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shaking bed awakened me at 4:31 AM. The whole house was shaking. I was afraid. It was dark. I heard the
noise of things crashing to the floor and my children calling out. My wife was now awake. Our bed was
rocking back and forth. I reached to turn on the light by my bed. It blinked on and immediately went
out. I told my children to go back to bed and stay there because we were in the middle of what became
known as the Northridge Earthquake, near Los Angeles California. It was 17 January 1994. Thousands of
people were concerned for their life. Water pipes were damaged and thousands had no water and those who
did were cautioned not to drink it. The electricity was off and most could not cook. Food was spoiling
because the refrigerators did not operate. The food markets were closed because floors were buried with
food products and broken glass. Safety, hunger and thirst had new meaning to the earthquake victims.
. .Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (NASB) Matt. 5:6 The Paradox. Fear of danger, hunger and thirst were emotions Jesus’ audience
knew well. So Jesus’ words, “Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . .
.” had real meaning to his Jewish listeners for they understood poverty and they understood Roman
brutality. History tells us that Herod the Great had reduced the vast majority of the Jewish population
of Jesus’ time to poverty level. It was common for groups of Jews to share their food, water and
money to help others live. Most of the city was on charity or relief. It was mainly the poor who had
an open heart to Jesus’ message, for Luke 1:53 says,
He has filled the hungry with good things but . . . sent the rich away empty. (NIV) Luke 1:53 What a lesson for us - Jesus loved the poor. Most of the Jews listening to Jesus on that hillside
understood hunger and thirst. They knew real poverty - the kind where you are hungry and thirsty for
a long, long time, the kind that makes you want to steal. Looking through Jesus’ heart, Matt 9:36,
helps us to understand that these people were poor and oppressed,
And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. (NASB) Matthew 9:36 So Jesus used two Greek words they understood well. Two words that described intense hunger (PEINAW)
and thirst (DIPSAO). PEINAW spoke of a passionate longing for food and it referred to long drawn out
hunger. DIPSAO referred to thirst and sometimes painful thirst. Jesus went further and gave these two
words the idea of non-stop hunger and thirst. Jesus is describing poverty - a strong, deep longing, never
ending desire for food and water. Now Jesus was ready to meet their real need . . .
Seeking Satisfaction. My wife and I once rented a house owned by a man
whose son knew a wealthy Christian whom we will call Leo. One day as I talked with the son, he said he
was disappointed in Christianity. He explained that God had not made him wealthy like Leo after he became
a Christian. He said he became a Christian in the hope of becoming rich! He was pursuing his own comfort
or satisfaction.
Some of us may chuckle inside at this real life event, but the Bible says we are just
like him. All of us are laboring to meet needs and especially desires,
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