by aginetha josephat | 3 February 2025 08:46 am02
The prophecy in Isaiah says the Lord Jesus would eat butter and milk. How was this prophecy fulfilled?
Answer:
To understand this, we need to explore the meaning of this prophecy and how it relates to Jesus’ life and ministry.
Isaiah 7:14-15 (ESV) says:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.”
Here, “curds” (translated also as “butter” or “rich milk products”) and “honey” symbolize nourishment and abundance. Butter comes from milk, and Proverbs 30:33 (ESV) states,
“The stirring of milk produces curds, and stirring violence produces strife.”
This shows that butter (curds) comes directly from milk. Therefore, the phrase “butter and honey” poetically represents “milk and honey,” a biblical symbol of blessing and prosperity.
The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” is repeatedly used in the Old Testament to describe the Promised Land — a place of God’s provision, blessing, and abundance.
For example, Numbers 14:8 (ESV) says,
“If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.”
This land was not just materially rich but spiritually significant: it was God’s promise of rest, provision, and blessing for His people. Milk and honey symbolize God’s abundant provision and the sweetness of His covenant blessings.
The children of Israel were delivered from Egypt and led into the Promised Land, symbolizing God’s faithfulness to His promises.
Hosea 11:1 (ESV) prophetically refers to Israel as God’s son called out of Egypt:
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”
Matthew 2:14-15 (ESV) shows this prophecy fulfilled in Jesus’ early life:
“So he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’”
Just as Israel was called out of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey, Jesus was called out of Egypt and later lived in the land of promise.
Isaiah 7:15 highlights an important aspect of Jesus’ life:
“He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.”
This means Jesus, from childhood, distinguished between good and evil and chose to live righteously. His moral perfection qualified Him to fully partake in the blessings of God.
Deuteronomy 6:18 (ESV) commands God’s people:
“And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you…”
God’s promise of blessing (the land flowing with milk and honey) was conditional on obedience and righteousness.
Jesus perfectly fulfilled this requirement. Unlike many Israelites who failed to uphold God’s standards and thus lost blessings, Jesus always chose the good and rejected evil (Hebrews 4:15).
Though Jesus lived a humble life without earthly wealth (Matthew 8:20), He was rich in spiritual blessings. The “butter and honey” He ate symbolize all the blessings He possessed—both physical sustenance and spiritual richness through the Holy Spirit.
Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV):
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
Jesus voluntarily embraced poverty on earth, but He was spiritually wealthy—filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1) and empowered to perform miracles that demonstrate the abundance of God’s grace.
By faith in Jesus, we share in His blessings. First, we receive eternal life—the ultimate spiritual blessing (John 3:16). Second, we receive God’s provision and blessings in our earthly lives according to His will (Philippians 4:19).
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a “land flowing with milk and honey” — not only physically but spiritually, through salvation and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment.
The prophecy that Jesus would eat butter and honey is a beautiful symbol of His perfect righteousness and participation in God’s promised blessings. He fully lived in obedience, rejecting evil and choosing good, thereby fulfilling God’s covenant.
Although He lived simply on earth, His spiritual riches are immeasurable. When we receive Jesus, we enter into this same stream of blessings—eternal life and spiritual abundance.
May the Lord richly bless you.
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