Salvation Summaries

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Mt 5:5)

A few months ago I wrote a post on this verse, but when I reviewed Matthew 5 again as part of my daily Bible reading, I felt like my post didn’t get to the “heart” of what meek really means. As a result, this is a short “do over” on this term.

Also, if you’ve not read my prior two Beatitude posts on “poor in spirit” and “mourn”, you might want to do that before reading this one. Why? I believe the Beatitudes reveal a progression in one’s spiritual condition, from spiritually ignorant (and thus unsaved) to spiritually mature. Becoming poor in spirit is the first step a person must take to become a Christian, and mourning over one’s sins is the second, as this leads to repentance and eternal life. By the third step – meek – a person has become a Christian and turned their life away from self and towards God. I truly believe there are a number of “Christians” who may have casually performed steps 1 and 2, only to fall short in step 3, and as a result, are not truly saved.

Meek vs. Gentle vs. Humble

Most Bible translations I consulted use the term “meek” in this verse, but it’s possible that yours may show “gentle” or “humble.” From this alone we get a sense as to what meek means.

However, there must be more to the meaning of meek than gentle or humble, for why would a gentle person “inherit the earth”? Even a non-Christian can be gentle, or humble to a degree, and we know that non-Christians won’t receive a spiritual inheritance.

Based upon my review below, there is much more to this term than a casual reading would suggest.

Determining the Definition

To determine what meek means, one can use a Bible dictionary or Bible concordance, and I often begin my review of a word or verse with these, but for purposes of this post, I focused on other Bible verses with the term meek.

From using the King James Version (which I don’t often consult, preferring instead the Amplified Bible, New American Standard or New English translations), there are 17 verses in the Old and New Testaments with the word meek. Of these, I believe the following three do the best job in illustrating what meek means in Matthew 5:5.

1. Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Here we see that Jesus was meek, and we know from another verse that Moses was too. If you read this verse closely though, you’ll see that meek must mean something similar to lowly. The NAS, NIV and NET translations use the terms gentle and humble for meek and lowly, and we already know that they are similar.

So, if meek is similar to lowly, what does lowly mean? From a review of lowly in verses such as Ps 138:6, Prov 11:2 and Prov 16:19, we see that it is the opposite of proud, and thus humble.

But if you take it one step further and look at some verses with the term humble, you will see that it is a relative term – we are to be humble relative to an almighty God, and to a lesser extent relative to our neighbor.

And when a person is humble relative to God, they are submissive to Him. We see this in 1 Peter 5:5-6, which says, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time…” We also see it in James 4:6-7, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Thus, in Matthew 11:29 and related verses, we see that meek is similar to lowly; lowly is the opposite of being proud and thus humble; and in our humility we are to submit to God. Was Jesus lowly, humble and submissive to God the Father? Yes.

2. Psalm 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

Using the KJV or NKJV, Ps 22:26 says that the meek shall eat and be satisfied. The Amplified translation uses the term “afflicted” and the Holman Christian Standard Bible uses “humble.” Regardless of which term is used though, we see that such person seeks the Lord, and praises Him. The Amplified Bible commentary adds one other expectation – that the meek “require Him (God) as their greatest need.”

Thus, a meek person diligently seeks the Lord, and also praises Him. Did Jesus do this with the Father? Yes (see Luke 10:21 also).

3. Psalm 37:3-11 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret — it only causes harm. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Of all the verses I reviewed with the word meek, this set in the Psalms elaborates the most on what meek means and entails. You might go back and read verse 11 again, as, in my opinion, it summarizes who a meek person is and what a meek person does.

In other words, a meek person is someone who: trusts in God (vs 3), delights in Him (vs 4), commits their way to (or relies upon) Him (vs 5), waits patiently for God (vs 7) and does not fret over or get angry with the wicked who prosper (v7-8).

Further, if you read all of Psalm 37, which contrasts a righteous person with a wicked one, you will see that a meek person is righteous, blameless, and blessed by God.

So, if I were to summarize the above list into a sentence or two, it would be this: A meek person entrusts himself – or gives himself (herself) completely over – to God, and essentially says, “My life is in Your Hands.“

Summary

In Jesus’ third beatitude, He says that the “meek” will be blessed and inherit the earth. Some translations use the term gentle instead of meek, while others use humble.

Based upon a review of various verses with this term and other related verses, we see that there is much more to the term meek (or humble or gentle) than one may think it means. Meek is probably best understood as a set of characteristics or traits a person should possess, and I’ve listed them below:

• A meek person is humble rather than proud, and in his/her humility, is submissive to God.
• A meek person not only submits to God, but diligently seeks Him and praises Him.
• A meek person trusts in God, delights in Him, relies upon Him and waits patiently for Him.
• A meek person entrusts himself – or gives himself (herself) completely over – to God, and in essence says, “My life is in Your Hands. I commit myself to You. Do with me whatever You want to do.”
• With a focus on God rather than self, a meek person does not fret over or get angry with the wicked who prosper.
• A meek person is righteous (and thus saved), seeks to live a blameless life and is blessed by God.

Based upon this expanded definition of who a meek person is, what Jesus said in Matthew 5:5 now makes sense. Such a person will be blessed by God, and inherit the earth (receive a spiritual inheritance).

So, dear reader, are you meek? If so, you are saved and blessed by God. If not, then please read my prior posts on Jesus’ first two beatitudes (poor in spirit, mourn over sin), which lay the foundation for how a person becomes saved. Or, read any of my (many) other posts that talk about how a person becomes a Christian.