that there is nothing wrong with what John did. Some say that what John found by way of the material things, was a blessing from the Lord. Let’s take a quick glance at Proverbs 10: 22. We are going to record that passage of scripture from four translations;