Wednesday, July 6, 2016
The book of Song of Solomon is, to many bible readers, unusual and hard to understand although it basically typifies the loving relationship between Christ and His church, that is, you and me. In fact, certain verses in it make some Christians feel uneasy, even make them blush. This happens because the world has greatly tainted what God intended to be beautiful and pure. To me, the verse which is perhaps the most important in this small bible book, ironically speaks about “little things.” It is found in Chapter 2, verse 15 and reads: “Catch for us the little foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”
Little foxes were known to have destroyed many vineyards at the time of this writing and the sad thing was that the destruction could have been prevented if the vineyard keepers had been vigilant. Some of you who have had your plants or trees of any kind destroyed by animals or insects, should relate and understand how true this biblical admonition is. In our case, we had two giant sycamore trees in our front yard which were destroyed by woodpeckers but oftentimes the animals which do the most damage are barely visible.
How does that relate to you and me, especially in spiritual matters? Well, here are a few small things that can cause us and others much damage: (1) Careless words that come out of our mouths. (2) Permitting our small differences to escalate and lead to quarrels, even name calling. (3) Forgetting to pray or read our bible. (4) A missed church service or activity here and there. (5) A missed opportunity to employ the gifts God has bestowed upon us. (6) A missed opportunity to offer up a prayer for someone or to share a word of encouragement. The list could go on and on but I trust you get the idea. And just like the little foxes, these are not that difficult to keep in check, especially when we remember we have a faithful God who hears our prayers and will help us every time we call on Him. Watch out for the “little foxes”!
Memory verse for the week: (Proverbs 22:1) “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”
