Those Who Hunger and Thirst
The Beatitudes are divine blessings pronounced on those of godly character. These attributes are required for those who wish to enter the kingdom of heaven. The fourth of these blessings is prescribed for “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Hunger and thirst are the most basic of human needs. Mankind instinctively seeks out food and water to survive. What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness and how are those needs satisfied?
Isaiah invited the Israelites to satisfy their spiritual hunger and thirst by listening to God and making a covenant with Him. This would preserve their souls. The glory of the promised abundance would attract other nations to them and their God. Isaiah 55:1-5 NKJV “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you-The sure mercies of David. Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.”
Isaiah asks a pointed question. “Why do you spend money for that which is not bread”? Solomon had previously questioned the vanity of providing through toil. He concluded that the provision was a blessing accompanying doing good in one’s life. Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 NKJV He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor-it is the gift of God. Jesus reminded His disciples that there is more to life than providing physical necessities. Luke 12:22-23 NKJV Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. “Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Early in His teaching, Jesus invited the multitude to partake of the bread of life and find eternal sustenance. Joh 6:27 NKJV “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Joh 6:35 NKJV And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. Joh 6:47-51 NKJV “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. “I am the bread of life. “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
Isaiah presented the promise of an everlasting covenant, the “cost” of eternal satisfaction. Jesus later appeared revealing Himself to be that bread capable of providing eternal life. The invitation still stands. Revelation 21:5-7 NKJV Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
Come. Eat and drink. Be satisfied.