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00:00:00 Numbers 12:3: 00:00:03 “Moses was by far 00:00:06 the meekest of all the men.” 00:00:09 Now, when we analyze our own personality, 00:00:12 how many of us zero in on meekness? 00:00:17 That might not be the first quality that comes to mind. 00:00:20 We may think that it’s rather benign, 00:00:23 innocent, maybe even inconsequential. 00:00:27 We think: ‘You know, I have other 00:00:29 ‘bigger issues I need to deal with first. 00:00:32 ‘I need to work on being more courageous, 00:00:35 impartial, loving, forgiving, discerning.’ 00:00:38 And a whole list of other qualities might come to mind. 00:00:43 Well, meekness might sound benign and inconsequential. 00:00:48 In reality, 00:00:50 it is a very complex quality and quite diverse. 00:00:54 Please find Exodus chapter 2. 00:00:59 Was Moses born meek, 00:01:03 sweet, and complete? 00:01:07 No, there’s no indication that meekness is an innate quality. 00:01:12 Now, it’s true that at Exodus 2:2 00:01:14 it does say that when he was born, Moses was beautiful. 00:01:19 But it does not say he was meek. 00:01:22 And if you think about it, 00:01:24 Moses was raised in the arrogant, haughty family of Pharaoh 00:01:29 —the world-renowned leader at that time. 00:01:33 He was not taught to be meek during his adolescent years. 00:01:38 So, what have we learned thus far? 00:01:41 It’s actually encouraging. 00:01:43 We do not have to be born with meek genes 00:01:46 or with a predisposition to meekness in order to attain that quality. 00:01:50 And we don’t have to have the perfect upbringing to cultivate meekness. 00:01:54 With time and patience, 00:01:56 all of us can attain that quality. 00:02:00 Now, Moses can be described 00:02:02 as “by far [by far] the meekest of all the men.” 00:02:06 He was in a category all by himself. 00:02:09 Well, how did that happen? 00:02:11 Well, he was actually coached 00:02:13 and trained personally by Jehovah. 00:02:17 Jehovah obviously saw the potential in Moses 00:02:20 and some of those qualities he might have developed 00:02:22 in his upbringing in Pharaoh’s house 00:02:25 —dignity, confidence 00:02:28 (sometimes overconfidence), poise. 00:02:32 But of all those acquired gifts, 00:02:34 Jehovah could not use him to his maximum potential 00:02:37 until—until— he cultivated meekness. 00:02:41 And this was not a 40-day curriculum. 00:02:45 It was a 40-year lesson 00:02:48 of contemplation and cultivating humility. 00:02:53 He was just a shepherd and not even of his own sheep. 00:02:56 It was his father-in-law’s sheep. 00:02:58 But with his changed situation and having some time on his hands, 00:03:02 he was now able to contemplate the type of man he was 00:03:06 and the type of God he served. 00:03:09 And he changed. 00:03:11 He developed this quality of meekness. 00:03:14 Now, the Insight book describes meekness this way, 00:03:17 and you’ll see it is a complex quality. 00:03:22 It says: “[It’s] a mildness of temper, without haughtiness or vanity. 00:03:27 “The mental disposition that enables one 00:03:29 “to endure injury with patience 00:03:34 “and without irritation, resentment, 00:03:37 or vindictive retaliation.” 00:03:40 Now, that’s a tall order, isn’t it? 00:03:43 You know, one Watchtower described meekness 00:03:47 as a ‘piece of artwork 00:03:49 painted by a skilled artist.’ 00:03:52 Now, look at the artwork there; 00:03:54 it’s beautiful. 00:03:57 Moses, in the development of meekness, 00:03:59 was so beautiful to Jehovah 00:04:01 that He made sure it was put under the spotlight 00:04:05 —“by far the meekest of all the men.” 00:04:09 But what’s the point of similarity 00:04:11 between a piece of artwork and meekness? 