The Bedouin

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One in a Thousand (four hundred sixty)

The Good, the Bad, and the Humble

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth…" Most of us are probably familiar with this truism either from Psalm 37:11 or the ever so famous "Sermon on the Mount." However, do we really understand these words? Most modern English translations continue the King James tradition of translating that one particular word as "meek." But what does that even mean? How often do we use the word "meek" in casual conversation? I would wager that most of us practically never use the word, and if we do, it might be with considerable trepidation and ambiguity. Though it has mostly faded out of the common English language, "meek" is one of my favorite words, and I believe it is a character quality we could all probably learn to practice more frequently.

I was first truly introduced to the concept of meekness in 1999 during my first visit to Israel. After a trip to the Mount of Beatitudes, where it is believed that Jesus spoke those timeless words, my aunt confronted me with the question, "Do you know what 'meek' means?" Since I was only 12 years old at the time, I candidly answered, "No." At which point she summarily defined meekness for me as "the willingness to be taught." Only a few weeks later, upon my return from Israel, I was given yet another definition of meekness by a jolly elderly man of blessed memory named Poncho. He and his wife had faithfully led our "junior church" program for many years, and on this fateful afternoon, Poncho inadvertently thrust my understanding of meekness into a whirlpool of confusion when he said, "Did you know that Jesus was the meekest person who ever lived? Meekness is the ability to control your emotions, and Jesus never let His emotions get the best of Him. He was always able to control them, so they didn't run wild." With these two conflicting definitions, I was amply confused for about the next six years until, finally, things became clearer.

To understand how these two definitions can be reconciled, I believe we need to take some time to think like a Hebrew. The Hebrew mind is not confined by the shallow contours of logic the Western world has defined as "truth." For example, how can it be that God is completely sovereign over all of His creation, but human beings are also completely free to do as they please? These are two conflicting principles, and according to Western thought, they cannot both be simultaneously true. We can see the effects of this in the modern Church as it rips itself into two camps one of which professes God's sovereignty and the other of which professes man's free will. In the Hebrew mind, though, such a division is silliness, for these two principles, though fundamentally incompatible, are equally, completely, concurrently, and eternally true. If we apply this kind of thinking to our definitions of meekness and hold them in tension with one another, then perhaps we can take one step closer to a true understanding of what it means to be meek.

Remember, meekness is a "willingness to be taught;" it is not a "willingness to learn." If I want to learn, I can do that in a Library or in the classroom where the teacher is unilaterally accepted as an expert on the topic at hand. To be taught, though, is a very different thing. I am generally very eager to learn, but usually, I am not usually enthused by the prospect of being taught, for that is a very humbling experience. When a peer, someone who I consider my equal, assumes to teach me, my intellectual and emotional sensitivities are often set on edge. I might think to myself, "Who does this person think they are - presuming to teach me?! I've studied this topic far longer than they have. I should be teaching them!" Or perhaps someone teaches me something abrasively contrary to what I believe is true, and I rancorously protest in reaction. This, I would suggest, is not meekness, for with such an attitude, I am not willing to be taught.

This "willingness to be taught" requires us to rein in our emotions. When someone offends us by treating us as uneducated nit-wits, it is not too difficult to become upset, but true meekness will help us understand our neighbor without becoming angry at them for their perhaps presumptuous and potentially insolent attitude. During my continued studies on the principle of meekness, I once came across a particularly good analogy. This, I have included below:

Meekness as the Essence of Power
Contemporary man has a difficult time defining meekness. He might call it mere weakness or the inability to think or act for oneself. He might picture it as a passive plow horse with broken spirit and bowed back. Instead, a more accurate picture would be that of a sleek, sinewy stallion, ready to race but trained to obey. This notion of bridled strength, or power-in-control, distinguishes the power of Christ from the power of the world. The core of this world’s power is rotten with cutthroat competition, suspicion, expediency and arrogance. But the Christian leader can be a life-preserving salt for the earth. By exercising trust, justice, innocence, compassion and cooperation, the Christian can produce change through the power of Christ-like meekness.

So how does the Bible use the word "meek"? As it turns out, Moses is the only person the Bible ever explicitly describes as meek. Numbers 12:3 says, "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth." What was so special about Moses, though, that made him so exemplary? Perhaps another scripture will illuminate the situation a bit. Exodus 33:18-23 tells us of an unusual interaction between the Lord and Moses when Moses implores God, "Please, show me your glory." Amazingly, God agrees! Maybe Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth because he knew from personal experience how incredibly and ultimately insignificant he was in the grand scheme of things. Moses was the only man alive who had ever seen God's glory with his own eyes! Therefore, although Moses exercised the authority to rebuke and correct the Israelites upon the basis of God's law, he also knew that all people, himself included, are just tiny specks of dust compared to the grandeur of the Lord. And chances are, from that perspective, one's ego would be royally and appropriately deflated. With this appropriate understanding of his place in the world, perhaps Moses was able to listen to people's problems, remain teachable, and not become too easily upset because he intimately knew God's greatness. And in the light of God's greatness, all our problems and quarrels are just a hiccup in this short breath we call life.

