[Mt 5:5] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Here the meek heart also has a connection to humble heart. Who are the meek? The ones who are meek are the ones who are soft. How can soft people inherit the earth? In this world, if you want to possess land, then you need strength, you need to be powerful. You need great strength in order to possess land, you cannot be soft, right? In this world, people without strength cannot use the gun well. Here meek is soft. So the ones who are meek will inherit the land.
Strict Non-violence In the Bible, Jesus is explaining everything that is so difficult to understand. So what Jesus is trying to teach us here is that the Bible teaches strictly non-violence. This is telling us that the world where everything is ruled by violence will end. Jesus is telling us that the future world, the world that is to come, is the world of non-violence, and the world of peace.
Promised Land It says, inheriting the earth. What is the earth? It is the land. To the Jews, there was the promised land. God gave the Jews a promise, promising them that they would get out of the land where they were once slaves, and lead them to the promised land. This land is the promised land. Inheriting the land and earth is having their hopes fulfilled. So this earth is not the earth and land that we think of. This earth and land refers to the Kingdom of God. This means you will inherit and possess the Kingdom of God. In other words, this message that you will inherit the earth, is a message of blessing, and it is telling you that you will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Hx Hard Violence ? Hx Soft Peace In the history of mankind, until now, everything was ruled and controlled with knives and swords and violence. The world was ruled and controlled with knives and violence and blood. But Jesus is introducing to his disciples a totally new and different world. Jesus is saying that the world that is to come is truly different and opposite from this world. Jesus is saying that in the future world, the ones who are soft and weak will inherit the land. He is saying, if the world has been hard and strong until now, the world will become a soft and weak world.
Softness > Hardness Jesus is saying, in that softness is greater power. Something that is strong is not always strong. Instead, in something that is soft, there is greater strength. It is true; like love is something soft but it is powerful.
Like the teeth are stronger than the tongue; but when you grow old you lose all your teeth, so your tongue remains. Then they say that the tongue is stronger than the teeth. Although it is softer, it lasts a longer time.
Pastor David said, ‘you know the computer company Microsoft?’ People like large and big things, but micro is small and tiny. People like strength and power. But it is soft. Something like Microsoft, tiny and soft, came out and is ruling the world. So he said there are signs hidden like this, even in the world.
Did you guys ever hear the story where the wind rain and sunlight were competing to see if a man could take off his coat? In the end the sunlight won. So something that is soft and warm is stronger.
Jesus Lamb of God The Bible is talking about this kind of world. Jesus was like this. The Bible doesn’t record Jesus as a powerful person with strength. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the little lamb. So the Bible depicted Jesus as the person who suffered. Little lamb is truly soft and so weak. Jesus was like that too. But in that weakness there is great power inside.
Take Out Short-Temperedness What kind of heart should we have then, as people of the Kingdom of God? Not powerful and strong, but soft and meek hearts. We have something so strong inside of us, like short-temperedness. With that kind of thing we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Soft heart is what a person of the Kingdom of God should have.
– BEGIN MOSES –
Moses Was Hebrew You have heard of Moses. Moses was a Hebrew, but he grew up in the palace of the Egyptian, of Pharaoh. There he was raised for forty years, now realizing that he was a Hebrew, he set out to save all the people.
Did you guys watch the movie ‘the Prince of Egypt?’ I don’t know if you watched it, but it was kind of different from the Bible. In the beginning, Pastor Borah and church members went to watch the movie together. They were excited that it was a story in the Bible. And afterwards, they were so disappointed, no one said let’s go watch a movie. Because they studied so well, they knew the story. And they knew what would happen. But then to get a wider audience they changed the story a little. Then because the members knew the story so well, they even knew the flaws. But that is not the point here.
Moses Kills an Egyptian The history of Moses, as he starts to save his people, begins when he goes down to them and sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and he kills that Egyptian. Then Moses escapes. People found out then that Moses was a Hebrew, so people wanted to kill Moses, that is why he had to escape.
Moses Tends Flocks Moses went into the Midian desert, and tended flocks. For forty years he suffered.
What are we able to see here? The history of salvation is not done by violence. The good history of God, of salvation, cannot be led by violence. Then in the Bible, when someone came to take Jesus and crucify him, Peter cut the ear of the one who came to take him away. Jesus rebuked and scolded Peter saying, “the one who lives by the sword will die by the sword.” He said to take the sword away. Jesus taught us therefore, thorough non-violence. Even though the motive may be good, violence cannot be justified. So the Bible is teaching us that you cannot inherit the Kingdom of God with violence.
