A Better Way To Inherit the Earth
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, no where 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.
(NEXT MONTH: We will see a great Biblical example of meekness in action).