As we saw yesterday, there are quite a few hidden layers to Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. Instead of testing her faith, I firmly believe Jesus was testing the morality of his disciples and whether or not they would “live out” the teachings he gave them before this episode.

One other hidden message of this episode has to do with the woman’s ethnic background. You might recall words like Canaanite or Canaan from reading the Old Testament. Here’s a bit of background on this people group and region:

• According to Genesis, Ham received a curse for looking upon Noah (his father) while Noah was naked. Ham’s son, Canaan, would also receive the curse, too. The descendants of Noah then scatter across the world. According to scripture, Canaanites settled near the land of Jordan.
• “Canaanite” is a broad term including various peoples who lived in this area. It also included Amorites, Hittites, and so on.
• After a few generations on Shem’s side of the family (another son of Noah) God promises Abraham the land of Canaan, which was to the west along the coastline, next to Jordan.
• It is unclear how distinct these people groups truly were. In some cases, God works explicitly through people in Canaan! Other famous leaders took Canaanite spouses. However, in a theological sense, one major distinguishing factor of Canaanites is worship of false gods like Baal.
• Many biblical books deal with preparing for and eventually taking the land of Canaan through warfare. The Israelites conquered the region and established a kingdom. The kingdom eventually split and was conquered by other nations before the time of Jesus.

That might sound like a lot of biblical names and random facts, but it is all important to remember to set the stage for how the bible describes the relationship between Israel and Canaan. For many generations, the two people groups were enemies of one another. So in the gospels, people in Jesus’ culture did not get along with people like the Canaanite woman.

But one of the beautiful things about the bible is that throughout the grand story of scripture, God works to bring about salvation to all different kinds of people. We don’t just see this in the New Testament. There are key passages and stories in the Old Testament, too. For instance, the story of Ruth is about a faithful Moabite woman. Moabites and Israelites didn’t exactly get along, either! Even in Genesis it briefly talks about how Moabites were descendants of incest from Lot and his daughters. Yet this story teaches us that God is working to save people who might be outsiders. That’s exactly what God’s kingdom is all about–bringing in the poor, sick, and lost. God’s family gradually gets bigger over time.

So one of the truly remarkable things about Matthew 15 is that even though Jesus spoke as any Israelite would of Canaanites as part of the test, this unnamed woman ends up being one of the heroes of the story. She continued to pursue Jesus even after the disciples refused to help her. God worked in her life, and she responded to God.

So let’s bring this message to today. Who are the Canaanites in your life? Who are the people you haven’t gotten along with? With whom have you fought? Who might even be your enemy?

You might think someone in your life is “too fare gone.” You might think that one relative is just utterly hopeless. You might think you’re destined to always feud with that one particular coworker.

But the biblical story teaches us that God is always willing to work in the lives of other people. If God can work in the life of this faithful Canaanite woman, God can give anyone a second chance.

Civic holidays are arguably the most popular in our culture, so it is difficult for Christians to participate in them without falling prey to the ways of the world. For instance, the holiday season of Christmas is utterly saturated with consumerism. We (as a whole) tend to be more concerned about buying the newest gadget or toy than reflecting on God’s humble birth!

The same is also true for cultural holidays like July 4th. We might feel an appreciation for things like freedom, rights, and national history… But how do we celebrate days like today without idolizing human creations like a country, flag, or heritage?

One thing to keep in mind about July 4th is that being a Christian and being an American can sometimes be two completely different things. For example, our society often defines the “American dream” in materialistic terms, such as making more money than your parents, buying a house, getting a nice car, and so on. While it is not inherently bad to own things, this directly contrasts with biblical warnings against greed and selfishness. Instead of being so attached to money and personal prosperity, Jesus himself calls us to give our whole allegiance to God’s kingdom. Indeed the kingdom of God is remarkably different from the kingdoms of this world!