I believe Jesus also modeled meekness. Being omniscient, He did not need to learn, but this does not mean He would refuse his disciples the opportunity to teach Him. Every rabbi teaches by example, and every rabbi knows they must listen to their students, for how else could they teach the value of patiently and humbly learning from others? I can imagine Jesus perched on a dusty hillside teaching His disciples when suddenly Peter interrupts Jesus' lesson with a protest. "Jesus, that can't be right. The Romans are just a tool of the evil one, so why should we pay them our taxes or treat them as our neighbors?" Perhaps Jesus smiled and responded accordingly, but even if Peter deserved it, I do not believe Jesus would have ever retorted, "Peter, sit down and shut up! You know I don’t have to listen to you." Nor do I believe Jesus would have been truly upset with Peter for the seemingly ignorant questions he apparently so often posed. He may have rebuked and corrected Peter for his misunderstanding, but Jesus, in His meekness, would have planned His words carefully. In this, Jesus have never agonized over His emotional bloopers thinking, "I was too harsh on Peter. I let my emotions get out of control, and I yelled at Him when I should not have. I should go apologize." Wouldn't it be wonderful if we too lived our lives with the same kind of care and intentionality in speech and thought? By God's grace, I believe we can indeed learn to practice meekness, and if we can begin to learn meekness, then perhaps our disagreements would not so easily end in squabbles and fights.

Emergency Snow Update!

"As the timbers of Philomath plummet to the ground, so shall the school systems of Oregon crumble. As the streets of Eddyville are, so shall the halls of Oregon's schools be!" Only about half my friends will understand this (moderately) false prophecy I've just written. It will make perfect sense to an Oregonian, but my east coast friends will most likely be completely confused. After all, "What on earth are the 'timbers of Philomath,' and where on earth is Eddyville?! Are its streets bustling with activity or empty and desolate? What kind of wood is grown around Philomath, and is that important?" Obviously, it is absolutely necessary that a person be familiar with the geography, society and culture, economy, and education systems of Oregon in order to understand any of my "prophecy." Similarly, this year in Israel has has taught me that all this information is of inestimable importance for understanding the Biblical narrative and especially the sometimes enigmatic prophecies of Israel. And of all the prophets of Israel, few names resound more potently than that of "Isaiah." Fortunately for me, I am presently residing in the very city Isaiah was native to, so much of this ever so important information is readily accessible.

Of additional interest to myself and perhaps the readers – it has recently snowed in Jerusalem. To that effect, one of the professors here at JUC pointed out the references Isaiah made to snow and that it must have been "Jerusalem snow" just like this that Isaiah spoke of. This provoked me to look into those references, which can be found in Isaiah 1:18 and Isaiah 55:10. The former is the ever so popular "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." This is certainly a powerful dictum, and as Christians we can find particular relevance in its fulfillment through Jesus' sacrificial death. However, it is the latter reference I am more fascinated with.

Isaiah 55:10-11 says, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." I have often heard even just fragments of these verses quoted, de-contextualized, and construed to essentially mean that whenever someone quotes any part of the Bible in any situation, God will use it for good. Personally, I do not subscribe to this kind of thinking, for I also remember Jesus' statement of caution, "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you." This leads me to believe that not every audience or every situation is appropriate for reciting such holy things as God's own words. However, watching the snow of Jerusalem fall on the presently fallow land has provided me with a very interesting associative image for this passage.

Naturally, the snowfall in Jerusalem is not too unlike the snowfall in other parts of the world. However, snow in Jerusalem is a very special and unforgettable sight and experience to be sure! Seeing the city of gold as she's cloaked in white is an image no eyes could possibly ever blot out from their memory. Since Jerusalem is not often painted in snow, the precipitation was far from a blizzard as is more common in parts of America. In fact, the degree and intensity of the snow was probably comparable to the frequency and type of snow that most commonly falls in Newport, Oregon. Nevertheless, it was truly amazing to see snow in the very hills and valleys Isaiah's eyes must have once gazed upon. What did the prophet mean, therefore, when he was inspired to write such powerfully moving words in reference to such natural phenomenon as snow and rain.

This particular passage is part of a larger sermon speaking about the restoration and eventual glorification of Israel. Of course, it remains a subject of great debate whether this prophecy has been fulfilled either partially, completely, or not at all, but aside from the fulfillment of the prophecy, I think there is a great deal to learn from the passage about the nature of God's sovereignty. Being a student of both the Bible and the natural sciences, one of the first thoughts to pass through my mind as I reflected on Isaiah's words is the nature of precipitation itself. Both snow and rain, and any other form of precipitation imaginable, obey one of the most fundamental laws of physics: gravity. Perhaps the analogy seems weak, but I think it is a major component of the image Isaiah is drawing for us. I think Isaiah is asking us to compare the forces of nature with God's ability to bring about His plans. Just as the natural effects of gravity inevitably pull snow and rain to the ground, and the natural effects of biology cause seeds to sprout and grow, so is God's plan inevitably ordained to succeed.

I am personally not very Calvinistic in my thinking, so I do not believe God's sovereignty ever interferes with human free will in even the remotest of ways, but I absolutely believe we can trust the words of the prophet: "God is fully capable of bringing about His plans. In fact, God's plans must be brought about. It is naturally programmed into the elegant fabric of the universe just as much as gravity is." What a privilege it is, therefore, that God, in His infinite grace, has asked us to live holy lives and be a part of His plan.

I hope you enjoy the pictures in the associated photo album, and hopefully I didn't offend anyone's theological sensitivities too much with my interpretation of Isaiah. In fact, I hope that some of you actually enjoyed this impromptu blog. Shabbat Shalom!