00:04:15 Well, the artist 00:04:17 has to blend colors together deftly and skillfully, 00:04:21 and a variety of colors comes together. 00:04:23 For example, 00:04:24 of those three primary colors on a color wheel, 00:04:28 it’s red, yellow, and blue. 00:04:31 Well, by mixing these colors together, 00:04:33 an artist can paint a beautiful, tranquil painting. 00:04:37 And as you see in the image 00:04:38 of the secondary colors, 00:04:40 if you mix red and yellow together, 00:04:43 what color do you see between them? 00:04:45 It’s orange. 00:04:46 If you mix yellow and blue together, what color do you see then? 00:04:49 You see green. 00:04:51 And if you mix red and blue together, it produces violet or purple. 00:04:56 Well, the artist further mixes colors together, 00:05:00 and he can get all the hues necessary 00:05:03 to paint a beautiful, tranquil scene. 00:05:07 Well, what’s the point of similarity? 00:05:11 Meekness is not one color. 00:05:13 It’s not just one quality. 00:05:15 It’s blending many different qualities together 00:05:18 in a skilled fashion. 00:05:20 To achieve meekness, 00:05:22 it requires that we mix together various virtues 00:05:26 like humility, 00:05:29 lowliness of mind, gentleness, 00:05:32 patience, mildness of temper, long-suffering. 00:05:37 And like an artist, if we work on all those qualities simultaneously, 00:05:41 the result is this beautiful masterpiece 00:05:44 that we call meekness. 00:05:46 Please turn now to Numbers chapter 12. 00:05:49 We’re going to reason on verse 3 from a different aspect. 00:05:53 And so there it is again, verse 3: “Now the man Moses was by far 00:05:56 the meekest of all the men on the face of the earth.” 00:05:59 So leave your Bible open there for a moment. 00:06:03 Question: Who wrote those words? 00:06:08 Well, those were Moses’ own words. 00:06:11 And so some commentators have criticized this, 00:06:14 saying that this was unjustified self-praise, 00:06:19 somewhat like a person who says of himself, 00:06:22 “I’m humble and I’m proud of it.” 00:06:25 Well, let’s look at the context first here. 00:06:30 The situation is described at Numbers 12:1, 2. 00:06:34 Moses’ sister and brother challenged his authority 00:06:37 as the official spokesman for Jehovah. 00:06:41 And Miriam was listed first in this mutiny. 00:06:44 She was the oldest of the three siblings. 00:06:46 Moses was the youngest. 00:06:48 And it’s apparent that Miriam was the instigator, 00:06:53 because if you glance down there in verse 10, 00:06:55 of the two, she was the only one struck with leprosy. 00:06:59 And remember meekness, the definition, part of it, was: 00:07:03 “Endures injury with patience without irritation, 00:07:07 resentment, or retaliation.” 00:07:09 So Moses absorbed 00:07:12 this withering, blistering provocation meekly. 00:07:17 And now look at the end of verse 2; 00:07:19 it says: “Jehovah was listening.” 00:07:22 So Jehovah was right there. 00:07:24 He saw and heard the level of vehemence. 00:07:29 Well, what was Moses’ relationship with Jehovah? 00:07:32 Verse 8 says: 00:07:34 “Face-to-face I speak to him, openly, not by riddles; 00:07:39 and the appearance of Jehovah is what he sees.” 00:07:42 Well, we understand, of course, that this was through an angel. 00:07:46 But Moses had this two-way communication 00:07:49 directly with Jehovah. 00:07:52 In fact, Insight had a significant statement, I thought. 00:07:54 It said that “Moses . . . had a more direct, 00:07:57 “constant, [and] intimate relationship with Jehovah 00:08:01 than did any [other] prophet prior to Jesus Christ.” 