Butter, Honey and Wisdom
 |
Photo by Benyamin Bohlouli on Unsplash |
More than 700 years before Christ was born, Ahaz was king of Judah. The Prophet Isaiah delivered a difficult message to him, because of Judah's great sin and rebellion against God, they would be taken captive by the Assyrians and the land would be left desolate. But Isaiah also had a message of hope. Under Divine inspiration he told Ahaz to ask God for a sign. Ahaz refused, and here is how Isaiah responded (Isaiah 7:14-16),
"Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse
the evil and choose the good.
For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and
choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her
kings."
This is one of the most clear and profound prophesies about
the birth of Jesus Christ. Even though Ahaz was looking forward to some
terrible days, Isaiah assured him that the Messiah would come and deliver his
people. Though it would take a few hundred years before that happened.
Isaiah tells us that Immanuel would eat butter and honey and
learn to refuse evil and choose the good. "Butter" can also be
translated as "curds" and is probably clearer.
Curds and honey would have been a staple of the diet in
Israel at the time Isaiah was delivering this message. Even during a siege
these foods would have been available to nurture the growing infants.
The Messiah would be raised on a basic, human diet. He would
learn and grow the same as any other person. The book of Luke says, "And
the child [Jesus] grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the
grace of God was upon him... And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in
favour with God and man." While
Jesus was indeed the divine Son of God, he was also a human child who had to
learn and grow.
Curds and honey would have been a part of the diet that
helped nourish Jesus into full manhood. While his physical body grew, he also
increased in wisdom and discernment. God's grace was with him and enabled him
to learn and grow and become a mature, wise adult.
As Jesus grew in stature, he also grew in his understanding
of right and wrong. Jesus is God made flesh, he is God the Son, and what Divine
attributes he had access to at what ages is a mystery. Still, the Scripture
tells us that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.
We all needed nourishment as infants and small children to
grow and mature physically. To a large degree we could not feed ourselves, we
depended on parents or other caregivers to make sure we had proper nourishment.
As growing Christians, we also need nourishment if we are to
grow in wisdom and understanding. It is an unfortunate reality that there are
many today who claim to be followers of Christ but have little discernment when
it comes to right and wrong. Instead of rejecting the evil and accepting the
good, we reject the good and accept the evil.
Curds are a milk product, and are used to make cheese. Honey
and milk are both used as symbols for the goodness and nourishment of Scripture.
While physical curds and honey are delicious and nourishing, much more we need
the spiritual nourishment from God's Word to increase in understanding and
discernment.
1 Peter 2:2 says this, "As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." Just as infants naturally crave their
mother's milk and know instinctively how to latch and suck, newborn babies into
God's family have a desire for the milk of God's word. As we drink deep of the
nourishing draught of Scripture, we become mature and strong spiritually.
Most of us do not go a full 24 hours without nourishing our
bodies with food, and we should not go 24 hours without nourishing our spirit
with God's Word.
God has specially designed his Word to encourage us and
strengthen us so that we can grow into spiritual maturity, to give us the
knowledge and wisdom we need so that we can learn to discern right from wrong
and good from evil. (See also 1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:12-13)
If we are neglecting God's Word, we are neglecting a
tremendous source of strength and encouragement. God wants to speak to us,
guide us and direct us. He wants to give us wisdom, and the primary means he
uses to do this is through his Word.
King David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, wrote this about
the goodness of Scripture,
"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the
commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine
gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." (Psalm 19:7-10)
Scripture is a glorious and beautiful thing. David says it
is more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey. This should be our attitude
toward God's Word as well. Too often we desire so many futile and foolish
things, and we neglect the sweetness and the treasure that is Scripture. The reason
we are often led astray and find ourselves distant from God and lost in the
weeds of sin is because we desire other things more than we desire the Word of
the Lord.
As we read, study and meditate on God's Word, we grow and
mature. We become stronger and better able to judge between good and evil. Our
senses become exercised, and we can see more clearly the deception of the
wicked one as he tries to lead us astray.
I am told that bank tellers are trained to identify
counterfeit currency not by handling fake bills, but by handling the real thing.
They are taught to see the security features and small details that mark
authentic bills. They are educated to scrutinize and catch the smallest of
imperfections. They become so thoroughly familiar with the real thing, when a
fake shows up, they are immediately suspicious and can discern whether or not
it is a true bill. They learn to reject the bad and accept the good by becoming
intimately familiar with the good.
This is what Scripture does for us, it is our butter and
honey, it nourishes us and trains us. As our senses become tuned to God's Word,
we are better able to see error and sin. As our minds are filled with the
truth, we will be able to recognize when the world, the flesh and the devil are
lying to us. We will learn to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Comments
Post a Comment