By Roy B. Blizzard
Continuing with our study of the Beatitudes, the third Beatitude is Matthew 5:5.
Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.
From our past study, we recall that each Beatitude is a doublet and a truism. So, the passage should be translated: Blessed are the meek for they inherit the earth.
But the question is – Who are the meek? If you took the time to look, you undoubtedly found that this passage is an exact quote from Psalm 37: 10-11. Keeping in mind Jesus is hinting back to that Psalm 37, the answer to our question, Who are the meek? will perhaps be found in the body of the Psalm.
Psalm 37 mentions those who will ultimately inherit the earth or posses the land in verse 9 those that wait on the Lord shall inherit the land.
- Verse 9: "For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth."
- In verse 11: the humble (same as poor in spirit) shall inherit the land.
- In verse 21-22, it reads: "The wicked borroweth and payeth not, but the righteous dealeth graciously and giveth. For such as are blessed of Him shall inherit the land."
- In verse 29: the righteous shall inherit the land…
- In verse 34: those who "wait on the Lord and keep His way will inherit the land."
Notice the many synonyms that interpret for us the meaning of the word meek.
It is interesting, but in the Hebrew text the word meek is the same as the word humble and is synonymous with the word righteous.
Notice in verse 21 that it is the righteous who shall inherit the land and what defines or determines their righteousness is that they deal gracious and give. The word righteous is our word Tzadik, righteousness is Tzedakah, which we have mentioned before is the foundation of Biblical faith. It has little to do with what one does upward towards God and everything to do with what one does outwardly towards his fellow man.
The second part of the Beatitude, i.e., inherit the land, is used as we have seen several times here in Psalms 37, but it is also used in Psalms 25:13 relative to the man who fears the Lord, his seed shall inherit the land.
[13] He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
In Isaiah 60:21a, it says, "Thy people shall be all righteous and they shall inherit the land forever."
Remember in Luke 18:18, the story of the certain ruler who came to Jesus and asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" He is asking what must I do to posses the land? What must I do to inherit the earth? These terms are all synonymous. We note that in Psalm 37, David talks of the humble and the righteous, and how blessed they are under God.
Jesus is essentially saying, "Now, I too say how blessed are these righteous people for they are the ones who receive eternal life in the world to come."
