The Second Couplet (vv. 6-7), Part 1 - v. 6

2^nd Couplet – verses 6-7 (Part 1 – v. 6)

When we are not in a state of desperate need, we must learn that “True Biblical Prosperity” is to be found here in these short, pithy, powerful statements of our Lord and King. Look at the next couplet as we read verses 6 & 7:

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they shall be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

We see here the dimensions of the cross! That vertical beam that connects us to our Father seated upon His heavenly throne is made sure when we choose to “go after” righteousness. You may remember just after this portion of His teaching that Jesus exhorted His disciples (that’s us, Beloved!) to seek first (before anything and everything else!) the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33a). If we do so, He promises us that all the other things of life we need, those things that so often absorb and consume our attention and our affections, shall be added to us (33b)!

Note, however, that Jesus set the stage for us with the choice of His words. When we read the word “seek,” (6:33), we may not be impacted with the intensity of what the Master is wanting us to have in our searching Him out and making Him our first priority. Therefore, He paints the picture for us by using the words “hunger and thirst” in 5:6.

It further helps us to understand that when Jesus said the things of the world that people worry about – what food to eat, what clothes to wear, etc., He first noted, by contrast, that the “pagans run after such things” (6:32a). The sense of the verb here is that the pagans crave (are addicted to) such things!  We are not to behave in such a manner, for Jesus tells us, in Matthew 6:32b that our heavenly Father knows that we need such things!

However, we must not wait until we are destitute. Rather, we are to choose to crave God and His righteousness! We must choose to be “famished with hunger” for Him and “dying of thirst,” so to speak, to live in a right relationship with Him. There is some imagery we might want to use, by way of an analogy, to help us to get the import of the Mater’s message is this.

In any sport or athletic competition or military conflict, the time to prepare is not the moment of the engagement ~ the sporting event, the match, or the battle.

Muscles must be built up and conditioned. Timing and reflexes must be honed to a razor-sharp lightning speed. Knowledge and awareness of the opponent’s, or the enemy’s, tactics and strategies must be a part of our subconscious repertoire, and our confidence must be built to peak condition by constant real-life practice, sparring and war games with capable opponents. Only then will we be prepared to enter onto the field, into the arena or into the combat zone properly equipped for success. So, too, we must choose to hunger and thirst for righteousness in order that we may be equipped and prepared for the spiritual warfare that we are constantly engaged in and called to win! ~ See 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 and Ephesians 6:10-18. Everything begins with a desire to know our Father intimately and a desire to live as close to Him as ever we can.  Only in this way can we grow and mature to be conformed ever more to be like Jesus. It is this desire that motivates us to seek God – that is, to hunger and to thirst for Him and for His righteousness. Knowing the Father and His righteousness is the only thing that will truly “fill us” – that is, satisfy our souls.