“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” -Matthew 5:5
Meekness is one of those things you probably skim over when you read the Bible. But if it’s not important why did Jesus make a point to talk about it.
I used to think a bunch of meek people gaining control of the earth kind of sounded like something in a science fiction movie about a bunch of weak people and global domination. A image of smiling push overs.
But, Jesus was the ultimate example of meek in Matthew 11:28, and He’s the exact opposite of a pushover. Moses was also described as meek. In Numbers 12 Moses is leading the nation of Israel and his older siblings who launch a verbal attack against him, regarding his wife, where Moses is a picture of stillness and doesn’t defend himself.
Instead, we see that God defends him mightily. He calls both Aaron and Miriam out and makes them answer for their words. God declares how faithful and above reproach Moses has been and how He was given the privilege of hearing from Him directly. And then Moses sister was struck with leprosy and as sent out of camp for seven days before being healed. He questions why they weren’t afraid to speak out against such a godly man who had done nothing wrong.
Imagine standing nearby and witnessing that. How gut-wrenching would that be for Aaron and Miriam? But still, Moses begs God to heal Miriam.
Moses wasn’t concerned with defending himself let alone launching a counter-attack on his brother or sister. He was slow to anger, leaning into a trust and deference of God. And rather than gloat about the justice that was eventually served, he cried out in the interest of his sister -please heal her.
Meekness means to have a controlled strength that puts everything in the hands of God. It is founded on the trust in God and always denies itself. We can see meekness grow alongside humility and wisdom. Which seeks another person’s interest at the expense of it’s own. And its pure, peaceable, gentle, and open to reason in James 3:13-17.
Meekness should not be confused with cowardliness or weakness. It is not being afraid to stand up to someone, but having the courage to trust God for justice.
We see this again in David’s life before he was made king. Many times he had the strength and power to take the throne from Saul and he would not do so. Many times he quieted his flesh’s whispers that said “Why should you tolerate this? He should pay for this!” and he chose instead to trust the Lord his God with quiet submission (1 Samuel 26:10-11). How opposite is our culture today? We have an entire world that roars against this attitude.
Jesus said, “Meek shall Inherit the earth.” He has a habit of saying things that make me and probably all of us scratch our heads. Is there a sense that the meek have already inherited the earth? The Bible says that all things are ours in Christ, and Paul declared that he has nothing and yet he has everything. If you take swipes at a meek person and they take it in stride, do you have power over them? If they are content and satisfied on this side of eternity in a way they have inherited the earth. This is of course my opinion.
But there are future expectations too. Revelation 21:4 says,
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…”
There will be purification of souls. Literally, everyone in heaven will live on a new earth and will be meek. To be otherwise would be inconsistent with righteousness.
This leaves us in a position of hope and certainty.
From Pity to Praise 