“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

When the people of Israel left Egypt, they had seen God’s mighty hand deliver them from slavery and abuse in Egypt. They had witnessed the plagues and then they had been given the riches of Egypt. “The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.” (Exodus 12:35-36) They had seen God’s protection as He destroyed the Egyptian army at the Red Sea after they had walked across on dry ground. They had followed the presence of God as he led them with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. After all of this, you would think that they knew God would take care of them. Yet, the basic needs of life did override what they had seen and experienced. When they got hungry and thirsty, they complained in the most outlandish way. “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Exodus 17:3b) Facing our most basic needs of water and food for survival will cause us to do almost anything to get them.

Jesus would use these basic needs to teach us about God’s provisions in our lives to live as those who will be blessed by Him. The question for us is, do we have these desires? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) The problem arises because we have no righteousness in ourselves. “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) Paul would agree, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

Jesus came to live a life of total righteousness. In Him we have been provided a way to become righteous. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.” When we hunger and thirst God provides our bread and our water. “For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. . .. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:33,35) Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

Blessings come to us now as we hunger and thirst for righteousness. The blessings come as our passions are focused on our relationship with God through His gift to us, Jesus Christ. This is because this Beatitude has a promise, “they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

Let us join Paul as He prays, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19, emphasis mine)

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block