We recently looked at an incident or two in which Jesus taught that certain foods were not unclean. Foods weren't the only issue the Jews had with "clean" and "unclean." They also thought that foreigners were unclean, and they were not supposed to have anything to do with them. It shows us that the sinful practice of prejudice is nothing new. In fact, the Jews referred to Gentiles as "dogs"!
Jesus turned this wrong view on its head just as He had with the food issue. He traveled into Gentile territory where He met a Gentile woman who said, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Immediately we see that the woman had some measure of faith. She called Jesus "Lord, Son of David" which shows that she apparently knew that He was someone important to the Jews, and she must have believed on some level that He could help her.
The predictable disciples wanted to send her away. Unfortunately, they weren't showing much compassion for her. Rather than judging them though, we probably ought to look at our own attitudes. Needy people can be inconvenient and troubling, and so we must be careful that we too don't dismiss them without a thought.
The woman was not to be denied. Her next words were "Lord, help me!" This time she is not applying any Jewish titles or anything to Jesus. She is coming as a sinner desperately needing help. Jesus' reply seems very odd to us, but we have to understand the Jewish culture surrounding it. The Pharisees called the Gentiles "dogs" as in filthy strays that scavenged garbage, etc. Jesus used the term which could be translated "little pet dog" or "puppy." The "children" refer to the people of Israel to whom Jesus came first. However, they rejected Him. Jesus was not being disrespectful to the woman nor was He trying to discourage her faith. On the contrary, He was drawing out of her the faith that He knew was in her heart. She acknowledged that she believed Who He was and that even a "crumb" of His power could heal her daughter! "Then Jesus answered, 'Woman, you have great faith! You request is granted.' And her daughter was healed from that very hour." v. 28
Psalm 112
"Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands." The way to blessing is to respect and revere God and cheerfully obey Him.
- "Blessed" in the scripture means happy. Everyone is on a mission for happiness, and the Bible gives us the way to find it! v. 1
- We will be a blessing to our children and they to us! Wow! Could anything in this life be better than this? v. 2
- Wealth and riches will be ours--not necessarily material wealth as we all know. But we DO know that God will supply our needs! And really...do we need more than we need? v. 3
- We can have assurance of eternal life. v. 3, 9
- God is gracious and compassionate toward us even in our darkest hours. v. 4
- God will bless us when we're generous. v. 5, 9
- We won't cheat people to gain more money when we freely give.
- We show that we trust God rather than our bank account when we're generous.
- When we truly fear the Lord, we don't have to be afraid of anything else! vv.7-8
For our meditation: "Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands." Psalm 112:1
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