By Kameel Majdali
Teach all Nations
It has been the goal of dictators and despots for millennia. Having conquered their home base, they seek to go further afield. Whether Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler or a cast of others, these hyper-ambitious megalomaniacs try to extend their imperial reach worldwide but overextend themselves. Then they fail and fall, bringing their empire crashing down with them.
Even ‘the beast’ in the Book of Revelation, also known as the antichrist, attempts to rule the entire world. At first glance, it appears that he succeeds but if so, his success is short-lived. Not only are there wars of rebellion against him in the tribulation period, but antichrist will take one step too many and end up losing his battle. His end is in the lake of fire.
Bible students should know that the earth - all of it - belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). Yet He also makes an amazing offer. To people who possess a certain character quality, they can also inherit the earth.
What is this quality? It is not ambition. It is not assertiveness. It is definitely not arrogance. The dictators and despots mentioned above have plenty of all these things, yet they failed every time. So what is the key?
Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5 tell us: The meek shall inherit the earth.
Meekness Defined:
Irony of ironies. Meekness is actually the key to acquisition. Yet, before we acquire, we need to understand what it really is. In the Bible, the Hebrew word translated meek is anav, meaning poor, weak, afflicted. In Greek it is praos, meaning ‘meek, mild, gentle.’ None of these adjectives sound like the ingredients of inheriting the earth.
Yet consider this: The man Moses was very meek, above all the men who were upon the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3). Jesus Christ refers to Himself as meek (Matthew 11:29). So since Moses and Jesus were meek, did that mean they were also ‘weak?’
Not at all. Indeed, nowhere did two men demonstrate more anointing and power than Jesus and Moses Somehow, meekness is the pathway to power, a power that helps you inherit the earth.
Let’s then consider a description of true Biblical, earth-inheriting meekness: When a person commits and submits to God, to the point that their own personal traits and desires decrease and Christ-in-them, the hope of glory, increases, then they begin to live by the power of God. In short, the meek are willing to decrease so that Christ in them increases - thereby releasing power, effectiveness and fruit.
If you are a ‘Great Commission Christian’ - and you should be - committed to helping the gospel go worldwide and raising up disciples of Jesus - then remember God’s way to inherit the earth. Biblical meekness, possessing a sterling attitude, an empowering grace, and a regal calm, will obtain for you that which has eluded the worldly ambitious throughout human history. It truly is the ‘high road’ to overcoming power, victory, and possessing your possession.
The meek do not ‘fight for their rights,’ actively seek vengeance or vindication, strive in their own strength or live off man-made, home-cooked ‘good ideas.’ They live and labour according to God’s terms, timing, and territory. The meek simply keep single-minded and focused on what God has called them to do.
ISAAC: MEEKNESS IN ACTION
A classic example of this principle, and how to inherit the earth, is found in the patriarch Isaac in Genesis 26:16-22. God commanded Isaac to remain in Canaan, a land he was destined to inherit. Amazingly, this was during a time of intense famine. When food was scarce in Canaan, the natural response was to travel to nearby Egypt, where the Nile River and its alluvial rich overflow normally guaranteed a steady food supply.
Certainly, Isaac’s father Abraham, and son Jacob, did go to Egypt when famine hit in Canaan during their day. Yet when Isaac tried to make the same move, God intervened and told him to stay put. He would bless him in the land of promise, drought, famine, and all. Meekness meant trusting God and committing all to him.
Ever energetic, Isaac was busy sowing in the land and reaping 100-fold (Genesis 26:12). That was a miracle, considering that the Negev wilderness is dry, even in normal times, let alone in a season of dryness.
The neighbouring Philistines became jealous of his success and expelled him from the city of Gerar. It was most unfair, but Isaac decided not to fight for justice but to keep on labouring in his inheritance. God’s justice towards Isaac would outstripped any compensation this world can offer.
The patriarch began to dig wells or re-dig wells in the Negev, where his father Abraham had dug. Wells not only brought water but served as a stake to claim the land. At least twice the Philistines protested that the wells belong to them, even though Isaac was the one who dug them. He did not argue or stop fulfilling his call. He kept his powder dry, relinquished the wells to his opponents, and kept digging elsewhere. Isaac knew that the promise of God to inherit the land would come in God’s timing and God’s way.
Isaac’s meekness netted him a wonderful reprieve called Rehoboth (Genesis 26:22). Here was a ‘Philistine-free zone’ were there is room, water, fruitfulness, and no strife. Every believer needs to visit Rehoboth, periodically if not regularly.
What is remarkable is that Isaac’s spirit of meekness did not make him look weak, but strong. Eventually, his enemies met with him and sued for peace.
The reason was that the blessing of God appeared prominently on his life. Wherever his plough laboured, there was a bumper crop. Wherever his spade touched, a well of springing water resulted. When opposition hit, he glided over it like a stream over a stubborn rock. To fight such a God-blessed man like Isaac would mean to fight against God Himself.
Then he came across Beersheba, well of seven, which became the patriarchs winter capital. The land of Canaan was now within Isaac’s reach and he never had to fire a shot.
MEEKNESS FOR TODAY
Isaac’s exemplary conduct contradicts our current culture, which focuses on ‘rights,’ ‘entitlement,’ and ‘self-interest.’ The problem with this attitude is that as soon as you drop your spade (shovel) and pick up your boxing gloves to fight your enemy, they have already won. The reason is that you are no longer doing what God has called you to, but instead you are distracted by a battle that is best left with God. Often, these battles can be lengthy and tiresome. So even if you win the battle, you truly lose the war. Second, by taking up the fight yourself, you are not demonstrating the power of faith and trust whereby God can fight your battle and win your prize.
Except in rare situations, the Biblical meek don’t even bother responding to their opponents. The work of God is simply too great (remember Nehemiah: he did not want to stop building the walls of Jerusalem in order to debate his enemies).
The meek reserve their focus on one thing: doing God’s will. All the other issues they leave for God to sort out. Many take the lower road, which leads to the barnyard. It can be messy, battling with the chickens and other poultry who can’t even fly. Or, you can take the ‘higher way’ of Biblical meekness, where the eagles rule the skies. Those who choose this way travel faster, farther, and truly inherit the earth.
Meekness:
A spirit of empowerment, not entitlement;
overcoming, not overcome;
inheritance, not infirmity;
grace, not greed;
victory, not victimhood.
By meekness you interface with
Almighty God Himself
So that when He inherits the earth (Psalm 24:1);
You inherit it with Him