Matthew 7:6 says, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

 

In the Bible, dogs were looked at as dirty scavengers.  2 Samuel 3:8 says, “Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, which against Judah do shew kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman?”  2 Peter 2:22 says, “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”  1 Kings 14:11 says, “Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.”  2 Kings 9:34-37 says, “And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.   And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.   Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:    And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.”  Psalms 59:14-15 says, “And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.   Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.”  Exodus 22:31 says, “And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.”   Male sodomites are referred to as “dogs” by God, because of the disgusting and vile nature of their sin.  Deuteronomy 23:17-18 says, “There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.    Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.”  In the Scripture, dogs are often used to picture, the vile, the dirty, the unbelieving, and the rebellious.  Revelation 22:14-15 says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.   For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

 

The context of Matthew 7:6 is dealing with the matter of judging others.  Matthew 7:1-5 says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.   For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.   And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?   Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?   Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”  It used to be that the most well-known verse of the Bible was John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Now, some have suggested that the most well-known verse of the Bible is Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”  So when anyone has his sin pointed out to him, he replies, “You are judging me!  The Bible says not to judge!”  That is not the case, if people would read the whole passage.   We are told to judge ourselves, first, and then we are told to judge others.  “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”  We are told to judge people’s “fruits,” to tell if they are false prophets.  Matthew 7:15-17 says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.   Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?   Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”  You have to judge wisely, because they come dressed to deceive.  They dress like “sheep,” but really they are “wolves.”

 

So what is the meaning of Matthew 7:6?   “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”  It means unless we are willing to judge sin in our own lives, first, it is going to do no good to cast that which is “holy” and “precious” (the Word of God), at those who are behaving as “dogs” and “pigs” in this world (those who are trying to scavenge for the pleasures of this world in sin, and vile, filthy behavior.)  They are not going to receive the holy and precious, but they are going to turn and come after us.

 

Your second question is whether a dog is a man’s best friend.  The answer to that is found in Genesis 2:18, which says, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”  God then created all of the animals.  Genesis 2:19-20 says, “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.    And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”

 

After creating all of the animals, the Bible makes it clear that none of them met the qualities needed to be a “helper” for Adam (not one animal met the criteria to be Adam’s best friend).  Genesis 2:21-24 says, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;   And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.    And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.    Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  Adam acknowledges that the woman was exactly what he needed as a “help meet” and “best friend,” saying that men were to leave their father’s and mother’s, and cleave to their wives (live with them, and be close with them).   So, no, a dog is not to be a man’s “best friend.”  That position is reserved for his wife (if he is married). 

 

There is a growing trend today in regard to the place that people give animals in their lives (pets—dogs, cats, birds, etc.).  The Scripture foretold this would happen.  Romans 1:21-27 says, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.   Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,   And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.   Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:   Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.    For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:   And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”  The Bible foretold that people would exalt animals, would forsake the Lord, and would turn to sodomite practices.  That is exactly what we see today.

 

People are not too much interested in glorifying God, but they sure are interested in their pets—they have their run of the house and of the car.  A man or woman will probably never forsake his/her pet until it dies—but the same cannot be said about his/her spouse (they seem to have no problem divorcing them, long before they are even close to death).

Adam had some wisdom—he knew that no dog, or any other animal could ever be his help meet and best friend.   I wish that could be said of people today, but Romans 1:22 tells us what people are like today, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”  How many men come home from work and hug their dogs and play with them—but do not hug their wives?  The answer to that is probably shocking!

But, on the other hand, how many wives are even home to greet their husbands?  Titus 2:3-5 says, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;    That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,    To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”   Even professing Christian’s lives are so patterned after this world today, instead of after the teachings of the Word of God, that what I am saying now is shocking and offensive to them.  Isaiah 55:7-9 says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.    For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.   For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

So exalting animals and sodomy goes hand-in-hand.  That is what we are seeing right now, but sin always goes deeper, and that is what we will see, next.  Leviticus 18:22-28 says, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.   Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.   Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:   And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.   Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:   (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)   That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.”  We see women-with-women and men-with-men now.  Next, will be women-with-animals and men-with-animals.   It is called “bestiality.”

 

It is time for us to be in the Word of God, for judgment is soon coming.  Mark 8:36-38 says, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?   Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?   Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”