(READ: JUDG. 15:3-53And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 4And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. (Judges 15:3‑5); SONG OF SOL. 2:1515Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. (Song of Solomon 2:15); LAM. 5:1818Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it. (Lamentations 5:18); MATT. 8:19, 2019And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Matthew 8:19‑20); Luke 13:31-3531The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. 32And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. 33Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! 35Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Luke 13:31‑35).)
UD 15:3-5{OS 2:15{AM 5:18{AT 8:19-20{UK 13:31-35{
THE FOX is an animal that is found in very many parts of the world, and the species inhabiting Palestine is not unlike its cousin of the English country-side. It burrows in the ground and is noted for being sly and cunning in the way in which it catches its prey.
Nothing good is said of this creature in the Bible, and seldom is anything good heard of it in this country, where it is regarded as vermin on account of the manner in which it robs the poultry runs, and makes itself a veritable plague to the farmer.
None of its vices, however, are very apparent, for it is a handsome animal, clad in fine fur, and though its intelligent face is somewhat marred by a cunning expression, yet taken altogether it must be admitted that the fox is a good-looking creature. In the same way many young people have been favored with good looks, with straight and supple limbs, well formed and fashioned in every way, but, perhaps, they too, like the fox, give no indication of the bad habits and evil thoughts that lie hidden away in their hearts. The God with whom we shall all have to do is no "respecter of persons," He sees us all through and through, each of us can consequently say on the darkest night when we are alone and in bed: "Thou God seest me." What does He see? Does He see the same picture that your friend, your brother or your sister sees? Listen: "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Sam. 16:77But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7).) By a similar test we should find that the subject of this chapter is bad—bad in every respect. If you applied the test to yourself, I to myself, what should we find? What I should like to find would be some of the beautiful fruit of the Spirit, comprising: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.”
But let us return to the fox. I am sure there is no animal, bird, or even fish, in the Bible that could not teach us some lesson, and as we have now got into the habit of making a few definite headings, let us proceed to do the same for the fox. I propose to speak to you about: (1)The wantonness of the fox.
Its cunning.
Its home.
Its associations.
(1)the Wantonness of the Fox
Wantonness is defined in the dictionary as "indulgence to excess," and I think this describes the fox of the Bible. We may often read in the newspapers about a fox making a raid on some farmyard, and destroying a large number of fowls and chickens, far more than it is ever likely to need for food. It is indulging its passion for killing birds to excess. In this respect it is a far greater offender than its distant relative the bear. Nor is it content with the slaughter of the innocent, for it also makes a descent on the vineyard when the grapes-are ripening and are nearly ready to be gathered. In the Song of Solomon you have already read, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Ah! yes! Even the little foxes are culprits, and must be caught and destroyed before they grow up and become still greater adepts in the ways of wantonness and destruction. And what of the vine?
Let us turn to the New Testament for a few moments and we shall find that the Lord likens Himself to the vine, for does He not say, "I am the true vine" (John 16)? Assuredly He does, but He proceeds to say, "ye are the branches." I should like you to think of this, because then you will realize how dependent the branches are on the vine itself, which feeds them with the necessary sustenance, and in just that way the Christian is dependent on his Lord, and without His support will soon fail.
Now proceed a step further. What do we expect to find on the branch? "Fruit," you all say at once, or perhaps "grapes," when we talk of the fruit of the vine. Come now, our picture develops—our Lord looks for fruit too, and what fruit can you suggest? Surely the fruit of the Spirit of which we have already spoken.
Once more we will return to the fox, and what does he do? He seeks to destroy those tender grapes, those grapes that have been so carefully nurtured—and now, the little foxes are here to destroy my pretty picture. What are these little foxes? I think we might look upon them as the small temptations, the little almost unnoticed influences for evil with which all Christians are beset. A school-friend asks you to go somewhere or do something of which you know your parents or Sunday school-teacher would not approve. Ah! only one of those little foxes, you may think, a very little one perhaps, but the little foxes are bent on destroying the tender grapes. They are agents of Satan to deprive your Master of that fruit for which He is looking. "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."
