By William
MacDonald
Published
in Rightside Up Spring 1996
Generally
speaking, dogs don't have very good press in the Bible. For one thing, the law of Moses brands them as unclean animals. They neither
chew the cud nor have cloven hoofs. However, it should be understood that the
dogs most often referred to in the Scriptures were not lovable household pets,
but semi-wild scavengers that scrounged in the streets and alleys. Working
alone or in packs, they often attacked people who had the misfortune to get too
near.
No wonder
that the word dog became a word of reproach and contempt. Jews called Gentiles
dogs. (1) Paul turned the tables when he used the offensive epithet to describe
Jewish false teachers who insisted that circumcision was necessary for
salvation. (2)
David and Abner objected to be treated like dead dogs, (3) but Mephibosheth applied the term to himself as an expression
of worthlessness. (4) To be eaten by dogs was as dishonorable an exit from this
world as could be imagined. (5) In the last chapter of the Bible, sexual
perverts are called dogs. (6)
PET
TEACHERS
But wait!
That is not the whole story! Our subject now shifts to a home with its pet dog,
not the wild alley canine. One day a Gentile woman of the city of
It is dogs
that are household pets that I'd like to talk about now—Irish Setters, Labrador
Retrievers, Collies, and all the rest. I am persuaded that God put these four
legged creatures in the world to teach us valuable spiritual lessons. I have a
theory, for instance, that they are designed to teach us how to worship. Dogs
are worshippers.
This first
came to my attention years ago when A. S. Loizeaux
drove me from the terminal to his home, where I would be a guest. As I emerged
from the car, I noticed two dogs in the yard, one black and the other brown.
The black dog rushed over to Mr. Loizeaux, wagged its
tail furiously, jumped excitedly, and slobbered all over his outstretched hand.
The brown dog slunk in the shadows of the yard. Turning to me, my host said,
"The brown dog knows nothing about worship."
THE
CONVERTED GUARD DOG
But even
dogs can learn how to worship. My friends, Red and Mae Williams, had an Irish Setter that was all affection. It was a leaner. As soon as I
sat down, it would come over and lean its head an one
of my knees. Irresistible! One day when the Williamses
were away, burglars broke into their home. Having never met a stranger, the
Setter must have given them a royal welcome. The family returned to find the
house looted and the dog contentedly shut up in the kitchen.
The next
time I visited, there was an additional dog—a large, muscular German Shepherd.
Mae straightly charged me not to pet this dog. She wanted it to be a guard dog,
the attack kind, a real man-eater. Eyeing the massive canine again, I meekly
complied.
Months
later when I came to that home, the Irish Setter had
converted the German Shepherd. The attack dog had become a worshipper. No
longer a menace, it was now a lover.
THE PARABLE
OF THE TWO SHELTIES
Other
friends, Don and Krista, had a Sheltie of the worshipping kind. Whenever I drew
up in front of the house, she recognized the sound of my car door slamming and
whimpered softly. Then she greeted me with her whole body wiggling with
delight. That's the way she was!
When Shelly
passed off the scene, the family purchased another Sheltie, this one named Max.
Everyone agreed that Max was an outstandingly handsome dog. But he was not a
"people's -person." When I showed up, I was lucky to get a passing
sniff from him. He'd rather be rushing around, chasing balls or looking for
other fun 'n games. He was an activist.
One day,
when I was being largely ignored by Max, I thought, "I wish Don had bought
another dog like Shelly." Then it seemed that the Lord said to me, "Bill, that is a parable of your life. You've always been
like Max, super-busy, preaching, teaching, writing, and traveling. I wish you
had been more like Shelly. You have been a Martha, distracted with much
serving. I wish you had spent more time sitting at My
feet in worship and adoration."
I was
brought up sharp that day with the reminder that "the heavenly Bridegroom
is wooing a wife, not hiring a servant."
ONLY TWO
DESIRES
On one of
my frequent walks at a nearby lake, I stopped to admire a lady's dog. As she
extolled her pet's virtues, she said, "This dog wants only two
things."
"Really? What are they?"
"He
wants to know what I want him to do, and he wants to do it.”
What a
great spiritual lesson! That's just the way we should be with the Lord. We
should have a passionate longing to discern His will for us, and a single, pure
desire to do it.
I've never
seen that dog again, but never forget the lesson he taught me.
NO REWARD
REQUIRED
On a trip
to
In the
course of his lecture, the shepherd said, "You don't have to reward these
dogs. All they want is to be out on the hillsides, moving the sheep at my
command."
And I
thought, "How true this is of the service for the Lord Jesus! The labor is
its own reward. It's enough just to be out on the hillsides with the Good
Shepherd, seeking the sheep that are lost. It's enough to be serving the very
best of masters, spending and being spent for Him. The fulfillment and
satisfaction found in being His willing bondslave
surpass any reward."
THE LAST
FLING
Dr. A. T.
