Catch The Foxes

Song of Songs is an interesting book to study, but is there a relevance for singles like me to read a book targeted towards married couples? Of course there is, as statistically most will marry and what’s better than learning what a biblical marriage should look like – a man and a woman deeply in love with each other.

Mark Driscoll has done a series of talk on the Song of Songs called “The Peasant Princess”. There was one talk in particular that I found to have immense relevance to us singles in our quest for marriage. Titled ‘The Little Foxes’, in reference to the following verse:

Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom." (Song of Songs 2:15)

The foxes being used as a metaphor for those little things that get into a relationship to spoil them. Driscoll used this verse as a platform to point out how best to set up a biblical marriage and to avoid spoiling a relationship. He worked under the headings of Foxes, Fears and Friends.

Here’s a run down but I recommend you have a listen for yourself here.

Foxes

Architecting issues

• As in agree on a blue print
• Have the same priorities – Jesus (grow as a Christian), be a good spouse, be a good parent, other responsibilities (e.g. employment)
• Anything else puts a fracture in the relationship

Organising home – open or closed

Technology – switch off to spend time with family

Extended family – their involvement in conflicts, decisions and holidays

Scheduling and budgets – know each others schedules, plan a ‘date night’

Disagreements – find the best way to deal with them, give and take, understand the other person’s perspective

Annoyances – differences are interesting initially, with time they can get annoying

Attitudes – have biblical attitudes

Fears

• Some fears are good, others are bad
• None have to be paralysing
• Fears should give us caution

Friends

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. (Song of Songs 3:5)

• Think about who is speaking into your life, they may be a ‘little fox’
• If single, what foxes are already in your vineyard
• Should conduct yourself in a way that prepares you for marriage

This is by no means exhaustive. I would need to listen a couple more times to be more conclusive. I got a lot from it and I hope other singles do too.

While visiting the Mars Hill sermon podcasts why not download others that take your fancy. I recommend the ‘Proverbs’ and ‘Trial’ series. There are so many to choose from.