The same difference is also apparent with how we define the word “freedom”–such a popular word this time of summer. Our world thinks freedom is one of the highest ideals, and in many cases, worth dying for. We usually understand it to mean the ability to do whatever we want and to create the kind of life we desire. But in a Christian sense, freedom itself means something radically different than 21st century America would have you believe. Consider Paul’s words on freedom from Galatians 5:

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

A couple of points to highlight…

1. The most important freedom we could ever have is from Jesus Christ. He gives us freedom from sin and death. All other freedoms in this world pale in comparison to what Jesus did for us!
2. Because we have Godly freedom, we should never use that freedom to do whatever we want or even define ourselves. We humans tend to believe freedom is “indulging the flesh”–saying, doing, or acting however we want.
3. We should always use our freedom to serve others. Christian freedom actually means Christian service. We serve and love others with our newfound blessing in God’s kingdom.

On this July 4th holiday, you might be tempted to worship the freedoms we have in our culture today. And yes, it is absolutely wonderful to be able to speak your mind, practice your faith, and participate in society. And it also is fine to enjoy a cookout or watch some fireworks (although, if you have pet dogs and cats like I do, they will probably think the world is about to end!).

But in the broader sense, we need to keep all those other freedoms in their proper place. The freedom that truly matters most was given to us 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ gave himself up for us on the cross. And regardless of whatever kind of freedom you celebrate today, make sure to use that to serve and love other people.

There are many examples of how we relate to God all throughout scripture. Perhaps you’ve heard of these common ones:

• God is the potter, we are the clay– Jeremiah 18 speaks of this, where God continually works to shape and mold us. Through a relationship with God, God makes us new and forms us into a beautiful creation.
• God is the shepherd, we are sheep– Most famously we read about this in Psalm 23. God is the one who protects and guides us. We are like sheep–truly unintelligent and helpless animals!–in God’s kingdom.
• We are friends with God– In John 15, Jesus speaks intimately about how God truly desires to know us, just like a best friend. The good news is that we have a better friend than we could ever ask for with God!
• God is a vine, we are the branches– Elsewhere in John 15, Jesus told us that if we abide in God, that is like we are connected to the broader “plant” where we derive our life and existence through the true vine.

I mention these metaphors because it is helpful for us to have illustrations for our faith. Instead of simply saying “obey and follow me” God gives us a broader, deeper picture for how we can pursue this divine relationship.

Hosea famously used a metaphor of marriage to speak about our relationship with God. Just as Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea, we too are unfaithful to God (our partner, so to speak).

I didn’t have enough time on Sunday, but the marriage metaphor doesn’t end there. As the book of Hosea progresses, God actually switches up the metaphor. Instead of being bogged down in the heartbreak of marriage infidelity, God begins to speak through Hosea about how Israel is like a wayward child. This personally gives me a message of hope, since children can be molded and shaped into righteous living. Consider these insightful verses from chapter 11:

¹ “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
² But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
³ It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.

God gives us such a wonderful, hopeful metaphor. What we truly need, in light of Hosea, is the guidance of our heavenly parent.

Recently I attended a group meeting with the prison ministry at Tucker. It was early on a Saturday, (so I was feeling rather drowsy), but I was quickly blessed when several inmates shared testimonies to the group.

One man in his 50s talked about a blessing he recently received. He had been wrapped up in a life of crime, which soon landed him in the Tucker Unit. He never really provided a good example for his daughter and grandchild, and she unfortunately became addicted to heroin. After coming to prison, this man discovered the love of Christ. Despite being discouraged at his family turmoil, he continued to pray for his wayward child.

On Saturday, he shared with us the wonderful news that his daughter had finally completed rehab, was staying sober, and planned to visit him in a couple of Saturdays with his grandchild. After 15 years of brokenness, things finally were made new through the power of God’s love.

You might feel like you are a wayward child in God’s family. Remember that God will neither leave nor forsake you. We like to run off on our own, but God’s love is stronger if we would only embrace it.