Schofield had a dog that needed obedience training, so he put it on a leash and
patiently ordered it to heel. The lessons continued day after day. Finally the
good doctor felt that the dog had learned its lesson, so he unclasped the leash
and sternly ordered, "Heel!"
The dog
took off as if shot from a gun. It raced around in circles, jumped, barked and
released a lot of pent-up energy. When it had finally had its
fling, it returned to its master and heeled without being told. From
that moment on, the dog never failed to heel.
Dr.
Schofield saw in this the experience of many believers. Before conversion they
are under the constraints of the law, or, as Paul said, "...in bondage
under the elements of the world." (8) But when freed from the law, they
don't know how to handle their new-found liberty. It seems that they have to
get a taste of the world in order to learn that it doesn't satisfy. Once they
experience the liberty of grace, they find true satisfaction in obedience to
the Lord. They now can say:
Need I that
a law should bind me
Captive unto Thee.
Captive is
my heart, rejoicing
Never to be free.
RETURNING
GOOD FOR EVIL
Sometimes
dogs exhibit behavior that is a rebuke to believers. They act in a more
Christian way than many Christians. For example, they are quick to forgive
their assailants. When Sir Walter Scott saw a stray pup in his yard, he threw a
rock to scare it away. His aim and thrust were better than usual with the
result that he broke the dog's leg. Instead of running away, the hapless
creature limped up to Scott and licked the hand that had caused the fracture. Said Sir Walter, "That dog preached the Sermon on the Mount to
me as few preachers have ever since presented it."
Spurgeon
had a similar experience. One afternoon he spotted a dog in his flower garden.
Knowing that the dog was a poor gardener, C. H. S. threw a stick at it and
ordered it to get going. As Spurgeon told it, "He conquered me and made me
ashamed of having spoken roughly to him, for he picked up the stick, brought it
to me, and dropped it at my feet. Do you think I could strike him or drive him
away after that? No, I petted him and called him good names. The dog had
conquered the man."
GRAY
FRIAR'S BOBBY
And talk
about faithfulness and devotion. Few creatures can equal the dog in that
regard. One of history's most outstanding examples is Gray Friar's Bobby, a
Skye Terrier that walked the beat with Officer John
Gray. When his master died, Bobby followed the procession to the cemetery. But
when the crowd left, the dog stayed behind. Later efforts to make him return
home and stay there were futile. He insisted on standing watch by the grave. He
was fed by the cemetery gardener, then by a neighborhood upholsterer, and later
by a nearby restaurant. He always returned to the grave after eating.
When Bobby
died at 16, he had lived at the burial place of his master for 14 years. A
baroness had a memorial fountain erected near the cemetery. It has a life-sized
model of Bobby on the top, a drinking fountain for the public half way down,
and a trough at the bottom for dogs.
EYES FIX ED
ON THE MASTER
George
Goodman used to tell how a dog taught his owner the way of victory over
temptation. The man was asked one day how he managed to outstrip many of his
companions in the Christian life. He replied, "When I was a young man, in
my unconverted days, I used to train bulldogs to fight. And when I had a
bulldog in training, I never allowed him any food. Sometimes when I was walking
with my dog, Tom, and he would see a bone, I would simply say to him,
"Tom!" He would look back at me and as long as I could get his eyes
on me, we got past the bone in safety. Now I have been tempted to go back to
the evil things of the world, and just as I have been about to partake of them,
even though I knew they were wrong, I heard the Spirit of God say to me,
"Toni!" And as long as I was obedient to the Spirit of God, and kept
my eyes on Christ, I got past the danger."
Goodman
would add, "There will come a time, perhaps even today, when the evil
nature will seek to rise within your breast. But that very moment, the Spirit
of God will say, "Toni! John! Mary! calling you
by name. And as long as you are obedient to the Holy Spirit, and keep your eyes
fixed on Christ, you will be taken triumphantly through." (9)
The world
has a saying, "A man's best friend is his dog." We know, on the
contrary, that the Lord Jesus is our best Friend. But it is easy to see that a
dog can rate so high in human affection that some people can characterize
themselves as dog lovers. Think of seeing-eye dogs, patiently leading those who
are sight-impaired. Or the Saint Bernards and their
thrilling winter rescues of mountaineers. Or the blood hounds searching and
finding lost children. Think of Alastians and how
they guard homes and families. And the Police dogs and their
feats of daring and heroism.
All these
dogs can teach us many spiritual lessons if we only have time to observe them
and ponder their behavior. To me, one lesson stands out above all others. Some
of my friends are mildly amused when I propound my theory that God gave us dogs
to teach us how to worship. But I really believe it.
ENDNOTES:
1. Ps.
2. Phil.
3:2
3. 1 Sam.
24:14; 2 Sam. 3:8
4. 2 Sam.
9:8
5. 1 Ki.
6. Rev.
22:15
7. Mt.
15:21-28
8. Gal.
4:3b
9. The
Keswick Week,