The meekness in the bible it is a fruit of the Spirit. This seems very lost in our aggressive and self-centered culture. Because people associate it with weakness, most today don’t admire others for being “meek,” but as we’ll see, that’s not what they assume.
It is a very remarkable quality of character in the greatest human being to ever grace this earth, and one that is sorely needed by all of us today. The dictionary makes it clear why meekness is associated with weakness.
The synonyms of meekness They are: docile, timid, soft, bland, unambitious, withdrawn, weak, docile, repressed, repressed, spiritless, broken, and cowardly. This is why people associate it with weakness.
Nevertheless, not a single one of these words applies to Jesus Christ or even to Moses, who, according to the Bible, “he was very meek, more than all the men who were on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12: 3, KJV). Do these terms describe the warrior king David, a man greatly loved by God? Not really, but then what is meekness according to the Bible? Throughout this article we will be explaining it.
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What is Meekness according to the Bible?
Surely our understanding of this remarkable feature must be skewed! Bible commentators generally agree that modern man, living in our Western, Judeo-Christian cultures, lacks this divine attribute. meekness, being a fruit of the Spiritis an attribute of Almighty God himself and important to our being in His image and a true testimony.
In fact, this feature will largely determine how much peace and joy there is in our lives and how well we do during trials. We are not alone in our perception of this word. The ancient Greeks also did not consider it a virtue, except in a very limited circumstance.
At best, they used it as we use “condescension” today, and by it refers entirely to the outward relations of men with others of their kind. Jesus, while retaining his reference to men, took it out of his narrow context and made it refer primarily to our relationships with God.
Some have tried to use “humility” as its equivalent, but both Hebrew and Greek have specific words that are synonymous with humility. Furthermore, humility does not fully capture its meaning. Its characteristics and use are much more complicated than any of its synonyms.
The Hebrew word translated “meekness” is anav or anaw, which means “depressed (figuratively), in mind (gentle), or in circumstances (needy, especially holy): humble, meek, poor.”
Why is meekness so important?
Meekness is so important that it is the third characteristic that Jesus mentions in His foundational teaching, the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth“(Matthew 5:5). Obviously, the world ideal of the perfect man is very different from yours. The meek are among the favored who will share in the inheritance of Jesus on earth.
He was not the first to affirm the importance of meekness, but he was the first to compile, in what we call the Beatitudes, an organized list, written by God, of the characteristics of the perfect man. Others have made lists of outstanding virtues, but Jesus’ list is unique in that he relates them to the Kingdom of God.
What modern man says about meekness
Given how modern man regards the meek, his statement about meekness is almost incomprehensible. The world would say this: “Blessed are the strong, who can hold their own“. The world favors the most conspicuous virtues and the so-called heroics.
Those who are strongly — almost fiercely — competitive, aggressive, and assertive are the ones who receive recognition, admiration, and reward. Don’t they seem to end up at the top of the heap, owning the best and most despite other obvious flaws?
On the surface, this bliss seems to have little meaning, and what is there seems to contradict the simple facts of everyday life. No sensible person, looking at the world or studying history, could sincerely accept it at face value.
Unfortunately, many Christians have ignored this in practice, perhaps lamenting that it surely should be true, but that it certainly isn’t so in the real world. Instead of taking God at His Word, they remain conformed to the world’s standards of practice, missing out on the benefits that meekness will produce in their lives.
What should true Christians do?
Remember what Jesus says about meekness in the Bible: “Blessed, happy and favored are the meek”. Jesus is a reliable guide for us or he is not, we must decide and accept it. If we don’t, we must completely abandon his teachings. If we choose to fight for some features but not others, we become hypocrites.
Of course, the true Christian will accept it, learn from it, and grow in it. “The meek shall inherit the earth“, and when they do, they will proceed to rule it. meekness is a virtue that God has determined that those who will have dominion in His Family should possess.
Meekness in the Bible and the beatitudes
Perhaps the best way to arrive at a correct meaning is to look at the words and contexts to which meekness is related in the Bible, how it is used, and perhaps most importantly, how those who have it act in relation to God and the men.
