And the meek shall inherit the earth

dannyfrankszzz said:

My opinion on this quote from the Bible is that this kind of teaching was formulated by the religious leaders to keep the masses under control.

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No. This verse, presumably culled from 5 Matthew, originates in the 37th Psalm. It is part of the early Jewish 'lament literature' and has nothing to do with controlling anyone. See, for example, Early Jewish Writings: Psalms and Recent Trends in Psalms Study. Note that the latter is a PDF file.

Almost any nontrivial verse of any nontrivial text can be misused, but that seems insufficient cause for blaming the verse or the author.

may said:

"Seek​

Jehovah, All You Meek Ones"




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"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 Jehovah’s 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 Jehovah’s anger." It leaves little doubt that meekness is a prerequisite for survival. But why?​

Why​

Seek Meekness?




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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 God’s 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 one’s 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 God’s 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 one’s 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.

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What Watchtower is this from?

dannyfrankszzz said:

My opinion on this quote from the Bible is that this kind of teaching was formulated by the religious leaders to keep the masses under control.

Clearly, by convincing the indentured and servant classes that there is another power (God) controlling their fate, it would help to change their focus from their present day misery to a preferable fantasy inside their minds that cannot be achieved on earth, and therefore there is no reason to have any hope for one's earthly existence.

For the average person, whose energies and willpower are limited, it doesn't require too much imagination to realise that one's existence is incredibly finite and ultimately irr
levant.

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In the bible Meekness is spoken of as a persons mental attitute,first towards God, then towards his fellowman,in psalm 25-9 it says, He will cause the meek ones to walk in his judicial decision,and he will teach the meek ones his way .The bible tells us that moses was by far the meekest of all the men who were upon the surface of the ground .Also Jesus Christ, showed meekness by enduring all kinds of personal injury without a word of complaint.The invitation given by the the prophet Zephaniah is still extended to meek persons.It says seek jehovah all you meek ones of the earth(zep 2;3) then in psalm 37;11 it tells us The meek ones themselves will possess the earth,and they will find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace. so in contrast with the wicked, who lead the meek astray and seek to destroy them,(Amos 8;4)Jehovah listens to the prayers of meek ones and answers them (psalm 10;17)