00:08:05 Now, that’s quite a statement, isn’t it? 00:08:07 And think about it. 00:08:09 When Jesus came, he superseded Moses’ status 00:08:14 because at that point, Jesus became ‘by far the meekest man’ 00:08:19 that ever walked the earth. 00:08:22 But what did Jesus say about himself at Matthew 11:29? 00:08:27 He said: “I am mild-tempered and lowly [of] heart.” 00:08:30 Meekness. 00:08:32 Well, was that unjustified self-praise on his part? 00:08:37 No, it was unvarnished truth. 00:08:41 And it’s similar with Moses and the way he described himself. 00:08:45 It’s true, he penned the words, 00:08:48 but we must never forget those were not his words. 00:08:51 He was inspired by God. 00:08:53 He was the meekest of all men. 00:08:56 Well, was he perfect in this quality? 00:08:58 No. 00:09:00 We all recall the rash action on his part 00:09:04 when he struck the rock to bring forth water 00:09:07 and the credit for the miracle he took away 00:09:09 from Jehovah and applied to himself. 00:09:12 Well, that was a huge mistake 00:09:14 that Moses regretted for the rest of his life. 00:09:17 And Jehovah took the insult seriously; 00:09:19 he did not allow him to enter the Promised Land. 00:09:22 But how did Jehovah view Moses after that? 00:09:26 Find Deuteronomy 34:10. 00:09:32 Moses was still viewed by Jehovah 00:09:34 as the finest example of all men. 00:09:37 And Deuteronomy 34:10 says: “But there has never again 00:09:40 arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom Jehovah knew face-to-face.” 00:09:45 It was a complimentary line about Moses. 00:09:48 Who wrote Deuteronomy? 00:09:50 Moses. 00:09:52 But in this case, these were not his words penned down. 00:09:56 He had already died, you see, in verse 5 there. 00:09:59 And so Insight attributes these final inspired words of the book 00:10:04 to Joshua, the writer of the next book of the Bible. 00:10:08 So meekness, it’s a complex and beautiful quality 00:10:13 that we can strive to more fully achieve.
00:00:00 Numbers 12:3: 00:00:03 “Moses was by far 00:00:06 the meekest of all the men.” 00:00:09 Now, when we analyze our own personality, 00:00:12 how many of us zero in on meekness? 00:00:17 That might not be the first quality that comes to mind. 00:00:20 We may think that it’s rather benign, 00:00:23 innocent, maybe even inconsequential. 00:00:27 We think: ‘You know, I have other 00:00:29 ‘bigger issues I need to deal with first. 00:00:32 ‘I need to work on being more courageous, 00:00:35 impartial, loving, forgiving, discerning.’ 00:00:38 And a whole list of other qualities might come to mind. 00:00:43 Well, meekness might sound benign and inconsequential. 00:00:48 In reality, 00:00:50 it is a very complex quality and quite diverse. 00:00:54 Please find Exodus chapter 2. 00:00:59 Was Moses born meek, 00:01:03 sweet, and complete? 00:01:07 No, there’s no indication that meekness is an innate quality. 00:01:12 Now, it’s true that at Exodus 2:2 00:01:14 it does say that when he was born, Moses was beautiful. 00:01:19 But it does not say he was meek. 00:01:22 And if you think about it, 00:01:24 Moses was raised in the arrogant, haughty family of Pharaoh 00:01:29 —the world-renowned leader at that time. 00:01:33 He was not taught to be meek during his adolescent years. 00:01:38 So, what have we learned thus far? 00:01:41 It’s actually encouraging. 00:01:43 We do not have to be born with meek genes 00:01:46 or with a predisposition to meekness in order to attain that quality. 00:01:50 And we don’t have to have the perfect upbringing to cultivate meekness. 00:01:54 With time and patience, 00:01:56 all of us can attain that quality. 00:02:00 Now, Moses can be described 00:02:02 as “by far [by far] the meekest of all the men.” 00:02:06 He was in a category all by himself. 00:02:09 Well, how did that happen? 