(2)the Cunning of the Fox Every One Knows That the Fox Is Cunning; We Often Hear People Say, "As Cunning As a Fox"—It Is Proverbial—but It Is Not a Nice Reputation to Have. During Fox-Hunts This Cunning Has Often Baffled the Hounds As Well As the Huntsmen, so Many and Varied Are the Schemes of Master Reynard. but to Be Likened to a Fox, to Have the Name of Being Cunning and Sly, Is Far From Good, and We Should, Be Very Surprised If a King or Some One in High Places Were to Be Called a Fox. yet King Herod, Who Was a Mean Man and Very Unsuited to High Office, Was Seen in His True Character by Our Lord, Who, When the Pharisees Would Have Persuaded Him to Flee for His Life As the Wicked King Wanted to Kill Him, Said With All the Majesty of Divine Assurance: "Go Ye, and Tell That Fox, Behold, I Cast Out Devils, and I Do Cures to Day and to Morrow, and the Third Day I Shall Be Perfected." He Would Not Cease From Those Good Works As Long As It Was His Father's Will That He Should Continue. "He Went About Doing Good, for God Was With Him." No Earthly Power, Be It King or Emperor, Could Turn Him Aside From His Pathway of Devoted Love.
What a terrible description of a king—"that fox"! A man, who with great opportunities for good, had no high motives, but rather was of a sly and crafty disposition, only wanting to see Jesus in the hope of witnessing some miracle. But, as might be expected, our Lord did not satisfy such idle curiosity, and we know that later on king Herod, the highly favored, came to a most miserable end. Once again I would remind you that God is no respecter of persons, "the rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate," the king on his throne, the beggar at the street corner, of all it is equally true, "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
May none of us ever deserve to be called "that fox.”
(3)the Home of the Fox
The crafty, cunning fox has a home of its own making. It burrows in the ground, and near by has its larder, where it hides its stolen food, its ill-gotten gains. How it touches our hearts when we read those words of the Lord Jesus about the foxes, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head," especially when we ponder who the Speaker was—the Maker of the world, of the universe. We should have expected that if He came to earth it would have been as a mighty emperor, the highest in the land, and One to whom every king would bend the knee, and yet we know at His birth there was "no room" for Him in the inn!
Again, let us consider another occasion after the Lord Jesus had been preaching and teaching in the temple, the seventh chapter of John ends by relating that "every man went unto his own house." Yes, each had his home to go to. The division of chapters here is very bad, so we will go on and read the first verse of the next chapter, "Jesus went unto the mount of Olives." We can be fully assured that when He was alone on that mount, He was communing with His Father in heaven, whose will He was fulfilling in every step of His pathway.
Is your heart affected by those sad and solemn words which tell us that the fox had its home, but our blessed Lord, the Son of God, had no home down here in this world, He was rejected? He has no place in the world to-day, except in the hearts of those who love Him. These are His words, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Would you not like to open the door of your heart, give Him a welcome, and show Him by your love that if He had nowhere to lay His head when here on earth, you are one of those who would like to make a home for Him?
Just dwell for a moment on the contrast between the home of the fox, and every man having a home to which he could go, but the Lord of life and glory with no home on earth. How great is His love and grace! Let us each seek to make room for Him.
(4)the Associations of the Fox Wherever We Read of This Beast We Find Nothing Pleasant Associated With Him, It Is Generally Rather a Scene of Utter, Dreary Desolation, Nothing Good for God or Man! in the Lamentations We Read, "the Mountain of Zion, Which Is Desolate, the Foxes Walk Upon It," so the Fox Is Associated With a Desolate Mountain, and yet That Very Mountain, the Mountain of Zion, Should Have Been Full of Song, the Praises of Jehovah Should Have Been Heard Everywhere, but Instead of This, Foxes Were the Only Occupants of the Place. We Read About the Message to "That Fox," Herod, and in Connection With What Was Said Then, Our Blessed Lord in the Tenderest Grief Speaks to That Favored City Jerusalem, Saying, "Behold, Your House Is Left Unto You Desolate." How Sad It Is to Read of These Places, Which Should Have Been to the Praise of God, Just Noted for Their Desolation; Nothing in Them That Is Desirable!
The very name of fox in scripture seems linked with desolation; indeed, on one occasion foxes were actually used for the purpose of spreading desolation, for we read that Samson caught three hundred foxes, took them two by two, tail to tail, and having tied lighted firebrands to them, sent them thus among the growing corn of his enemy, the Philistines, to destroy their crops, and in this way they spread desolation.
How sad it is to think of a land once fair and smiling but now laid waste and desolate; many a fertile plain was thus ruined during the Great War. Trees were destroyed, branches shattered and scarred by gunfire—but sadder still is the picture of hearts that were once warm with affection for their Lord and happy in His service, but have now become cold and barren.
In writing, to the church at Ephesus it was said, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou halt left thy first love," and we know how this state grieved our Lord; if we lose our first love for Him, our hearts too will become cold towards Him. May it never be true of us that our hearts are desolate, thus becoming a fit place for the foxes—some of those horrid little foxes—to come and make their homes.
May our talk about the ways and habits of the fox rather preserve us from similar failings ourselves.