“Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.”
*this is writing #4 in a series of studying the Song of Solomon.
The setting is a garden. The season is the end of winter. An interesting picture. This is a time of year our gardens are not trimmed or tended to, having just come out of the winter. It’s the beginning of the season when the sun has barely poked its head and out of the dead and barren surroundings, small, green tender plants beginning poking their heads above the surface. It can be quite deceiving actually, the changing of the seasons. On one hand, it looks as if winter is over and you begin to see signs of spring, but the final frost hasn’t quite come. This physical occurrence in western America is between March 15 - April 15. You may have heard this saying, “April showers bring May flowers” because April is typically a transitional season leading into spring. Personally I have experienced snow fall in April to much surprise- just when I thought winter was over.
YOUNG BUDDING LOVE
There is a spiritual principle we see here in the Song, chapter 2, verse 15. In this segment of the love - poem, the writer is clearly making a comparison, or analogy, of a young budding garden to the love the two of them share. He references the time of year specifically by the fragility of the blossoms and fruit that is barely budding. This is such a specific season and why the author is comparing their love to this season. In March-April, the spiring season, you are getting lots of rain of course which is needed to give the seedlings underground and extra wake up push because in addition to feeding the plants, rainwater carries oxygen and nitrogen. This special beginning of spring is compared to young love. When love is new, exciting, fresh and full of hope. But like a beginning, budding garden at the front of the season, there is also more fragility.
It’s easy to get excited when you see the fruit trees have blossoms and flowers are coming up. Following the comparison of a young garden to young love, this season of love can sometimes give us ‘rose colored glasses’ and we can be caught up with the excitement that we are not securing the vulnerabilities of the garden. We think the season has barely started so we have time to put up some fences and clean the garden. However when it comes to a new budding garden, small tiny grapes are forming, figs are green and not ready to be harvested, these fruits in their early condition need to be protected from pesky critters that would come and feed off the garden before you get a chance to really enjoy it.
When the writer says, “catch for us the foxes”, it is interesting that he says this just following his setting the stage of the spring season, the fragility of their relationship, and the reinforcing of his love for his bride and her identity as lovely in everyday to him. He says, “you are beautiful! Let me look at you! Let me tell you how beautiful you are to me and how sweet your voice is to my ears.” In that same breath he then says, “catch the foxes that seek to destroy our love!”
This is clearly him warning her that she will need to relish in her identity as his bride because will be attacked. She needs to feed daily on these truths of his love and ward off those that would attack her in the area of her identity. What are the “foxes”? Well, first let’s understand literal foxes in a garden. Why do foxes come into gardens?
FOXES ARE SCAVENGERS
Foxes are scavengers. They come to eat, in the dirt (the worms) and any meal scraps they can find. Think of them like a pig or raccoon in the body of a very agile cat. With their quick-like movements they can get in and out fast making more damage in a short amount of time. With their claws and snout, they can dig tunnels and get into small hard to get places, like under fences and deck patios. With their keen sense of smell, they can find the gardens that have food left out and will sniff out the best spots to pillage. Foxes are attracted to gardens that are messy, dirty, unkept and available.
LOVE IN FULL BLOOM
When comparing the love now to a garden, when our love—Intimacy with God is in full bloom, we are in a high season if you will, of growing in God’s love and experiencing Christ, this is the most important time to be on alert and guard that love we are experiencing! The enemy seeks to come and destroy our love before it has a chance to really grow into mature fruit. We see this a lot with young believers. When people first come to Christ and they are so full of hope and love, but then insecurities and attacks come.
IDENTITY, ESTABLISH IN ITS INFANCY
One of the primary ways the enemy comes to attack our love is in the area of our identity. The negative thoughts of not being loved, valued, important, or even a child of God. The lies that come to attack our very identity as a child of God and a beloved bride that is awaiting a lovesick bridegroom. In fact, it has always been the enemy’s mode of operation to attempt to take things out before they are born or can take root. This is the easiest time to ruin something- before it is truly established.
tending to your garden
In your own life, think about the common things that “spoil the vine” that you have experienced or seen happen to others. I believe that similar to the parable of the sower, the key ‘foxes’ are these listed there; distraction, worries, lies and immaturity. We must guard our hearts and minds so that our love can mature and we can be strengthened for the times of persecution and temptation to believe lies, doubt and fear.
For this reason, I compiled a list of Scriptures that specifically address, “for it is written, in Christ I am….”. We must wash our minds with the word and transform our thinking to His.
Here is a compilation of such “for it is written” verses to strengthen your prayer life as a resource. Let’s feed our minds on the truth.