BEWARE OF DOGS! -- Monday:
"Beware of dogs . . . " (Phil 3:2)
The word "BEWARE" is certainly not to be taken lightly! It assumes imminent danger. Think of the many times this alert is sounded. "Beware of false prophets . . . Beware of men . . . Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees . . . Beware of the Scribes . . . Beware of covetousness . . . Beware lest any man spoil you . . . Beware, lest ye being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness" (Matt 7:15; 10:17; 16:6; Mk 12:38; Lk 12:15; Col 2:8; 2 Pet 3:17). I fear we are living in a time and place when the "bewares" of the Spirit are not taken seriously. Rarely are they sounded from the pulpit or delineated by religious teachers. The casualness that plagues innumerable congregations is sternly rebuked by the presence of this word. If the commendable congregation at Philippi was warned to "Beware," what body of believers in our time could possibly be excluded from the admonition.
Throughout Scripture, people are viewed from the standpoint of their character. Thus, they are frequently likened to various members of the brute, or impersonal, creation. Both good and bad associations are developed in this regard. Believers are to be "harmless as doves" (Matt 10:16b), "wise as serpents" (Matt 10:16a), "bold as a lion" (Prov 28:1, thirst "as a hart" (Psa 42:1), soaring as with "wings as eagles" (Isa 40:31) ), fed "as lambs" (John 21:15), following the Shepherd as "sheep" (John 10:27), able to hide from danger like "the conies" (Prov 30:26), and finding residence in the courts of the Lord like "the swallow" (Psa 84:3). They leap like "calves of the stall" (Mal 4:2), and are likened to "good fish" gathered to the Lord (Matt 13:48).
Wicked men are also likened to impersonal creatures. They are compared to a "generation of vipers" (Matt 3:7), "a wild ass" (Hos 8:9), "ravening wolves" (Matt 7:15), and with "the poison of asps under their lips" (Rom 3:13). Thus, in creation the Lord has personalized traits that are brought to their full measure in mankind – both good and wicked.
Frequently, those oppressing the saints of God are said to be "dogs." The term refers to wild and ravenous dogs, not the domesticated type. Jesus is depicted as being surrounded by such ravenous beasts in the 22nd Psalm. "For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me" (Psa 22:16). Again, that Psalm shows the impact of such souls upon our Lord. "Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog" (22:20). Our blessed Lord warned us, "Give not that which is holy unto dogs," declaring they would "turn and tear you to pieces" (Matt 7:6). In a remarkable statement of the case, it is said of the glorified church, "But outside are dogs" (Rev 22:15). The Spirit, then, uses this language frequently.
First, for personal gratification, like wild dogs, false teachers bark, making noise and degrading pure doctrine. Of such, the Psalmist said, "They growl like a dog, And go all around the city" (Psa 59:6,14). They offer nothing of substance, but only make noise.
Second, such are harmful, biting and devouring the saints because of the conflict they create. Thus "dogs" were frequently depicted as devouring their victims (Jer 15:3): "greedy dogs which can never have enough" (Isa 56:11).
Third, such teachers are like "dumb dogs that cannot bark" (Isa 56:10). They do not warn the people of impending danger, but lull them to sleep with their erroneous doctrines and views. Beware of such men! They are "dogs."
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to have a character that is not depicted by ravenous beasts.