«　WEEK 5　DAY 1　»

　　Num. 6:2 Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to separate himself to Jehovah.

　　Isa. 7:15 He will eat curds and honey until he knows how to refuse evil and choose good.

　　According to typology, among the human race the unique Nazarite is the Lord Jesus. Hence, a Nazarite is a type of Christ. A Nazarite signifies the Lord Jesus in His living for God in His humanity. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 56)

　　In reading the four Gospels, we can see how good and perfect the outward living of the Lord was. Yet from the four Gospels, we cannot tell why the Lord had such a superb outward living....Isaiah 7:15 gives us the reason He had such a living. Why was He able to refuse the evil and choose the good? How did He know to reject the world and choose God's will? How did He know to reject glory from men and choose glory from God? We can find out the answer to these questions from Isaiah 7. Verse 14 says, "Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel." We know that this refers to the Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, many people have dropped verse 15....Not only does verse 14 refer to the Lord, but...verse 15 also refers to Him. Verse 15 tells us that He ate butter and honey all His life. Because He ate butter and honey all His life, He was able to choose the good things and refuse the bad things. This is why He could obey God, seek for His glory, and win His heart.

　　What is the significance of butter and honey?...Butter is the richest food, while honey is the sweetest food. The Lord Jesus ate the richest and sweetest food throughout His life. This is why He could reject the evil and choose the good.

　　The Bible tells us what the richest thing is. It is God's grace. The Bible also tells us what the sweetest thing is. It is God's love. All the time, God placed before Christ the rich grace and gave Him to taste the sweet love. This is why He could obey God and choose His will. This is why He could reject the evil and choose the good. Today we will consider a little how the Lord ate butter and honey, and how He rejected the evil and chose the good.

　　At the age of twelve, our Lord went with His parents to Jerusalem to keep the feast. After the feast His parents returned, but He remained in Jerusalem without their knowing about it. Later His parents returned to Jerusalem to look for Him. After three days they found Him in the temple. His mother said, "Child, why have You treated us like this? Behold, Your father and I, being greatly distressed, have been seeking You" [Luke 2:48]. The Lord did not answer saying, "Do you not know that I should do My Father's will?" Instead, He answered, saying, "Did you not know that I must be in the things of My Father?" [v. 49]. The Lord had eaten the butter and the honey. At the age of twelve, the Lord knew the Father already. He had the heavenly butter and honey. He had received the richest and the sweetest and was living in God's will. If it were us, we might have said, "Go back to Nazareth to care for your carpentry and your housework. I will not go. Let me stay in the temple." Our Lord did not behave this way. He spoke, and He testified; yet He went back with them. After they returned to Nazareth, He was subject to them. The reason He could choose the difficult thing was that God had given Him the richest and sweetest taste.

　　Mary bothered the Lord all the time. When the wine ran out, she told Him, "They have no wine" (John 2:3). While He was preaching to many people, she would come to speak with Him (Matt. 12:46). Yet the Bible says that "He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them" [Luke 2:51]. This was the Lord's choice. It was something that others would find hard to do....But He chose to return with [his parents] and to live with [them]. The reason for this is that He had eaten butter and honey and was able to choose what was otherwise unbearable to men. (CWWN, vol. 17, "The Power of Choosing," pp. 111-113)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 17, pp. 111-120