Moses Changes So even for Moses, his motive was good ? he was trying to save his people. But because he used violence, it failed. That is why for forty years he tended flocks. He changed into a very soft and meek shepherd. Lambs are meek and soft creatures. It would be funny to see a short-tempered lamb.
Moses Receives Commission Again So Moses changed like this, and when he changed like that, God called him again. God gave him the commission, go save your people, and gave him the ability and power. Then Moses went back and led his people out of Egypt. Coming out of Egypt, Moses and the people were in the Desert of Sin for forty years. Moses lived 120 years altogether.
So going back to the movie: the members were so disappointed because the main point and story of Moses starts in the desert, but in the movie it ends as they get there. The story of crossing the Red Sea began, and they begin to cross, and the members were excited saying ‘it is starting’ ? then the movie ended with credits.
Moses Does Not Enter Promised Land So in the desert, the people truly wanted to reach the promised land, the Canaan land. But Moses couldn’t enter Canaan land.
Moses’ Short Temper There was a reason why he couldn’t. In the forty years in the desert, the people complained and grumbled at Moses. Gave him such a hard time. So Moses had become a meek and soft person, but still there was a tiny short-temper in him, and it just popped out again. They are looking at that in the Bible. So then the Israelites kept complaining in the desert, that we are thirsty, then God gave them water. Then they said, we are hungry, and God gave them something to eat. It kept continuing like that, then one day they did it again, they complained, then Moses couldn’t take it anymore, and he took his staff and hit the rock twice. Then later God told Moses, you couldn’t show your people holiness. In other words, Moses’ short temper and rage came out, that is why He said, you cannot enter Canaan land. Moses really wanted to enter Canaan land, but he could not and died in the desert.
Hitting the Rock Of course the people crossed over. Who entered? Joshua, one of the second generation did. So with Joshua as the center, he took all the second generation into Canaan land. So this is so important. Moses wanted to enter Canaan land, but why couldn’t he? He hit the rock twice. You could think, what is the importance of him hitting it twice. Does it matter?
Take Out the Rage and Temper God is not talking about the number of hits, He is concerned with the rage and short temper. So this is something very important that we must remember, that if we have short temper and rage in us, we cannot enter heaven. This short temper and rage is violence. A person of the Kingdom of God should not have this.
– END MOSES –
Christian Lamb Characteristics Christian symbol is a lamb. As we said before, it is funny to see a short-tempered lamb. We have short temper and rage inside of us. We need to fight this. The characteristic that a person of the Kingdom of God should have, is to never get mad. Just as Moses took his short temper out little by little as he tended flocks, we must also go on taking it out as we walk this path of faith.
Rage and Temper Are Serious We should not leave anything, not even the tiniest sins inside of us. The meek will inherit the earth. The opposite of meek is rage and short temper and violence. So we must focus on this, know that it is serious, and take it out. Even as we attend church, one day we fight and argue; that happens because of short temper and rage in us. We should not look at this lightly. We ought to look at it seriously.
OT In the Old Testament, when people gave offerings, they cut the animals in half and took out the blood. They cut it and took out the blood. So there is a very important meaning here.
NT In the New Testament, we ourselves are the offering. Our lives are the offering and the worship to God. So we need to take out that kind of blood in us. Like our violence and rage and short temper ? when we take out all these, we could be a good offering. This is the heart of Christ, the heart of Jesus. When we have this kind of heart, the world of peace will come.
[Isa 2:4] He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah is a book of prophecy. This is prophesying that the world of non-violence, the world of peace will come. So Jesus said “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” He is saying that the meek ones will inherit the world of peace. He is talking about the Gospel of Peace. He is giving hope for the future. He is saying, the weak and the meek one, don’t worry, the world that is to come will be yours.
Through God’s Power In this culture, everyone tries to be high, tries to become powerful. The culture of the Kingdom of God is different. Christian culture is different; it is being meek and soft. Although we are weak, we are confessing that we are weak. But God will give us ability. Although I cannot do anything by myself, with the ability and power that God gave me, I can do everything. It is not like in the beginning I say I can do everything and become small in the end. But in the beginning I am small ? yet it expands, that is the Kingdom of God. So he is talking about the world that grows stronger with the ability and power given by God. So I wish that you will be the meek ones who will inherit this.