00:02:11 Well, he was actually coached 00:02:13 and trained personally by Jehovah. 00:02:17 Jehovah obviously saw the potential in Moses 00:02:20 and some of those qualities he might have developed 00:02:22 in his upbringing in Pharaoh’s house 00:02:25 —dignity, confidence 00:02:28 (sometimes overconfidence), poise. 00:02:32 But of all those acquired gifts, 00:02:34 Jehovah could not use him to his maximum potential 00:02:37 until—until— he cultivated meekness. 00:02:41 And this was not a 40-day curriculum. 00:02:45 It was a 40-year lesson 00:02:48 of contemplation and cultivating humility. 00:02:53 He was just a shepherd and not even of his own sheep. 00:02:56 It was his father-in-law’s sheep. 00:02:58 But with his changed situation and having some time on his hands, 00:03:02 he was now able to contemplate the type of man he was 00:03:06 and the type of God he served. 00:03:09 And he changed. 00:03:11 He developed this quality of meekness. 00:03:14 Now, the Insight book describes meekness this way, 00:03:17 and you’ll see it is a complex quality. 00:03:22 It says: “[It’s] a mildness of temper, without haughtiness or vanity. 00:03:27 “The mental disposition that enables one 00:03:29 “to endure injury with patience 00:03:34 “and without irritation, resentment, 00:03:37 or vindictive retaliation.” 00:03:40 Now, that’s a tall order, isn’t it? 00:03:43 You know, one Watchtower described meekness 00:03:47 as a ‘piece of artwork 00:03:49 painted by a skilled artist.’ 00:03:52 Now, look at the artwork there; 00:03:54 it’s beautiful. 00:03:57 Moses, in the development of meekness, 00:03:59 was so beautiful to Jehovah 00:04:01 that He made sure it was put under the spotlight 00:04:05 —“by far the meekest of all the men.” 00:04:09 But what’s the point of similarity 00:04:11 between a piece of artwork and meekness? 00:04:15 Well, the artist 00:04:17 has to blend colors together deftly and skillfully, 00:04:21 and a variety of colors comes together. 00:04:23 For example, 00:04:24 of those three primary colors on a color wheel, 00:04:28 it’s red, yellow, and blue. 00:04:31 Well, by mixing these colors together, 00:04:33 an artist can paint a beautiful, tranquil painting. 00:04:37 And as you see in the image 00:04:38 of the secondary colors, 00:04:40 if you mix red and yellow together, 00:04:43 what color do you see between them? 00:04:45 It’s orange. 00:04:46 If you mix yellow and blue together, what color do you see then? 00:04:49 You see green. 00:04:51 And if you mix red and blue together, it produces violet or purple. 00:04:56 Well, the artist further mixes colors together, 00:05:00 and he can get all the hues necessary 00:05:03 to paint a beautiful, tranquil scene. 00:05:07 Well, what’s the point of similarity? 00:05:11 Meekness is not one color. 00:05:13 It’s not just one quality. 00:05:15 It’s blending many different qualities together 00:05:18 in a skilled fashion. 00:05:20 To achieve meekness, 00:05:22 it requires that we mix together various virtues 00:05:26 like humility, 00:05:29 lowliness of mind, gentleness, 00:05:32 patience, mildness of temper, long-suffering. 00:05:37 And like an artist, if we work on all those qualities simultaneously, 00:05:41 the result is this beautiful masterpiece 00:05:44 that we call meekness. 00:05:46 Please turn now to Numbers chapter 12. 00:05:49 We’re going to reason on verse 3 from a different aspect. 00:05:53 And so there it is again, verse 3: “Now the man Moses was by far 00:05:56 the meekest of all the men on the face of the earth.” 00:05:59 So leave your Bible open there for a moment. 00:06:03 Question: Who wrote those words? 00:06:08 Well, those were Moses’ own words. 