Milk is the liquid nourishment, especially important for sustenance of newborns. Milk is a basic human need. In the Old Testament the goat was the primary producer of milk. The Promise Land is called the "land flowing with milk and honey" referring both to the fact that God would nourish His people there and the land will never lack its agricultural bounty of life.
The first letter from Peter was addressed to Christians, called "God's chosen people," who were scattered throughout the Northern part of Asia Minor. The main purpose of the letter is to encourage the readers to accept and endure their suffering, confident that it is a test of the genuineness of their faith.
Along with his encouragement, he also urges his readers to live as people who belongs to Christ.
"Rid yourself, then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy or jealousy or insulting language. Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved." 1 Peter 2:1-2.
The prophet Ezekiel who lived in exile in Babylon during the period before and after the Fall of Jerusalem, give in his message warnings to the people about God's judgment on them and to the nations that oppressed and misled them and also messages of comfort for his people after the Fall of Jerusalem and the promise of a brighter future through the Ezekiel's picture of a restored Temple and nation.
"The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the Valley, it was full of bones. And He led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the Valley; and lo, they were very dry. ... Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ... Then He said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the Four Winds, O, breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. ... and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. ...
"Thus He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. ... Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the lord God : Behold, I will open your graves, O my people; and i will bring you home ... . I will take my people from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all sides, and bring them to their own land ... they shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the backsliding and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Ez.37.
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