The Dogs
I share my home with my darling wife, two dogs, and two stupid cats. The cats and the wife have days where they really don’t like me much. However, the dogs just love me. Every morning, I open my eyes and as I peer to my side of the bed, there my dogs are. They are happily resting and waiting for our routine to start. I get out of bed, stumble around the bathroom, get dressed, and then leave the bedroom. At this point my English Shepherd pops up to follow me. We go to the kitchen, take morning pills, then pour a cup of coffee. Often, I will plop down on the couch for a bit and wake up. The shepherd lays down on my feet happy to be there. At some point, I head upstairs to start my studies. This is when the Bluetick Hound comes and joins us. The hound comes and gets a pat on the head, greets the shepherd, then they lie down as I try to work my brain.
While I regularly work on articles, lessons, or word studies, my most frequent activity in the morning is listening to lessons online. I imagine my dogs have listened to more lessons than many people. They have heard lessons on baptism, premillennialism, marriage, and many books of the Bible. The list would be quite extensive if I wrote it all down. I know I have a drawer with piles of lesson notes that the dogs have been present to hear.
Typically, around 9 am, the hound lets me know it is time for her to go outside and bark at the brush for 15-20 minutes. The shepherd joins her and then they beg to come back in to eat some breakfast and be in my presence as I finish up my morning studies. Next on our agenda is a few hours of outside work, some lunch, and then some late afternoon study. Finally, at the end of the day, the bluetick heads to bed while the shepherd typically gets in one more lesson with me and my darling wife.
Did you know the words dog and dogs appear a combined 65 times in the King James Bible? (Cat does not appear once.) There really aren’t many kind comments you are going to find about dogs in the Bible, but there are some. The Bible makes it clear comparing someone to a dog typically isn’t a compliment. It is pointed out that dogs enjoy vomit. They can be noisy. They will howl. They sleep a lot. Unfortunately, the term is lumped into this verse from Revelation 22:15 – “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” However, it is mentioned they can work with a flock (my shepherd would like that). They will clean up the crumbs from your table (my hound would like that). They will lick your sores if you have them. And last but not least, a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Regarding my two pups again, the question might be asked, “With all the exposure to Biblical investigation and analysis, how much has it helped them?” The truth is, when you get right down to it, and you consider the serious nature of scripture, all the exposure to the spoken words of the Bible has not done them a bit of good. They are dogs. A human can understand, will benefit from, and needs the Word of God in their life. A dog? No. My dogs certainly do recognize a number of words I use such as: sit, stay, get back, outside, lay down, go get it, are you ready, and treat. However, when it comes to spiritual matters, dogs do not understand. God put them here as beasts upon the earth for man. He gave man authority over them. Dogs are good companions, but they aren’t human. They aren’t made in the image of God. They are not eternal. According to Ecclesiastes 3:21 and 12:7 a dog’s spirit goes to the ground while the spirit of a man returns to God. God values man above all his creation. A dog’s life is not comparable to the value of a human.
I am thankful to God for dogs. My two bring me a lot of joy. Studying about the occurrence of their mentions in the Bible has been interesting, but it only benefits me, and you if you take a look too. It is amusing to see the dogs stare at the computer or television screen as if they knew what was going on. Yet, they don’t. Therefore, I just love them and enjoy them which is what God intended.