Pulelulu ‘Okatopa 4, 2023
Man's Best Friend?
Ko e Kaume’a fafale ‘o e Tangata?
PSALM 59:6-7
EACH EVENING THEY COME BACK, HOWLING LIKE DOGS AND PROWLING ABOUT THE CITY. THERE THEY ARE, BELLOWING WITH THEIR MOUTHS WITH SWORDS IN THEIR LIPS-FOR "WHO," THEY THINK, "WILL HEAR US?"
SAAME 59:6-7
6 ‘Oku nau foki efiafi, ‘Oku nau kālou hangē ha kulī, ‘Oku nau foli takai ki he kolo ni. 7 ‘Oi! ‘a e pu‘aki ‘e honau ngutu na; Tā ko honau loungutu ko e ‘ainga heletā: “Ko ia ai, pē, he ko hai ‘oku ongona?”
Dog lovers (like me) might be disappointed to learn that, overall, the Bible doesn't portray canines as man's best friend. The kelev ("dog") is known for eating corpses (1 Kings 14:11) and was a slang term for male prostitutes (Deut. 23:18). Fools repeating their folly are likened to dogs returning to their vomit (Prov. 26:11; 2 Pet. 2:22). When Saul sent bloodthirsty braggarts to ambush David, he said they were "howling like dogs and prowling about the city" (Ps. 59:6, 14). In Psalm 22, those who encircled the crucified Messiah are called "dogs" (v. 16). The NT mainly echoes the OT, calling evildoers "dogs" (Phil. 3:2; Rev. 22:15). Perhaps the dogs that licked Lazarus' sores were friendly, though it's not clear (Luke 16:21).
The one glowing example, however, is the Syrophoenician mother whose daughter was demon possessed. When Jesus initially rebuffed the woman because she was a Gentile, then labeled her a dog, she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table" (Matt. 15:27). Her faithful, dogged persistence paid off. And Jesus fed her with a gift that indicated she too sat as a daughter at the Master's table.
Lord Jesus, friend of sinners, though we are unworthy, grant us also a place at your feast.
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