We are continuing our walk through the beatitudes, and it’s been a fun opportunity to return to the sermon on the mount which we spent so much time with this last year.

This lesson will be Matthew 5:5 – Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

We have been teaching the beatitudes by presenting character sketches from the bible of people whose lives help illustrate the meaning of each beatitude.

For meekness (humbleness that is lived out in a waiting on the Lord (see Psalm 37)), two names come to mind: Moses and Gideon. Both men waited on the Lord, and God did amazing things through them.

HOWEVER, both men also exhibited the opposite of meekness (pride) in certain instances. For Moses, most of his life exemplified meekness; he took his cues from God and got his courage to persevere from God. However at Meribeth, when God once again brought forth water from a rock, Moses took credit for it (See Numbers 20). That is NOT meekness.

In the case of Gideon, his meekness is well known to most students of the Bible, but not everyone realizes that his career pretty much fizzled into selfishness and even idolatry of his own making. (see Judges 8).

True meekness is almost paradoxical; Biblical meekness is not cowardice, it the strength and resolve, to wait on the Lord (most powerfully exemplified by Jesus’ prayer in the Garden, just prior to His crucifixion
where He acknowledged to the Father, “not My will, but Yours be done.”)

Enjoy your study (Matthew 5, Numbers 20, Judges 8 and Psalm 30).

Handout: Blessed are the Meek

Craft: Wandering eyes