Jehovah, All You Meek Ones"
"SEEK Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovahs anger."Zephaniah 2:3.
The prophet Zephaniah addressed those words to the "meek ones of the earth," and he urged them to "seek meekness" in order to be protected in "the day of Jehovahs anger." It leaves little doubt that meekness is a prerequisite for survival. But why?
Why
Seek Meekness?
Meekness is the quality of being of mild character, free from arrogance or conceit. It is closely related to other virtues, such as humility and mildness. That being so, meek persons are teachable and are willing to accept discipline from Gods hand, even though it may seem grievous for the moment.Psalm 25:9; Hebrews 12:4-11.
In itself meekness may have little to do with ones education or station in life. However, those who are highly educated or successful in a worldly way tend to feel that they are qualified to make decisions for themselves in everything, even in matters of worship. This can hinder them from allowing another person to teach them something or from accepting counsel and making necessary changes in their lives. Others who are materially rich may fall into the erroneous thinking that their security lies in their material possessions. Hence, they feel no need for the spiritual riches from Gods Word, the Bible.Matthew 4:4; 5:3; 1 Timothy 6:17.
Consider the scribes, the Pharisees, and the chief priests of Jesus day. On one occasion when the officers they sent to arrest Jesus returned without him, the Pharisees said: "You have not been misled also, have you? Not one of the rulers or of the Pharisees has put faith in him, has he? But this crowd that does not know the Law are accursed people." (John 7:45-49) In other words, to them, only the ignorant and uneducated would be naive enough to believe in Jesus.
Even so, some Pharisees were drawn to the truth, and they even defended Jesus and the Christians. Among these were Nicodemus and Gamaliel. (John 7:50-52; Acts 5:34-40) After Jesus death, "a great crowd of priests began to be obedient to the faith." (Acts 6:7) Undoubtedly the most outstanding example was the apostle Paul. He was educated at the feet of Gamaliel and became a highly accomplished and respected advocate of Judaism. However, in time he responded humbly to Christ Jesus call and became his zealous follower.Acts 22:3; 26:4, 5; Galatians 1:14-24; 1 Timothy 1:12-16.
All of this illustrates that no matter what ones background may be or how one may now feel about the message from the Bible, the words of Zephaniah still apply. If one wants to be approved by God and be guided by his Word, meekness is indispensable.so yes ,the meek will inherit the earth.
