Isaiah 7:22 Meaning: The Deceptive Abundance of Milk and Honey

Three Hebrew words carry the weight here. First, rov, translated "abundance." It can mean great quantity, but in this context the quantity comes from emptiness. The pastures are wide because almost no one is left to farm them. Second, the word translated "butter" is chem'ah, which means curdled milk or thick cream. It is not a delicacy; it is a survival food, what you eat when there is no bread or meat. Third, note who eats it: "everyone that is left." The Hebrew word nothar (the one who remains) appears throughout the Old Testament for the remnant that survives judgment. Even the verb "eat", akhal, is the same word used when fire devours or a sword consumes. The abundance is real, but it is the abundance of a land stripped bare. There is plenty of milk because the people are gone.

Christians have read this verse in two ways. The majority of Protestant commentators, Calvin, Barnes, Matthew Henry, see the abundance of milk and honey as a sign of desolation. The land is so ruined that agriculture has stopped; the survivors eat only dairy and wild honey because there is nothing else. This reading emphasizes judgment. Others, including the Jewish Targum and some Baptist interpreters like John Gill, take it as a promise of provision for the faithful remnant. They note that honey and curds were considered gifts of God's goodness. Both readings agree on the central fact: the land is dramatically changed, and the survivors are few. The difference is whether the cup is seen as half-empty or half-full.

A common misreading is to take the abundance of milk and honey as a sign of God's blessing. Many hear "milk and honey" and think of the Promised Land's richness. But in this chapter, the surrounding verses describe invasion, shaved heads, briers and thorns, and abandoned vineyards. The abundance of milk comes not from many cattle but from a land with almost no people. The survivors eat curds and honey because there is no bread or wine. This is a picture of a people reduced to the basics, not a celebration of plenty.

This verse invites you to test what you call abundance. Sometimes a season of surplus may actually be a season of loss in disguise. If you have more milk than you can use, ask: who is missing from the table? The verse shows that abundance without community is sorrow. The survivors had plenty of curds, but they ate alone. This week, look at the good things in your life. Are you sharing them? Is your abundance a sign of life, or a sign that something else has died? The answer may be hard. But honesty before God is where hope begins.