We must recognize that when Jesus presents meekness in Matthew 5:5 as a highly desirable quality, he introduces it with “Blessed are the poor in spirit“(verse 3) Y “blessed are those who cry” (verse 4). These expressions are placed within a context that contains qualities similar to meekness.
Meekness in the Bible, then it is the conduct and disposition of man towards God, which is derived from the inner experience described in the previous beatitudes. We must become poor in spirit. We do this by approaching God with deep reverence and with a clear knowledge of the vast difference between Him and us.
This does not mean that a Christian lives his life with an expression and an attitude of shame, or that he lives his life feeling that he is an idiot or a scoundrel who is still playing in a moral septic tank. A Christian is also forgiven, cleansed, and justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. He has access to God the Father, is the apple of his eye, and has amazing hope.
Meekness in the Bible and humility
In Matthew 11:29, Jesus links meekness in the Bible with humility:
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Ephesians 4:1-3 states:
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beg you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond peace.
The King James version is correct, as the Greek text uses the terms “Gentle” Y “Gentile” which are wrong, because in this context they are only one aspect of the meekness that we must express in our dealings with others. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus explains why we should embrace His way of life. As our Lord and Master, He is not harsh, authoritarian, and oppressive, but gentle in his rule.
Its laws are also reasonable and easy to obey; neither he nor they enslave. He emphasizes the kind aspect of meekness towards others. From this, we begin to see why meekness should be a virtue of those who will receive the Kingdom and they will rule. Because God rules with meekness, his children must too.
ephesians 4 teaches how to build and maintain unity within a more social context. Paul demands that, in order for unity to be built and maintained, we must receive offenses without reprisals, enduring them patiently and without desire for revenge. In short, we must have a forgiving spirit. Without him, we will surely foment division.
The association of humility and meekness in the Bible is natural. While humility deals with a correct assessment of your merits, meekness includes a correct assessment of personal rights.
This does not mean in any way a lowering of the standards of justice or of good and evil. Meekness can be accompanied by a war to the death against evil, but the meek Christian directs this war first against the evil in his own heart.
Meek, but stern as steel
Meekness in the Bible does not refer to people accepting everything “at rest.” Look at Moses, who, as we have seen, was the meekest man of his time. He did not hesitate to order the execution of some three thousand idolaters who worshiped the golden calf while he was with God on the mountain (Exodus 32:25-28). Against evil, this meek man was as stern as steel.
How a meek man reacts depends on what he discerns to be God’s will for him under the circumstances. Because the meek person sets his mind on God’s purpose and not on his own comfort, ambition, or reputation, he will offer implacable resistance to evil in God’s defense, but will react with patience, kindness, and kindness when others attack him.
How should the meek man react?
Jesus also gave a clear example of meekness in the bible. He made a rope whip and, with severe energy and vehemence, he overturned the tables and drove the cattle, their vendors and money changers from the Temple precincts because they had turned the house of God into a common bazaar with his sacrilege.
With simple, direct, firm instructive answers and incisive questions, he learned the twisted, carnal, intellectual reasoning of the scribes and Sadducees. However, as it says Matthew 12: 19-20, “He will not fight or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break the bruised reed, nor will he quench the smoking flax.” Peter adds:
For this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, so that you may follow in his footsteps: “he who did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth”; who, when he was reviled, did not return reviling; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but gave himself to the One who judges justly. (I Peter 2: 21-23)
A meek person will feel the wrong done against him and will feel it bitterly. But since he is not thinking of himself, his meekness does not allow his spirit to unleash a hateful, wild and vengeful anger that seeks to “get even.” Instead, he will be filled with compassion for the perpetrator’s damaged character, attitudes, and blindness. Jesus pronounced from the stake:
“Father, forgive them because they dont know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
This virtue is a strong bulwark against self-righteousness. and the critical and intolerant judgment of others. However, he neither excuses nor condones sin. Rather, a meek person will…