For They Shall Inherit The Earth
Matthew 5:5
As I read this verse, I am asked two things simultaneously: #1 Who are the meek? and #2 What does it mean to be meek?
One thing we do know, it is not this earth as we know it that the Scripture refers to. This earth will pass away -- Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."
2 Peter 3:10
Matthew 5:5
As I read this verse, I am asked two things simultaneously: #1 Who are the meek? and #2 What does it mean to be meek?
One thing we do know, it is not this earth as we know it that the Scripture refers to. This earth will pass away -- Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."
2 Peter 3:10
Now that we know which earth the meek get to inherit, let's find out who the meek are. By studying the word meek referenced here, we see it is a quote from the Book of Psalms. Psalm 37:11 "But the meek shall inherit the earth; And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." But when we read Psalm 37 from the beginning to the end, we see not only who the meek are, but what they are, thereby telling us what it means to be meek.
1. FRET NOT thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. In other words: stop worrying yourself to death over the evil committed by folks in this world. And stop wanting what they have.
2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3. TRUST in The LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. It's not just about doing good deeds, or committing random acts of kindness: one must first trust in The LORD, then do good. God is our Provider.
4. DELIGHT thyself also in The LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Delight means to 'take great joy in'.
5, COMMIT THY WAY unto The LORD; TRUST also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. When we truly commit our ways unto God's ways, we need to rely on Him, trust Him, that He will do what He says He will do. And He will: God does not lie.
6. And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. (the results of committing and trusting).
7. REST in The LORD, and wait patiently for Him: FRET NOT thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the wicked man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (cf Matthew 11:28 [Rest])
8. CEASE FROM ANGER, and FORSAKE WRATH: FRET NOT thyself in any wise to do evil. Pretty self-explanatory there. Or maybe not.
See, when we get angry, we tend to explode in unrighteous words and actions. Road rage is a good example of this. Some folks get frustrated when they drive, always thinking the other driver is at fault. With road rage, these faults are exaggerated in the angry person; they behave aggressively, at times taking the life of the other driver(s) with whom they think is at fault.
Now, while that is one of the extreme examples of doing evil while angry, there are lesser intents that we don't always acknowledge:
a. Do we get offended when we feel slighted or overlooked?
b. Do we post hateful messages on our social media?
9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon The LORD, they shall inherit the (new) earth.
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11. But the meek shall inherit the (new) earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13. The LORD shall laugh at him (the wicked): for He seeth that his day is coming.
14. The wicked have drawn out their sword, and bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. -- Here the meek are portrayed as poor and needy and upright conversation.
15, Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but The LORD upholdeth the righteous.
18. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of The LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. Deuteronomy 15:6; Jeremiah 15:10; Proverbs 22:9.
22. For such as be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of Him shall be cut off.
23. The steps of a good man are ordered by The LORD; and he delighteth in His way. 1 Samuel 2:9.
24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for The LORD upholdeth him with His hand.
25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Deuteronomy 32:6.
26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28. For The LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. -- This is why we need to be alert to what is going on around us in this world. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is a threat to the wickedness of this world. We seek to spread the saving gospel of Jesus Christ to all who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness. The evil in this world seeks our destruction. We must watch and pray, not just at set times, but throughout our days and into our nights. 1 Peter 5:8
33. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34. Wait on The LORD, and keep His way. And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. -- Waiting on our LORD does not mean we sit around and do nothing until we see Him move. When we dine out, does our waiter or waitress just sit there? No. The wait staff show us to our seats, ask us what we want, turn our orders in and brings us what we have asked for. Jesus is looking for people to serve in such a capacity. Have we shown Him where He can sit? Is He enthroned in our hearts? Have we asked Him what He wants? Are we ready to take His order? Obey His Word? Submit to His commands? Are we bringing Him what He has asked us for? And in what manner are we serving? Are we His servants?
35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39. But the salvation of the righteous is of The LORD: He is their strength in the time of trouble.
40. And The LORD shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.
In this one chapter alone we see who the meek are. And what it means to be meek. The righteous. The upright. The perfect. Not in and of ourselves, though; for without Christ our righteousness is filthy rags. Jesus Christ living in us makes us perfect. Living out God's Word in our lives makes us upright. Knowing Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior makes us righteous. It is His righteousness that covers us.
The meek do not let anger, bitterness, frustration, unforgiveness, grudges, irritation, violence, irascibility, conniption fits, tantrums and the like rule in their hearts. Temperance is taking control of our emotions and letting The Holy Spirit guide us in the way we should behave. Once we understand what God is saying to us, we cannot allow ourselves to treat one another in a way that is not prosperous for our souls. We must commit to loving one another as Christ has loved us: unconditionally, without merit, all-encompassing; forgiving all faults, whether the offending party is repentant or not.
The meek are not ashamed of their faith in their God. --Romans 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
When we reference Roget's Thesaurus, we see synonyms for the word meek, some of which are apt; others, not so much, as context must be considered also. We need to go into Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to see the definition of meek.
Roget's Thesaurus: click link to see meek synonyms
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:
#6039 Humble, needy, poor, meek gentle. (Old Testament "meek" defined.
(New Testament "meek" defined):
This difficult-to-translate root (pra-) means more than "meek." Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control– i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness.
[The English term "meek" often lacks this blend – i.e. of gentleness (reserve)and strength.]
I like that: Meekness is exercising God's strength under His control, demonstrating power without undue harshness. How like God to show us that when He is in it, we are 'more than' what we appear to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment