No dogs allowed; Pigs guard houses on Aitutaki by Ciell
Good morning, beloved,
This is a first. Choosing a picture of pigs, it has to be a first. Matthew 7:6 records a verse that “…at first glance seems totally unrelated to the Sermon on the Mount. ” (SOTM, pg. 109) I hear people quote this verse and I am always stuck on the swine and can’t ever seem to get to what Jesus is teaching us here. So let’s look together.
“For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation and adorn the wretched with victory.” Psalm 149:4 AMP
I do have a praise to share first. I took off Ella’s knee immobilizer yesterday. She swam in the lake yesterday and requested we not put the brace back on. She isn’t willing to bend it all the way, she says it hurts too much yet she isn’t walking a little better and bending it a bit. Huge. So thankful for that! I think we may head to the lake again today to see if we can continue to loosen it up. Thank you for your prayers. Noah gets his stitches out this afternoon and hopefully he will be able to take the boot off. Yesterday I heard Kay Arthur’s message on chapter 6 of Matthew. And I want to share that with you, it was as if Kay was speaking just to me. God is good. 🙂
I’m also reading a wonderful book right now that I got on my Kindle. This man hiked the Appalachian Trail soon after he lost his wife to cancer. This is the story of how God revealed Himself to the author. Powerful book…if you need a reminder that God is always in the business of rehabilitating hearts. Hiking Through by Paul V. Stutzman..
Here we go! Matthew 7:6 Do not give that which is holy (the sacred thing) to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before hogs, lest they trample upon them with their feet and turn and tear you in pieces.
Let’s look through the Scriptures and get some clues to this verse!
Philippians 3:2 Look out for those dogs [Judaizers, legalists], look out for those mischief-makers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
Well, this verse contains a warning, isn’t it?
The dogs as we can see are those who: kyōn of those whose moral impurity will exclude them from the New Jerusalem. The Jews used the term of Gentiles, under the idea of ceremonial impurity. Among the Greeks it was an epithet of impudence. Lat., canis, and Eng., “hound” are etymologically akin to it.
Moral impurity…what’s a Judaizer, tho? One who conforms to the religion of the Jews. So one who follows the customs and laws of the Jews that were no longer required under the New Covenant. There was a religion formed that combined the faith of Jesus but held people to the laws of Jews. Unnecessary!
2 Peter 2:22 There has befallen them the thing spoken of in the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and, The sow is washed only to wallow again in the mire.
Chapter 2 of 2 peter talks about the ungodly, the unrighteous. So this ending verse repeats a proverb. All of the desires of the wicked and their fate are listed. I have to tell you it makes me so sad to see our country falling to this in so many ways. Ugh. Such sadness. Their eyes have become dark and the Spirit of God is nowhere to be found as our country continues to deny the Lord.
14 Blessed (happy and to be envied) are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to [approach] the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city.
15 [But] without are the dogs and those who practice sorceries (magic arts) and impurity [the lewd, adulterers] and the murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and deals in falsehood (untruth, error, deception, cheating).
Dogs: those who practice sorceries, the lewd, the adulterers, murders, idolaters, and the liars. Friends, it seems pretty clear who are the dogs. Yet how is this principle lived out?
11 And into whatever town or village you go, inquire who in it is deserving, and stay there [at his house] until you leave [that vicinity].
12 As you go into the house, give your greetings and wish it well.
13 Then if indeed that house is deserving, let come upon it your peace [that is, freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin]. But if it is not deserving, let your peace return to you.
14 And whoever will not receive and accept and welcome you nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or town, shake the dust [of it] from your feet.
15 Truly I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Freedom from all the distressed that are experienced as the result of sin: peace. You. Free. Unchained.
If you are not accepted, welcome and finally do not listen to your message, shake the dust off your feet. Interesting. There is not a time frame given. Or a patience…for the ungodly. Hmmm..let’s look further with Paul..
After this [Paul] departed from Athens and went to Corinth.
2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently arrived from Italy with Priscilla his wife, due to the fact that Claudius had issued an edict that all the Jews were to leave Rome. And [Paul] went to see them,
3 And because he was of the same occupation, he stayed with them; and they worked [together], for they were tentmakers by trade.
4 But he discoursed and argued in the synagogue every Sabbath and won over [both] Jews and Greeks.
5 By the time Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was completely engrossed with preaching, earnestly arguing and testifying to the Jews that Jesus [is] the Christ.
6 But since they kept opposing and abusing and reviling him, he shook out his clothing [against them] and said to them, Your blood be upon your [own] heads! I am innocent [of it]. From now on I will go to the Gentiles (the heathen).
Now, here is some more guidance. This looks like weeks and weeks of Paul discoursing and arguing in the synagogue. He was preaching, testifying BUT they kept opposing, abusing and reviling him. So, he did exactly what Jesus instructed and shook the dust off. Now, here’s one more:
10 [As for] a man who is factious [a heretical sectarian and cause of divisions], after admonishing him a first and second time, reject [him from your fellowship and have nothing more to do with him],
11 Well aware that such a person has utterly changed (is perverted and corrupted); he goes on sinning [though he] is convicted of guilt and self-condemned.
Here is another layer: men who are:
- factious
- heretical sectarian
- cause of divisions
Admonishing at least twice, right? Reject him then. When you see that the person is perverted and corrupted, yet he continues to sin. Well, he is convicted. Let me add one more quote, now this is from Chuck Smith, pastor and commentator:
Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and they turn again and rend you (Mat 7:6).
There are some people with which you just cannot share the things of God. You just shouldn’t even try to share the things of God with them. They will not respect them. They’ll just make fun of them. They will just trample them under their feet and then they’ll return to tear you. Now, how am I to know then who I can share and who I should not be sharing the truths of God with unless I make some kind of a judgement?
Now Peter was there listening to the Lord and it is interesting that he picks this up in his epistle, in his second epistle of Peter, he talks about as it has happened according, he’s talking about the false teachers and the wicked people and the false prophets and all. And he said, “And it is happen to them according to the true proverb, The dog has returned to his vomit; and the pig to his wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:22) They’ve turned back to their old natures and he uses the same dog and pig kind of a concept.
There are some people that just mock and ridicule the things of the spirit. And for me to take the precious things of God, those beautiful things that God’s done to my life and start relating them to him it’s, it’s just — you’re just taking pearls and casting them before swine. You are not to do that. Oh, but how in the world can I know? How can I walk that narrow without judging and yet not being a fool in taking the pearls and giving them to the swine? How in the world can I walk that? Well, the good Lord tells us in the next verse.
Ask, and it shall be given you (Mat 7:7);
I’m sorry this hasn’t gotten posted yet today. I’ve actually had a day at home and am getting back on track with my cleaning schedule. My life has not given me many chances to stay put. 🙂 God bless you and keep you and may His beautiful face shine upon you this day!
Related articles
- Sermon on the Mount – Pearls before Swine (tvaraj2inspirations.wordpress.com)
- THROWING HOLY THINGS TO THE DOGS Rick Renner (nuggets4u.wordpress.com)
- “Do not throw your pearls before swine” (worryisuseless.wordpress.com)
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