Thursday, September 7, 2017
Isaiah 55:1 … Yes, come, buy wine and milk ...
JOY AND NOURISHMENT
Two more items the Lord uses to symbolize the blessings of His Word in this Isaiah passage are WINE and MILK. Truly apt pictures! How so? Think for a minute. At what kind of occasions is wine usually served? Merry occasions, right? Events like wedding receptions, New Year's parties, festive holiday gatherings in company with friends and family. And what usually happens when you enjoy a glass of wine with your meal? Doesn't it make you feel happy?
So, too, the wine of God's Word that we drink in fills us with spiritual happiness. It gladdens our hearts by assuring us that God is our dear Father and we are His dear children -- that nothing can separate us from His love, that even the trials we encounter along life's road are being used by our Father for our good. Haven't we experienced the truth the psalmist expressed: "Blessed [happy] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the [word] of the Lord, and on his [word] he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:1-2). "The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” (Psalm 19:11).
And how does milk serve as an apt picture for the blessings God furnishes us through His Word? Milk provides nourishment to newborns for their growth and development. It supplies the nutrients which their bodies need. You may recall the "Got milk?" advertising campaign created back the early 1990s encouraging everyone to drink more milk because it is good for you.
Even so, the milk of the Word is good for us in the highest sense. It's what God uses to fortify us in a world where our Christian faith is under constant attack by the world, the devil, and our flesh. No wonder Peter offers us this counsel: "Like newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2:2). We may sing joyfully with the hymn writer:
Oh, what blessing to be near You
And to listen to Your voice;
Let me ever love and hear You,
Let Your Word be now my choice!
Many hardened sinners, Lord,
Flee in terror at Your Word;
But to all who feel sin's burden
You give words of peace and pardon.
(Lutheran Service Book, 589:2)
