Introduction: Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Does that sound
right to you? The meek conquer nothing, so they must inherit
it from those who do? I’ve spent my life as a warrior in the
legal system and I teach future warriors. That does not seem
meek. Is it possible that I’ve taken the meek approach the
entire time and did not realize it? Let’s see what the Holy
Spirit can do to help us better understand as we explore
what the Bible says about the meek!
I. Understanding Meekness
A. Read Psalms 37:11. What does this teach us about
Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:5? (He is quoting
Psalms 37:11! It is very hard to understand the
context of what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:5,
but we have great context that we must explore
next in Psalms 37.)
B. Read Psalms 37:1-2. Why should you have peace when
you are tempted to envy evil doers? (Evil doers
have a limited life-span.)
C. Read Psalms 37:3-4. If we trust, follow, and obey
God, if we “befriend faithfulness,” what is the
outcome? (God will give you the desires of your
heart.)
1. Can you see a parallel between having the
desires of your heart and inheriting the
earth?
D. Read Psalms 37:5-6. What results in justice?
(Trusting God. “He will act.”)
1. Does that mean that we do nothing? We just sit
back meekly and watch? (We are told to “commit
your way to the Lord.” If we do this the Bible
promises that your “righteousness” will be
brought forth “as the light.” That sounds like
I’m called to do something. Otherwise, there
would be nothing to bring to light.)
E. Read Psalms 37:7-8. What, specifically, are we
told to refrain from doing? (Don’t be impatient.
Don’t get angry. Don’t fret because it might cause
you to do something that is itself evil.)
F. Read Psalms 37:9. This is another text promising
that we shall “inherit the land.” How do we do
that? (We “wait for the Lord.” The evildoers will
be cut off by God.)
G. Read Psalms 37:10-11. How would you define being
“meek” in the context we have studied? (It means
relying on God instead of our self. It means
trusting God.)
1. The light is dawning on me. Knowing that God
was with me in very high tension litigation
has been central to allowing me to be able to
handle the stress – to say nothing about
winning. Does that attitude make a person
meek?
H. Psalms 37:12-20 continues with illustrations of
how the wicked plot evil against the righteous but
God breaks the arms of the wicked while laughing
at them. Read Psalms 37:21-22. Here is another
statement about us inheriting the land. What does
this say we should we do to inherit the land? (Be
honest and generous with money.)
I. Read Psalms 37:27-29 and Psalms 37:34. Here are
two more statements about God’s people inheriting
the land. What do they say about those who inherit
the land? (This repeats the same theme that those
who love and obey God are preserved and protected
by Him, while the evil are destroyed.)
J. Now that we see the big picture of the context for
Jesus’ statement about the meek, how would you
define being meek? (One who trusts God when facing
evil.)
K. Did you notice the references to being still and
waiting on God? Does that mean that my warrior
life was misspent and I should retire from
teaching future warriors? Before answering my
question read Deuteronomy 20:1, Micah 5:9 and
consider the life of King David, the writer of
Psalms 37. (We need to consider the teachings of
the Bible as a whole. God has many warrior
followers, of which King David may be chief. He
co-operated with God to defeat evil.)
L. So, how does this work? How can we be a warrior
and at the same time be meek? By the way, I’m
talking about “culture warriors,” and not about
physically hurting evil people. Can you find any
examples in the Bible that illustrate this fusion
of warrior and meekness? (The book of Esther is a
wonderful example. God defeats great evil intended
towards His people. Esther is central to the story
as a “culture warrior” who stands up for her
people in a very dangerous context. Read Esther
9:12-13. We see that actual warriors are also used
by God to defeat evil.)
II. Understanding Humility
A. Many would define meekness to essentially be
humility. What does Psalms 37 have to say about
that? (Waiting on God and trusting in Him are
actions that are consistent with humility. God’s
followers wait on God.)
B. Read Matthew 23:12, James 4:10, and 1 Peter 5:6.
If you are a genuinely humble person why would you
want to be exalted?
1. Are these texts for proud people (or people
who aspire to be proud) to give them a roadmap
to being exalted?
2. Should you be humble simply because that is a
good way to conduct your life? If so, why
would the Bible promise that you will end up
being exalted?
C. Let’s revisit 1 Peter 5:6. The Vulgate Latin
version of the Bible, as well as some other older
versions say that the humble will be lifted up “in
the time of visitation.” When would that be? (In
heaven.)
1. Does it make sense that the way the humble are
exalted is when they get to heaven?
2. If you think that is true, consider again the
nature of heaven. What makes you special here
and now? Your intelligence, your looks, your
musical ability, your athletic ability, your
business ability, or a skill of some sort?
D. Read Philippians 3:20-21. When we get to heaven,
what kind of body will we be given? (This text
tells us that our “lowly” (meaning humble) body
will be like the glorious body of Jesus!)
E. Read 1 Corinthians 15:52. Another way to translate
“imperishable” is “incorruptible.” Will we all be
equally gifted? (If we are deficient in some area,
say intelligence, I understand that is a
corruption that will be fixed.)
F. The United States Declaration of Independence says
in pertinent part: “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal.” If
you spend any time in a classroom you realize that
is not true. We all have equal opportunity, but
some are smarter or more ambitious than others.
Would you agree that in heaven, the Bible says
that this statement will be literally true?
1. If you answered, “yes,” how are the humble
exalted in heaven when we are all equal? (It
must mean that we are all exalted – that is
all those who made it into heaven.)
2. Does this cause us to have a different
definition of true humility? That a humble
person is not willingly “less than,” but
rather “equal to” others?
G. Read Psalms 62:9. What makes the poor and the rich
equal? (They both are dependent on breathing. The
idea that being rich keeps you breathing is a
“delusion.”)
H. Read 1 Peter 1:24-25. Why does Peter compare us to
grass and flowers? (We have a very limited time
span. Recall that we previously said that about
the wicked.)
1. Why is God’s word a good counterpoint? What
lesson does Peter want us to draw from this
distinction? (God’s promises in the Bible are
eternal. God’s program is eternal.)
I. Let’s step back and contemplate the parallels
between being meek and being humble. Are the
characteristics of being meek and humble like
being weak or inferior in some way? (Being meek
means that you rely on God for victory, and not on
yourself. Being humble means that you realize that
success in life comes from God and is fleeting,
while our relationship with God stands forever.)
J. Friend, God has in mind great things for us. If
you aspire to being exalted, if you aspire to
overcoming evil, if you want to do great things
for God, our study this week teaches us that there
is a process. That process starts (and ends) with
deferring to God. We obey Him. We trust Him. We
follow His lead. We have the attitude that
everything comes from Him. If you do that great
things come your way.
III. Next week: Waiting in the Crucible.
Copr. 2022, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
