Moses commanded a law for us, a heritage of the congregation of Jacob. (Deuteronomy 33:4)
In the previous devotion, we discussed the importance of a heritage and how it is distinguished from an inheritance. What has been entrusted to God’s people is for all time and cannot be discarded on a whim but is to be cherished from generation to generation. Our heritage in Messiah — being impregnated with the Incorruptible Seed and charged with producing the fruit of that Seed — is not something that we can disregard. We must be diligent to carry on as previous generations have in spite of resistance from the world and the Adversary. In short, the heritage entrusted to us by the Almighty is precious and holy and we must continually regard it so.
So, in this vein of thought let us consider these words from Messiah: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces” (Matthew 7:6). Obviously pearls, like other treasures, were and are considered to be precious and very valuable. In this statement, Messiah connects the value of a pearl with those things entrusted to God’s people that are holy. In other words, we should place great value on what is holy and should not just hand over the holy things of God to those who would not value them. In fact, He states that they will desecrate them.
In referring to dogs it is likely that He was warning His disciples not to devalue what is holy by relinquishing it to the ways of the Gentile nations, that is, those who worship anything and everything under the sun. In referring to swine, He was saying do not feed what is precious to that which is unclean because, being unclean, it will have no respect for it. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Aren’t we to share the Gospel with the world?” Of course we are, however, we are to share an unadulterated and pure Gospel with the world, not one that is diluted in deference to man’s sensitivities.
Our mission is to share a Gospel that doesn’t appeal to man’s base instincts nor soothe the flesh. In spite of the constant pressure to do so, it should not be watered down to make it more palatable for a world that is naturally offended by God’s Word. In short, we can’t make nice with the world at the expense of compromising what is holy. We have been entrusted with an eternal and invaluable truth and we must always consider it so. So then, let’s present a Gospel that entices those who are hungry to eat from the Master’s table; to those who are inclined to hear, to be cleansed from their old ways and regard His Word as a pearl of great price. This is our heritage.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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