Jesus was not calling the woman a dog and
degrading her. Israel in the Old Testament was God's holy nation. God
promised to bless the Hebrews if, and only if, they kept His statutes and
obeyed Him (Exodus 19:5-6). When God promised to bless Abraham in Genesis
12:3, it applied ONLY to Abraham, because he obeyed the Lord and pleased
God. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 lists God's BLESSINGS to obedient Jews. Verses 15
through 68 list all God's CURSES upon the Jews if they didn't obey God's
commandments. Israel was God's chosen nation, to give the LAW and the GOSPEL
to the world, and this has been done.
Jesus referred to the Gentiles as dogs, not to degrade the woman in Mark
7:24-30, but to emphasize the importance of obeying God, which Israel
represented, being God's holy nation. The Jews historically have been a
filthy, unholy, offensive and rebellious people, for which God divorced
Israel and gave them into bondage and eventual destruction in 586 BC! Israel
as a nation DOESN'T exist today. Present-day Israel is fake, completely
manmade, and not the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. True Israel will be
regathered and restored at the time of Christ's Second Coming (Hosea 3:4-5).
Luke 21:24, “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be
led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of
the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” As we just
read, Israel will be defeated again and again by the Gentiles, as seen with
Hitler and the Middle East conflict today, until Christ returns (pictured by
the stone cut without hands from the mountain in Nebuchadnezzar's image,
which will destroy the image of the Gentile nations).
So Jesus was simply magnifying the God of Israel, and the fact that
salvation is of the Jews. John 4:22, “Ye worship ye know not what: we
know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” That is what Jesus
was saying to the woman. As an unsaved heathen woman, why should God do anything for
her? When the Lord saw the woman's humility, He gladly answered her request
and helped her. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Salvation was not
given to the Jews first because they are superior to Gentiles, God forbid.
God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). Salvation was given first to
the Jews time-wise, and then they were commissioned to preach the Gospel as
God's ambassador nation to the Gentile world. Unfortunately, the Jews
forsook the Lord and instead went into gross idolatry worshipping
idols.
Today, salvation has made its way to the four corners of the earth. Acts
1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” When the Holy
Bible emphasizes Israel, it is ALWAYS on the basis of serving God, preaching
the Gospel, and the truth! It is NEVER for the purpose of glorifying
biological Jews, which is racism. Israel is God's nation, which the Lord
intended to evangelize the planet! But they rebelled and God allowed Babylon
to destroy Israel. Rome finished off the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD, not
leaving one stone sitting upon another. It was utterly destroyed and the
remaining Jews scattered throughout the world.
If you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend a book by Dr. Phillip Mauro
titled, "The Gospel Of The Kingdom"...
http://www.schoettlepublishing.com/otherworks/mauro/gospelkingdom/preface.htm
http://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/1927_mauro_gospel-kingdom.html
If you are a born-again child of God, then you have the privileged right to come to God's throne of grace anytime you want. This RIGHT is only made possible by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who is our intercessory heavenly High Priest...
Hebrews 4:14-16, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
If you have never received Jesus
Christ as your personal Savior, then you are in the same boat as the
Syrophenician woman in Mark 7:24-30. You have no family rights!
The Blessing of Belonging to God As His Redeemed Child
Oh
my dear friend, if you are not a Christian, you are truly MISSING OUT!!!
When you become a Christian, you immediately become God's property! 1st
Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” I don't know about you,
but that excites me immensely in my soul. I belong to God!!!
And here again we read these precious words about belonging to God as His child. This is AWESOME!!! ...
Ephesians 1:11-14, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
There are so many beautiful and powerful truths contained in the passage we just read. Carefully notice how easy it is to be saved in verse 13, “IN WHOM YE ALSO TRUSTED”! I don't see anything about turning away from sins, holy living, turning over a new leaf, committing one's life to Christ, confessing Christ publicly, getting water baptized, speaking in tongues, standing on your head nor anything else! We get saved by receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins!!! Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt of sin that we could not pay. Anyone who places their TRUST (FAITH) in the Good News (Gospel) of the Lord Jesus Christ is saved!!! It doesn't matter how wicked you've been, God loves you! It matters not what sins you've committed, God wants to fully pardon you!
Let's take another look at Ephesians 1:11-14 above. Notice that every Christian believer has “OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE”! Isn't that awesome and beautiful? You bet! We have an inheritance in Christ! Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” I love and cherish that Bible promise!
Please also notice in Ephesians 1:13-14 that God has sealed every believer with the blessed Holy Spirit. The very moment that a person places their trust in the Gospel, God supernaturally saves them! The miracle of salvation takes place (John 1:12-13). You won't feel anything or sees angels dancing around you when you get saved, sorry! In response to your faith, God silently works the miracle of salvation, and you become born anew (i.e., born again - 1st Peter 1:23) by the Holy Spirit of God. The Scriptures teach that the believer's body is the TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit. 1st Corinthians 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” God doesn't dwell in a church building, contrary to popular thought; but rather, God's Spirit lives inside the body of each and every Christian believer (that is, those who have believed the Gospel). Praise God for the blessed presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit!!!
I am glad and so appreciative that God makes a big deal out of ownership rights! God bought me by His blood (Acts 20:28; 1st Peter 1:18-19). Now I belong to Jesus!!! Amen and amen! If you are not saved, God still created you, but God makes no claim to you! You are outside of the heavenly family, Christ does not know you. Will you one day hear Christ say to you, “I NEVER KNEW YOU!” (Matthew 7:21-23). Will the Lord call you “a worker of iniquity” for all your religious labors, good works and charity throughout life? If you are not a born-again believer, you have NOTHING! God makes no ownership claims to you! You don't have the seal of the indwelling Holy Spirit! You have not obtained an eternal inheritance in Jesus Christ! If left uncorrected, you will go to Hell to burn forever!!!!!! The decision is yours alone to make my friend.
Are you a dog? Are you among the unbelieving heathen? You are eating the crumbs off the table every day that you eat, drink and enjoy life without Christ as your personal Savior. Every day of your life is another act of mercy from God, giving you another opportunity to repent toward God unto faith in the Gospel. I sincerely believe that is why God allowed dirty Playboy magazine founder, Hugh Hefner (1926-2017), to live to a ripe old age of 91, to give Mr. Hefner an extended period of mercy, hoping that he would repent and be saved (2nd Peter 3:9). I do not believe Hugh got saved. It appears that he died in his sins without Christ and perished into Hell forever. Jesus said that the dogs don't have a right to eat the children's food! If you are a Christ-rejecter, you are on shaky ground. You have nothing! If the ground were to open right now, you would plunge into eternal darkness and damnation in Hell, and ultimately end up in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15)! Please don't go to Hell forever. I plead with you to get saved before it is too late! Please don't stay a dog if you're not saved, become a child of God right now! Then you can freely eat at the heavenly Father's table as a child of God, instead of being left out with the dogs.
