Mat 15:27  And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 

I’d like to start this article off by drawing attention to the word “dog” used in the verse above. This word in the original Greek is kunarion G2952 and properly translated it means “puppy” or “puppies”. The word “dog” in the original Greek is kuōn G2965.

The word kunarion or “puppy” is used exactly 4 times in the New Testament, in the books of Matthew and Mark. All 4 times the word is used, it’s referring to the conversation that Jesus is having with the Canaanite Woman that had a daughter vexed by a demon. It is about this woman that Jesus proclaimed “Oh woman, great is thy faith! Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Mat 15:28

Her acknowledgement of Jesus being her Master and Lord and the children of Israel being the children of God, with herself as the eager and loving puppy, happily willing to eat of any fallen crumbs from the children of God, showed Jesus her great faith and understanding, and it moved Him.

Mat 15:22-28  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me. But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to “dogs” (puppies). And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the “dogs” (puppies) eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. 

The actual word “dog” kuōn G2965 is used 5 times in the New Testament. All 5 times it’s used in a negative context. The definition in Greek shows us that the mentioning of an adult dog by the authors metaphorically represents a man of an impure mind, or an impudent man in these verses. Mat 7:6, Luke 16:21, Phil 3:2, 2 Pet 2:22 and Rev 22:15.

Now I’d like to draw your attention to a biblical character that in my personal opinion doesn’t get enough mention “Caleb”. Caleb in Hebrew has two meanings. One is faithful and the other is “dog”.

Caleb is of course one of the two inheritors of the Promised Land.

The very well known patriarchs “Joshua and Caleb” mentioned in these verses.

Num 14:23-24  Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it: But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. 

Num 14:30-31  Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 

Num 14:36-38  And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still. 

Num 26:64-65  But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 

You understand that Caleb and Joshua were now the new leaders chosen by God to inhabit His Promised Land and bring forth seed of the Promises to Abraham and his seed. Moses and Aaron did not cross the Jordan. They both died in the desert. Not a descendant was left alive in the desert except for the children of Caleb and Joshua and they were to inherit all that God had promised Abraham.

Num 32:11-13  Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed. 

Let me explain a bit about the attention I’ve drawn to “Caleb”.

Num 13:6  Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

This is the first mention of Caleb in the Bible. It’s in this verse that in and of itself says a lot about Caleb. First is shows that Caleb was sent out to represent the Tribe of Judah, and secondly that Caleb was the son of Jephunneh.

Jephunneh was a Kenezite, a Kenezite was a descendant of Kenaz and Kenaz was a son of Esau. That’s right Esau, NOT Jacob but Esau. The very Esau that The Word of God says

Rom 9:13 “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”

Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,

Caleb was adopted into the Tribe of Judah, to represent and bring forth seed on behalf of the Tribe of Judah.

Joshua was the son of Nun and his seed is standing in to represent the Tribe of Ephraim.

The Promise given to Abraham and his seed was passed down to Ephraim and his seed in these verses.

Gen 48:14-20  And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. 
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 

So essentially Caleb and Joshua represent the seeds of Judah and Ephraim making it into the Promised Land, and fulfilling the Promise of God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There is a reason that during the time of Jesus’ ministry upon this earth, He ministers to the Tribe of Judah “The Jews” and the “Samaritans” which are the descendants of Ephraim. Judah’s seed was redeemed by the in-grafting of a Gentile through adoption. Remember Caleb was a grandson of Esau. He was still a descendant of Abraham but was the seed that God placed beneath his younger brother Jacob. Just as Manasseh was placed beneath his younger brother Ephraim.

Caleb and Joshua represent the Gentiles and the Children of Israel that make it into the Kingdom of God, and into His Promise given to Abraham and His seed forever. They represent the Promise being extended to both seeds only through the blood of Jesus and acknowledgement of Him as King and Lord of all.

So in the analogy of “dogs and crumbs” the Gentiles are the “puppies” and the children at the table are the Children of Israel. I’m sure you figured that out already.

To be honest with you, what spurred this article in the first place was the arrival of two new members of my family. Two pure white Siberian Husky puppies named Sebastian and Samson. They are like two little lambs running around but when mischievous they appear more like little wolf cubs. God has spoken to me a lot these past few weeks about “puppies” and why He has these two bundles of joy and much needed patience in my life right now.

A few days ago, I was sitting exhausted on my living room couch after cleaning up after two puppies in their chewing and potty in the house stage, and the boys “puppies” jumped up in the middle of my lap for some loving and kisses. I heard the voice of the Lord say “Wouldn’t it be great if people reciprocated and appreciated your love the way these puppies do yours?”

At that moment it hit me, scriptures like “He who has been forgiven much loves much” “I will call a people who are not My people, My People” started to come alive to me. The Gentiles are like “puppies” and represent the younger brother in the story of Prodigal Son, and the Children of Israel are represented by the older brother, those that are invited and welcomed to His Table. In the story of the Great Wedding Banquet Jesus tells us that those that were originally invited to His Table refused to come when it was prepared, so He sent out His Servants to invite anyone who would come and accept the invitation afforded them by the refusal of the first invited. That is what Jesus means when He says “The First shall come last, and the Last First.” “The greatest among you shall be like the youngest or the least.” The Children of the Tribes of Israel are the First invited and the Gentiles are those that were adopted in, The 11th hour servants and received their blessing, and the Gentiles were the Last to receive the extension of God’s Mercy and grace through the blood of Jesus Christ and His Testimony concerning the Father. The Jew’s deny that Jesus is their Messiah, thus forfeiting their place at the Table of the Master to the Gentiles “puppies” that will eagerly and gratefully take it.

Rom 11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you may not be wise in yourselves: A hardening in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles may come in.

The Children of Israel will look upon the One they have pierced especially The Tribe of Judah (The Jews) and know Jesus IS the Messiah, the very stone they had rejected. This is how Israel will be saved. They repent at His Coming, when He Reveals Himself to them at the appointed time.

John 19:37 And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”

Zech 12:10 Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns an only child, and weep bitterly for Him as one grieves a firstborn son.

Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him–even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.

Lastly I want draw your attention to Jesus. The fulfillment of many of Moses’ words of the Lord concerning the Children of Israel.

Deut 18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

Acts 3:22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.

Jesus came among His brothers as Prophet/Priest and King to The Lost Sheep of the Tribes of Israel and yet Jesus was adopted into the Tribe of Judah by Joseph, Mary’s husband. We all know that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, but did you know that Mary was from the Tribe of Levi and that Judah looked to Levi and his sons as their priests? The book of Luke tell us that Mary was the cousin of Elizabeth and that Elizabeth was of the daughters of Aaron. Aaron and Moses are the seed of Levi, the Tribe of the Priests, and Judah was the Tribe of the Kings. Jesus is both our High Priest and King and He opened the way for all mankind to be in-grafted into the Kingdom/Family of God. All to be done in His timing and by the extension of of His mercy and grace.

Gal 3:28 He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Gal 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

I pray this article has you thinking about the mercy and love the Father has poured out upon The Gentiles and maybe just maybe you’ll begin to reciprocate and appreciate His love and affection toward you like a “puppy” truly would.

God Bless you, Continue to Be Free and Set Free in Jesus Name!