We have made it to Day Eight! My goodness, our True Love is showering is with presents by this point!
As of right now we have gotten: a Partridge in a Pear Tree, Two Turtledoves, Three French Hens, Four Calling Birds. Five Golden Rings. Six Geese Alaying, and Seven Swans Swimming. Now we get this newest gift.
Eight Maids Milking.
Eight Maids Milking
Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t own one cow, let along enough that I need eight maids to help them be milked. However, as we’ve previously discussed, there is always a deeper meaning to the gift. In this case, we are talking about the Eight Beattitudes, which can be found in Matthew 5:3-10, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Here is a basic breakdown of how I understand each of these. I did use http://www.biblehub.com and their commentary feature while going through this. The primary writer I used was Ellicott.
Poor in Spirit – the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Really, this is a paradox (the comparison of poor to rich). Remember that “Blessed is” starts each statement. Blessed although not always used in this way, can also be used to say “happy”. So another way to look at this would be “Happy is the man that isn’t concerned with acquiring things to fill their lives, for they are able to focus on the things of God.”
Mourning- shall be comforted. Mourning is normally associated with weeping, to be sad about something deeply. In this case, Jesus isn’t necessarily talking about funeral weeping (Mark 16:10) or sorrow in the face of death (2 Corinthians 7:10). He’s talking about Mourning in the face of sin. – to be deeply grieved by your sin itself. I would go so far as to call it Holy Grief. You should have this grief as your sin is what separates you from God.
Humble – they will inherit the earth. Who are really the people we want in charge of us? I don’t know about you, but I really prefer a leader who is self-controlled, no wishy-washy, and who isn’t always in the middle of dealing with their emotions. Thisnis how Humble is being used- tranquil and not given to impulsive decisions.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness – they will be filled. These are driving needs and desires. We are to crave God and his word as a baby craves milk (1 Peter 2:2). You should be seeking g to have thus need filled, and Jesus promises that it will be.
Merciful- will receive mercy. Mercy is not getting a punishment that we should be getting. If God is merciful enough to not alow mankind kind to be as bad IA it could be, shouldn’t we be willing to extend mercy? Realistically, this can’t happen for every situations, because there are consequences for our actions, but maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to always immediately pass judgment on someone.
Pure in heart – they will see God. This is really a state of being. Like the children who come to Jesus in Matthew 19:14 we should come to God with innocent faith, and let go of some of those hang ups we have from having lived life.
Peacemakers – shall be called sons of God. No, this isn’t a gun. We, followers of Christ, aren’t called to needlessly cause strife. This does not mean that there are not hills that aren’t worth dying on, bit we aren’t called to cause trouble or strife for the sake of causing strife. This should be an identifiable Character trait.
Persecuted because of righteousness – Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 1 Peter 3:13-14 outlines that if you are a Christian, the world is naturally going to oppose you because you are in opposition to the world which is chasing after their own self-satisfaction and pleasure. Misery loves company – cliché but true.
These are my commentary of the Sermon on the Mount. I hope that you find it helpful. And I welcome discussion from those who have e had different experiences and lo e to hear your thoughts.
Road Trippin With Rachael 
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