Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
What is the meaning of dogs?
In our society dogs carry and good and sentimental meaning. People have dogs for pets or service dogs or even in police work – they are not thought to be evil, bad or immoral. In Biblical times dogs were often wild and vicious, attacking and menacing people and livestock. The Greek word simply means dog or hound which still does not carry a bad idea. Paul uses it referring to false or evil workers (Phil 3:2). John also used it referring to people who will not enter heaven (Rev. 22:14-15).
The Hebrew word for dog is kkeleb literally meaning dog or figuratively a male prostitute or sodomite (Deut 23:17-18). In the ancient world the term dog was associated with an evil and vile person. When Elisha predicted what Hazael would do, Hazael replied, “is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing.” (2 Ki 8:13).Speaking of Jesus’ crucifixion the Psalmist described those associated with the terrible deed of killing and mocking Jesus as dogs Psa 22:17-20.
God associated the term to those leaders He had set over Israel to watch out for their good as dogs Isa 56:10-11. Solomon and Peter use the term dog to describe those who turn away from truth and return to sin (Prov 26:11; 2 Pet 2:20-22).
Why the command from Jesus?
The primary point of Jesus’ command is that we cannot give that which is holy to those whose very nature has no comprehension or appreciation for holy things. Simply giving holy things to unholy people will not make them holy. They must first repent and come in confession and acknowledgement of their sin and be born again – then the Holy Spirit will indwell them and they can receive that which is holy.
The Syrophenician woman
This woman came to Jesus seeking deliverance for her daughter who was possessed of a demon. Jesus refused to answer her for a while because she was a gentile. After she persisted the disciples urged Jesus to send her away. In His conversation with the woman Jesus said it was proper to give bread to digs. Here Jesus used another term for dog which means puppy and was not the same as the term for dog. The woman replied that even the dogs eat crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Upon this expression of faith Jesus heled her daughter.
Holy things:
There are two aspects of holiness. First there is initial holiness. Anything that is given to God becomes holy. When we to salvation the Holy Spirit comes within and we are God’s possession and are holy. Second when we surrender to God in full consecration we perfect holiness in our life.
Possessions given to God are holy as they are now His [property. When the 250 princes of Israel rebelled against Moses in the wilderness they brought censors. After God opened the ground and swallowed them up Moses was commanded to collect the censors because they were given to God and they were holy (Num 16:17-18). When King Asa was in need of help against an enemy he took gold from the temple to hire the king of Syria to help him. Later God rebuked him for his actions of giving that which was holy to an unregenerate person.
The meaning of swine:
In Scripture swine are identified as scavenger type animals – they will eat anything. Swine are classified as unclean in the Jewish economy and not to be eaten. The nature of both dogs and swine is they don’t appreciate the same things as humans. They do not think upon jewels that human consider precious, therefore if you were to give a hungry dog or swine jewels to eat they would reject them and possibly turn on you.
Fools and swine:
Scripture warns us about our interaction with fools (Prov 23:9; 18:2) We need wisdom when we share the gospel with others and not be drawn into arguments or debates that are not ordained of God (Prov 10:23; 13:2015:14; 18:6-7). We are given permission to depart from the presence of a fool if necessary (Prov 14:7).
