Blessed Are the Meek
Do you want to be blessed? Yes, surely all want to be blessed. In Matt. 5 it tells us of nine ways to get a blessing. The fifth verse says, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
About Moses, we read in Num. 12:3, "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." The Jews render that verse this way: "Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than all the men that were upon the face of the earth.”
Had it not been for the jealous attack of Miriam and Aaron on their brother, there would have been no need for God to come to the defense of Moses and mention his meekness or humbleness.
Moses is greatest in meekness, and, as to Old Testament prophets, it seems that he may be greatest according to Deut. 18:15. Here he writes, "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.”
John the Baptist was asked, "Art thou that Prophet? And he answered, No." John 1:21. The Prophet is identified in John 6:14: "Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world." Moses, then, gets the place of being a type of Jesus as prophet as well as being greatest in meekness.
Moses is the only one whom God addresses face to face, in contrast to those like Aaron and Miriam who perceived God through visions or dreams (Num. 12:6). Then God says, "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him I will speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.”
Surely there is a connection between greatness as a prophet and humility. First God records, "The man Moses was very meek"; then God says, Moses "is faithful in all Mine house." Completely trusted, Moses can move throughout God's house. Being so much in the divine Presence produced humility. Mere man cannot be proud in God's presence. How can we be humble? By spending more time with God; by spending more time in prayer.
The true greatness of Moses was seen when he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. The reproach of Christ for him was greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
As Christians living in this modern world at the end of the 20th century, we might ask ourselves how we rate the reproach of Christ? Is it higher than this world's treasures? Do we really desire to be with the people of God? Do we forsake this present Egypt-world? Do we fear the wrath of its king (Heb. 11:24-27)? Ed.