He Called Me 'Beloved

In C. S. Lewis' The Last Battle (1956), when Emeth tells the Kings and Queens of Narnia about his meeting Aslan, he says, "This is the marvel of marvels, that he called me, Beloved, me who am but as a dog-" (157). Does this sound familiar?

Who is the true "beloved"? Jesus Christ. After He's baptized in the Jordan River, a voice from heaven says, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17; cf Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22). The same thing happens at Jesus' transfiguration (see Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35, 2 Peter 1:17). And when God saves and calls us, "He hath made us accepted in the beloved," Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:6).

But who are we without Christ? We're dogs! When David was fleeing from Saul, he asked him, "After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea" (1 Samuel 24:14). David felt like nothing. Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan, senses the same about himself. After King David brings him to his house for Jonathan's sake, Mephibosheth asks, "What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" (2 Samuel 9:8) When the Syro-Phoenician woman came to Jesus to ask Him to heal her daughter of a demon, Jesus told her, "It is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs" (Matthew 15:26; cf Mark 7:27). This sounds like an insult, but it isn't. Yes, in the minds of the Jews, Gentiles were dogs. But Jesus is testing this woman's faith. And she tells Him, "Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table" (Matthew 15:27; cf Mark 7:28).

Why do these people feel like they're worthless? It's because dogs are unclean. So to call someone else a dog was a reproach, while to call oneself a dog signified humiliation (Easton par. 1). According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Persecutors are called 'dogs' (Ps. 22:16). Hazael's words, 'Thy servant which is but a dog' (2 Kings 8:13), are spoken in mock humility - impossible that one so contemptible as he should attain to such power" (par. 1). And to be eaten, or to have one's blood licked up, by dogs - instead of a proper burial - showed contempt (1 Kings 14:11, 21:19, 23, 22:38). God would not allow anyone to bring "the price of a dog into the" tabernacle to fulfill a vow (Deuteronomy 23:18). In the New Testament, Paul used the term "dogs" to describe false apostles (Philippians 3:2). And these "dogs," like "sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and" liars, are not allowed into heaven (Revelation 22:15).* That is how unclean the animal is in the sight of God. That is the reproachful, humiliating nature of the epithet. And this is how God sees us in our spiritual nakedness. In His sight, we're unclean dogs - too sinful to approach the throne. We deserve death.

Angels called Daniel "greatly beloved" (9:23, 10:11, 19). But was he special in any way? No! Song of Solomon celebrates the marriage between King Solomon and his bride. "Solomon," from shalom, means "peaceful." The bride is called a Shulamite, which also means "peaceful" (from shalam - to be safe). It's a pet name, meaning essentially the king gave the bride his name. Here's the interesting part. Throughout this book, the bride calls the bridegroom "beloved" (1:13-14, 2:8-10, 16-17, 4:16, 5:2, 4-6, 8-10, 16, 6:1-3, 7:9-11, 8:5, 14). When Solomon was born, Nathan the prophet gave him another name, Jedidiah (2 Samuel 12:25). And it means "beloved of the Lord" (see Nehemiah 13:26). What does this mean? Allegorically, Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom, "beloved of the [Father]." And in Christ we are sons and daughters of God. We are called by His name. We are "beloved" (Song of Solomon 5:1).

Here's another interesting tidbit. The Jews used to read Song of Solomon every Passover, to signify the relationship between God and Israel. What was the fulfillment of Passover? The death of Jesus Christ on a cross. It is only through the cross of Christ that we are "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). And it is only through the cross that we are called "beloved" sons and daughters of God. Truly we can say, "This is the marvel of marvels, that he called me, Beloved, me who am but as a dog" (157).

"Mercy saw me"

Beautiful, that's how Mercy saw me.
Though I was broken and so lost,
Mercy looked past all my faults.
The justice of God saw what I had done,
But Mercy saw me through the Son.
Not what I was but what I could be
That's how Mercy saw me.
Not what I was but what I could be
That's how Jesus saw me.

*See also 2 Samuel 3:8, 16:9