“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” Matthew 7:6
I’ve had this message in my heart for weeks, and I believe God has a word for you. I need to make a few points so that we understand Matthew 7:6 more clearly, and then I will share with you what I believe God is saying.
Recently, I felt like I needed to better understand this passage. When that happens, I first turn to the Bible itself. As Dr. Chuck Missler said, “The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself.”
I first sought to better understand who “dogs” and “pigs” are in light of Matthew 7:6.
In case you’re unfamiliar with literary devices, we’ll need to explain the type of language Jesus employs to make his point. In this case, we’re dealing with metaphors.
Jesus uses the words “dogs” and “pigs” as if he expects his reader to already understand what those words represent. Therefore, we should be able to find references to those words that will deepen our understanding.
There is something called the “law of first mention.” To summarize, it essentially means that the first place a topic occurs in the Bible holds significance for understanding that topic throughout the rest of the scriptures.
Some will agree that the “law of first mention ” exists, while others will disagree. Let’s examine this passage to see if it holds true regardless of where we stand.
First, we need to understand that Jesus is not talking about literal dogs or pigs. I know that sounds silly, but it’s important because we will find references to literal pigs and dogs, but that won’t help us understand the metaphorical uses of those terms.
The first place “dogs” are mentioned metaphorically is possibly Ex. 11:7.
“But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue,”
Let’s look at what K&D commentators said about this passage:
“The dog points its tongue to growl and bite. The thought expressed in this proverb, which occurs again in Josh. 10:21 and Judith 11:19 [noncanonical book], was that Israel would not suffer the slightest injury, either in the case of “man or beast.” (Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 325.)
Essentially, what Ex. 11:7 says is that not one of Israel’s enemies would dare say a negative word to them or attack them.
That helps, but I think the second place “dogs” occurs is clearer and that’s in Deut. 23:18.
“Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.”
The price of a dog, according to K&D, was the wages paid to a male-cult prostitute. The metaphor is that the male prostitutes were an abomination to the Lord because of their filthy actions.
Consistently through scripture, it’s not a favorable comparison when the term “dog/dogs” is used metaphorically. So, the law of first mention pretty well holds true in this instance.
The next passage I want us to explore is Proverbs 26. Although verses 3-12 have a lot to say about “fools,” verse 11 will suffice for our purposes.
“11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.”
If that sounds familiar, it’s probably thanks to the Apostle Peter.
It would be of great benefit to read 2 Peter 2 in its entirety, but we’ll only address verse 22 for our purposes.
“They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.”[fn] And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
Again, “dogs” and “pigs” are used metaphorically to represent a certain people group. In 2 Peter, it’s those who have returned to their former sins after being set free from them.
There’s another passage in Proverbs that I found very interesting.
It’s found in Chapter 26, verse 17, and says, “Whoever meddles in a quarrel [strife] not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.”
The ESV uses the word quarrel, which isn’t as frequently used today and, in my opinion, doesn’t give us the best picture of what’s happening. Perhaps the word strife is better, and since it’s frequently used in place of quarrel, it’s acceptable to replace quarrel with strife.
What does strife mean?
Strife:
1. Heated, often violent conflict or disagreement. synonym: conflict.
Similar: Conflict
2. A conflict or quarrel.
3. Contention or competition between rivals.
Proverbs 26:17 literally suggests that taking a wild dog by the ears in the Middle East would be foolish. From my experience, even getting close to a wild dog in Afghanistan was asking for trouble.
If you wouldn’t do that, and most would not be foolish enough to do so, then getting involved in strife is asking for one or both parties to turn and attack you.
Okay, so what do we have so far?
