Numbers 12:3 (NKJV) 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
Yesterday we focused on the fact that every believer has within them “inherent greatness.” In the natural we sometimes identify people that have something about them that sets them apart even from birth. They may or may not fulfill their potential for greatness, but that does not change the fact that it is there. In the Kingdom of God, every believer has the potential for greatness within them. This is true for a simple reason.
Colossians 1:27 (NKJV) 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We are can be great in the Kingdom of God because the King is within us. We are supernatural people with access to supernatural help, supernatural power and supernatural wisdom. We must choose to release the greatness that is in us by walking in the power of the spirit and according to the principles of the Word of God.
We have been looking at some of the characteristics that have enabled some of the greatest people in both Old and New Testament history great. I want to look at possibly the greatest figure in the Old Testament. This man not only changed the history of Israel but also determined the world order that affects us today. His name is Moses.
Think of what the world would be like today if it were not for Moses’ life. So much of current political and economic history currently being made revolves around the Middle East. What would that region be if the nation of Israel had never left Egyptian bondage? A case could be made that there would be no Judaism or Christianity. Even Islam might not exist. Man might still be worshiping Zeus and Apollo or no god at all if Moses had not walked in the greatness of his destiny.
Jesus said the path to greatness was servant hood. That is absolutely fundamental. If we do not start there, we will never be great in the Kingdom of God. Noah’s defining characteristic was obedience. He was great because he did what God asked him to do. This did not start with building a boat. It started with the fact that he was “perfect in his generation.” That did not mean without flaw. It meant that he obeyed God to the best of his ability in his personal life when the rest of the world was flowing in the opposite direction. What was the one characteristic that released the greatness in Moses?
We see the answer to that question in today’s scripture. Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth at that time. That does not go with our picture of a great leader. Meekness does not go with the “type A” take charge personality that we identify with great leaders. Nevertheless, God identifies meekness as that one characteristic that set Moses apart from everyone else. Noah was perfect in his generation and Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth.
We must understand what bible meekness really is to see how this makes a powerful and great leader. We think of meekness as admirable but week. A meek person is someone who is passive and will not resist opposition. I know I like it when the good guy takes out the bad guy and does it with “extreme prejudice.” That does not seem to fit the definition of meekness. However, the bible is not talking about being passive. It is talking about being aggressive in a very different way. The story in today’s scripture gives us a picture of bible meekness.
In this story, we find Moses brother Aaron and sister Miriam challenging Moses’ position as the leader of Israel. He has, in their opinion, violated the will of God by marrying an Ethiopian woman. They probably resented the influence she had over him. At any rate the heart of their challenge is that they can hear from God in the same way Moses can.
Any leader naturally resists a challenge. I tell those under my leadership that I will not have a problem with honest questions. I want to know if you think I am missing God. I do have a problem if they do not approach me with respect for the position. Leaders do not do well when challenged. It is just part of the personality type that makes up a leader.
I do not think Moses was that different in nature from other leaders. However, God had worked something in his life that caused him to react in a way that goes against what is natural for a leader. Moses did not defend himself. Moses said nothing at all. Why not?
He did not because he was the meekest man in all the earth. That does not mean he was too week in character to stand up for himself. It did not mean he was afraid of Miriam and Aaron or of what the people might think of him. He said nothing because he knew who he was in God and who stood behind him. He did not to defend himself. He did not need to bluster and declare, “I’m in charge here! Who do you two think you are!”
He simply rested in the authority given him by God. God gave it so God would have to defend it. I have no doubt that if the Lord instructed him to say or do something he would have. He simply felt no need in himself to mount a defense.
That is bible meekness. It is not weakness in any way. It is someone who can stand poised and in control because he or she knows who is behinds him. Paul was a man who tended toward pride. That is his own testimony in many places. God had done a work in Paul’s life that showed him a different way.
Romans 8:31 (NKJV) 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Moses understood this truth. God was for him. Who could successfully challenge him. A person who walks in bible meekness does not need to be arrogant. He does not need to defend his ministry or character. He knows that God is for him. God will defend him. If God says to do or say something, he will be quite bold to do so.
In Moses life, he handled another rebellion in a quite different way. A man named Korah and his followers also rose up against Moses. God spoke to Moses and he told the people of Israel, “You better get away from Korah and his cronies because the earth is going to swallow them all in just a little bit!”
This does not sound like meekness to our ears but the bible must be interpreted by itself. If it says in Numbers 12 that Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth, he was. That means he handled Korah in just as much meekness as he handled Miriam and Aaron.
The result of Moses’ meekness in the story of Miriam and Aaron was that God judged them. God spoke for Moses. God defended him and his ministry. He told Miriam and Aaron in no uncertain terms that they did not hear from God that way Moses did. He judged Miriam, who was the ringleader of the rebellion with leprosy.
I want to show you one more characteristic of Bible meekness. Moses did not say to the Lord, “Yeah God, that serves her right!” Instead he prayed for mercy for Miriam and God softened the penalty so she was only leprous for seven days.
A meek person knows how to forgive. A meek person rejoices in good not evil. A meek person does not want revenge against those who attack him. He seeks the good of all even those who oppose him personally. He also seeks the will of God over his own good. We see this throughout Moses life.
How is meekness worked in us? How did Moses come to meekness? That is what we will look at next.
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