00:06:11 And so some commentators have criticized this, 00:06:14 saying that this was unjustified self-praise, 00:06:19 somewhat like a person who says of himself, 00:06:22 “I’m humble and I’m proud of it.” 00:06:25 Well, let’s look at the context first here. 00:06:30 The situation is described at Numbers 12:1, 2. 00:06:34 Moses’ sister and brother challenged his authority 00:06:37 as the official spokesman for Jehovah. 00:06:41 And Miriam was listed first in this mutiny. 00:06:44 She was the oldest of the three siblings. 00:06:46 Moses was the youngest. 00:06:48 And it’s apparent that Miriam was the instigator, 00:06:53 because if you glance down there in verse 10, 00:06:55 of the two, she was the only one struck with leprosy. 00:06:59 And remember meekness, the definition, part of it, was: 00:07:03 “Endures injury with patience without irritation, 00:07:07 resentment, or retaliation.” 00:07:09 So Moses absorbed 00:07:12 this withering, blistering provocation meekly. 00:07:17 And now look at the end of verse 2; 00:07:19 it says: “Jehovah was listening.” 00:07:22 So Jehovah was right there. 00:07:24 He saw and heard the level of vehemence. 00:07:29 Well, what was Moses’ relationship with Jehovah? 00:07:32 Verse 8 says: 00:07:34 “Face-to-face I speak to him, openly, not by riddles; 00:07:39 and the appearance of Jehovah is what he sees.” 00:07:42 Well, we understand, of course, that this was through an angel. 00:07:46 But Moses had this two-way communication 00:07:49 directly with Jehovah. 00:07:52 In fact, Insight had a significant statement, I thought. 00:07:54 It said that “Moses . . . had a more direct, 00:07:57 “constant, [and] intimate relationship with Jehovah 00:08:01 than did any [other] prophet prior to Jesus Christ.” 00:08:05 Now, that’s quite a statement, isn’t it? 00:08:07 And think about it. 00:08:09 When Jesus came, he superseded Moses’ status 00:08:14 because at that point, Jesus became ‘by far the meekest man’ 00:08:19 that ever walked the earth. 00:08:22 But what did Jesus say about himself at Matthew 11:29? 00:08:27 He said: “I am mild-tempered and lowly [of] heart.” 00:08:30 Meekness. 00:08:32 Well, was that unjustified self-praise on his part? 00:08:37 No, it was unvarnished truth. 00:08:41 And it’s similar with Moses and the way he described himself. 00:08:45 It’s true, he penned the words, 00:08:48 but we must never forget those were not his words. 00:08:51 He was inspired by God. 00:08:53 He was the meekest of all men. 00:08:56 Well, was he perfect in this quality? 00:08:58 No. 00:09:00 We all recall the rash action on his part 00:09:04 when he struck the rock to bring forth water 00:09:07 and the credit for the miracle he took away 00:09:09 from Jehovah and applied to himself. 00:09:12 Well, that was a huge mistake 00:09:14 that Moses regretted for the rest of his life. 00:09:17 And Jehovah took the insult seriously; 00:09:19 he did not allow him to enter the Promised Land. 00:09:22 But how did Jehovah view Moses after that? 00:09:26 Find Deuteronomy 34:10. 00:09:32 Moses was still viewed by Jehovah 00:09:34 as the finest example of all men. 00:09:37 And Deuteronomy 34:10 says: “But there has never again 00:09:40 arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom Jehovah knew face-to-face.” 00:09:45 It was a complimentary line about Moses. 00:09:48 Who wrote Deuteronomy? 00:09:50 Moses. 00:09:52 But in this case, these were not his words penned down. 00:09:56 He had already died, you see, in verse 5 there. 00:09:59 And so Insight attributes these final inspired words of the book 00:10:04 to Joshua, the writer of the next book of the Bible. 00:10:08 So meekness, it’s a complex and beautiful quality 00:10:13 that we can strive to more fully achieve.