We see that the metaphor “dog” is used to imply in the OT:
– dangerous people (Ex. 11:7)
– people who attack with their words (Ex. 11:7, Josh. 10:21)
– those who will physically attack you (Ex. 11:7; Ps. 22:20, Pro. 26:17)
– unclean people (Deut. 23:18)
– foolish people (Pro. 26:11)
Now, let’s look at a few NT examples:
Phil 3:2: “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”
2 Peter 2:22: “They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.”[fn] And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
And perhaps the scariest passage of all pertaining to metaphorical dogs:
Rev. 22:15: “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
The Greek word for dogs in Rev. 22 implies a man of impure mind, an impudent man.
Impudent:
– marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard for others
– rude and not showing respect, especially towards someone who is older or in a more important position
The “cocky boldness” of a symbolic dog is contrasted with the humble attitude of the sheep of Christ.
Okay, so spiritual dogs can be dangerous, boastful, cocky, rude, disrespectful, arrogant, unclean, return to former sins, and at times, vicious. They don’t want to hear the truth and hate being told to repent.
I once heard a story about a man the Lord led into a shoe shop to witness. The shoemaker asked if the man of God was a priest or a rabbi. When the man of God said he was neither, the shoemaker became very aggressive and threatened the man of God. Later, the man of God told the person re-telling the encounter that the shoemaker was a spiritual swine. He said he had to leave immediately or risk the shoemaker attacking him physically.
I’ve had similar situations happen to me: once in Vacaville, CA, in a Walmart and the other at a park in Gadsden, Alabama. In Vacaville, the Lord led me to minister to a man in Walmart. When I asked him if I could share the Gospel with him, he became angry and started yelling, “NO, NO, NO!” I simply thanked him for his time and walked away.
In the second instance, I was sitting with a man at the park in Gadsden. The man was a veteran, and we had some things in common since I served. Everything was going fine until I started talking about repentance. I wasn’t even telling this man to repent. I was simply sharing how Jesus had set me free from some things, and that’s when the encounter took a turn for the worse. The man started acting odd and stopped responding. He got up from the table and walked probably thirty feet away. I called out to him, and that’s when he pulled a derringer pistol out and pointed it at me. That was my cue, and I got out of there as quickly as possible.
Now, let’s look at a passage in 1 Corinthians 2:13. It doesn’t deal directly with “dogs” or “swine,” but it will be helpful for our purposes.
1 Cor. 2:13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. v14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Sharing spiritual wisdom with someone who is still dead in their trespasses and sins doesn’t make sense. They have to first receive the Gospel which will free them from slavery to sin and bring their spirit to life where they can receive spiritual truths.
In 1 Cor. 2:14, Paul says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Perhaps this will help clarify. I often teach that I don’t expect those who are still dead in trespasses and sins to walk, talk, and act like Christians who were liberated from the power of darkness, no longer bound to sin, and are undergoing sanctification. Sure, we can make a person look better by enforcing specific moral or ethical codes, but all that will do is change their behavior, not their heart.
Proverbs 11:22 “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.”
The outward appearance is only as good as the inward change.
So, what was it that Jesus expected his readers to understand?
Some of us have received harm because we kept trying to reason with spiritual “dogs” and “swine.” We’ve been attacked verbally and lost our peace many times.
We’ve kept trying to reason with them because of compassion without wisdom.
“Don’t allow your emotions to triumph over your GOD-given wisdom.”
If you care for a spiritual dog or swine in your life, pray for them and trust that God hears your prayers. You can’t save anyone. Please stop thinking that salvation is in your hands. You can present the Gospel when able and live a godly life that testifies to Jesus, but you can’t make anyone believe anything.
Please hear the words of the Apostle:
“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” 1 Cor. 3:7
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:44
I believe the LORD is saying that he sees your worries. He sees how much you love that person and how desperate you are for them to be saved, but that is not in your hands. Trust in the LORD with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding… You will never love that person as much as God loves them and never desire their salvation as much as God does.
Does GOD desire spiritual “dogs” and “swine” to be saved? Yes. Does that change Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 7:6? No.
Pray for the person, but please quit receiving stripes for your repetitive attempts to give wisdom to someone who does not want to hear it and cannot receive it. Trust God.