2.23.25 ~ Woof-woof 🐶

Good morning!

I'm an animal lover, especially dogs/kalev, , which in Hebrew means one who loves from the heart/lev. Maybe that's why the dog is known to many as man's best friend. Woof-woof! 

Matthew and Mark record an issue of an encounter with a gentile woman who had come to Yeshua, begging that he exercise a demon from her daughter (Mt. 15:21-28; Mk. 7:24-30). With our modern egalitarian perception of Yeshua, we would think that he would immediately have compassion for the unfortunate girl and agreed to help. However, the gospel‘s record for us, with maybe the Master's most shocking response to our western ears, He told the woman it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. Huh?

"But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." (Mt. 15:26)

What did he really say? Was it racist? Sexist? Prejudice? Demeaning? Rude? Why did He make this egregious statement against the poor woman who is begging for his help? How do we deal with this? ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN and others would like to censor Yeshua's words or modern theologians might want to claim that some Gentile phobic Jewish editor slipped a 'mickey' into the text shortly after it was written. And for some, this passage is definitely a stumbling block and hinders them from considering faith in Yeshua; in a time when we’re being told to unhitch ourselves from the Hebrew scriptures and the foundations of our faith...this passage can add fuel to the fire. 

Is it really reasonable for Gentiles to be called dogs by the  religious Jews of the day and even by Yeshua himself? Where does this idea stem from? Enquiring minds want to know. 

If we look at yesterday‘s Torah portion, the seed thought gives us an answer. 

"And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs" (Ex. 22:31)

You are probably asking, how did the Gentile people, those outside the faith of Abraham, come to get the title 'dogs'? 

In this passage, the question is answered more fully when we turn to Deuteronomy and see almost the exact same language (Deut. 14:21). 

"You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God..." (Deut. 14:21)

In both of these passages, we see two things that overlap. First, there is the issue of how to deal with meat that is not permitted to the children of Israel or those Gentiles who have been grafted in (Acts 15:20). And the second statement, that the children of Israel are consecrated or holy to the Lord. 

The passage in Deuteronomy seems to be a clarification of the passage explaining that the forbidden meat may be given to or sold to Gentiles, i.e. dogs. From this connection arose the use of the term dog/kalev, the Hebrew word identifying an outsider to the commonwealth of Israel; aka a Gentile (Eph. 2:12,13). But why? Is this necessarily a bad thing? 

Bad dogs are animals that live by their animal instincts. They can’t help the way they’ve been created. When the Torah seems to refer to Gentiles as dogs, it's referring to the ones who live by their animalistic instincts and pagan ways.

However, as Gentiles who've been grafted into the people of God (Rom. 11:13-24), because of the instructions of God that we feed on every day, aka the bread from heaven (Ex. 16; Jn. 6), we have the ability to rise above our base instincts, and be led by our obedience-school learned, spiritual identity. When this happens, we transition from a dog to a man and even have the potential to rise to the level of a Tzaddik/righteous man (i.e. Matt. 25:37-40).

Although Yeshua was called only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mt. 10:6; 15:24; Jer. 50:6; Psa. 119:176; etc.) He didn't leave His instructions exclusively to them (Matt. 16:24-27). When Yeshua referred to the Gentile woman as a dog, notice that she didn’t show any sign of offense. Definitely not a 21st century 'wokester'. She didn’t rant and boycott Israel, start a website to expose this self-proclaimed deliverer, declare the Torah to have been replaced or ...she simply turned the situation to an advantage and true humility. 

"And she said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.'" (Matt. 15:27)

When Yeshua heard her response, not only did he immediately grant a request and heal her daughter, but he also praised her for her great faith (Matt. 15:28). What can we learn from this on this beautiful 1st day of the week? 

There is a significant statement that I shared with the zoom call last Friday night, "Even if you are what your parents made you, if you stay that way, it’s your own fault!" (Rom. 9:21-23; Jer. 18:5-10). What it means is that throughout our lives, we are supposed to grow, to change, to develop. If we simply remain the same person we were when we were born then we have thrown away an invaluable opportunity for growth (Rom. 8:29). 

When we are confronted with the fact that Gentiles are viewed differently by the Torah and Yeshua, we can respond in one of two ways: we can begin barking and attacking like a dog and prove that we are one or we can respond in humility and show our humanity and love from the heart. It really all depends on us as Yeshua taught. 

"I tell you many will come from the east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 8:11) 

We may have been born into the nations of people that have been historically pagan dogs, in comparison to God chosen people who are given the revelation of the one true God at Mount Sinai. However, through faith and humility, we can show that we aren’t living as pagan, but putting our trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make a place for us at the table with them. 

Woof Woof!

Happy 1st day of the week!

Shalom

Oh, BTW don't forget to listen and study yesterday's zoom call: The Keys to a Successful Covenantal Marriage (Ex. 24).