| THE FOX Song of Solomon 2:15 |
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| The fox speaks to our hearts of temptation and ultimately of the tempter. I. His Desires A. Flesh - The fox is a carnivorous animal, that is he is a meat eater. "....they shall be a portion for foxes." (Ps. 63:10) While the fox will feed on carrion meaning that temptation feeds on dead people (the lost man), he prefers the fresh kill of the living (the saved man). We must ever realize that the tempter is determined to devour much flesh and delights to destroy the life of the believer and unbeliever alike, hence so many self destructive habits in the world. B. Fruit - The Middle Eastern fox had an appetite for fruit, particularly the fruit of the vine. "take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." (Song of Solomon 2:15) The devil is out to destroy our effectiveness in fruit bearing for the Lord Jesus (John 15). It is not really the "big" temptations which do the most harm in the life of the believer, it is the "little foxes" that ruin our "tender grapes." Tobiah the Ammonite taunted Nehemiah about the wall he was building with the words "if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall." (Neh. 4:3) You may be sure Satan would if he could. It is significant that Samson used 300 foxes to destroy the standing grain of the Philistines. One fox alone could not, but 300 double teaming could. II. His Devices The Middle Eastern fox was a burrowing animal. He made his lair by digging a hole in the ground. This is what our Lord was referring to in Matt. 8:20 and Luke 9:58. The inference is clear. Temptation is always from the earth or worldly. Satan uses the arrows of the world (lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and pride of life - 1 John 2:16) to shoot at the believer. Every temptation you will ever face will have the world as its source either in action or attitude. Often these arrows of temptation will be camouflaged almost beyond recognition. The fox depends upon his cunning to take his prey. This is why Jesus called Herod a fox. (Luke 13:31, 32) See Ezek. 13:1-4. Remember that the serpent is more subtle than any beast of the field. III. His Defeat We must realize that victory over temptation is possible. See 1 Corth. 10:13. Our safety is in the vine and vinedresser. John 15:1-6 teaches us to "abide in Christ." We resist the temptation by: A. Submission to God - James 4:7 B. Supplication - Luke 22:46 and Matt. 6:13 C. Scripture - As did our Lord in His hour of temptation |
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