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00:00:01 Our text for today deals with the quality 00:00:03 of meekness. 00:00:05 Interestingly, one Watchtower article stated 00:00:07 that “meekness is [actually] 00:00:10 a difficult quality to cultivate” 00:00:13 —difficult but certainly not impossible. 00:00:17 We can say this because just think of the number of scriptures 00:00:21 that mention the quality of meekness 00:00:23 as being essential for salvation. 00:00:27 For example: Psalm 37:11: 00:00:30 “The meek will possess the earth.” 00:00:33 Psalm 76:9: 00:00:35 “[God will] save all the meek of the earth.” 00:00:39 Psalm 149:4: 00:00:41 “[Jehovah] adorns the meek with salvation.” 00:00:46 And then our text comments mention Zephaniah 2:3. 00:00:49 I invite you to take out your Bibles. 00:00:51 Let’s read that from God’s Word. 00:00:53 Zephaniah chapter 2 00:00:59 verse 3 says: 00:01:01 “Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, 00:01:04 “who observe his righteous decrees. 00:01:07 “Seek righteousness, seek meekness. 00:01:10 “Probably you will be concealed 00:01:13 on the day of Jehovah’s anger.” 00:01:16 So all these scriptures show the connection 00:01:19 between meekness and our salvation. 00:01:23 So let’s take a moment then and examine 00:01:26 how this quality relates to each of us. 00:01:31 The Insight book defines meekness 00:01:33 as “a mildness of temper, without haughtiness or vanity. 00:01:38 “[It is] the mental disposition that enables one 00:01:40 “to endure injury with patience 00:01:43 “and without irritation, resentment, 00:01:46 or vindictive retaliation.” 00:01:49 And as was mentioned earlier, how well this is illustrated 00:01:52 in the Bible example of Moses! 00:01:55 Let’s go back to the Bible —this time to Numbers chapter 12. 00:01:59 We’ll read a particular account and see 00:02:01 how the Bible describes the man Moses. 00:02:07 Numbers 12:1 says: 00:02:10 “Now Miriam and Aaron began to speak against Moses 00:02:13 “because of the Cushite wife he had married, 00:02:16 “for he had taken a Cushite wife. 00:02:18 “They were saying: ‘Is it only by Moses that Jehovah has spoken? 00:02:23 “Has he not also spoken through us?’ 00:02:27 “And Jehovah was listening. 00:02:29 “Now the man Moses was by far the meekest of all the men 00:02:33 on the face of the earth.” 00:02:36 Well, we learn some interesting things in these verses 00:02:39 to help establish why Moses is described 00:02:42 as “the meekest of all the men on the face of the earth.” 00:02:47 Notice in verse 1 that Miriam and Aaron 00:02:50 —Moses’ older brother and sister— 00:02:53 It says they “began to speak against Moses.” 00:02:58 Their speaking against him meant 00:03:00 they were likely spreading their complaints about Moses 00:03:03 throughout the Israelite camp. 00:03:06 Miriam had a measure of influence in the camp. 00:03:09 She was a prophetess. 00:03:11 The Bible says that she led the women in singing and dancing 00:03:14 when Jehovah defeated Pharaoh and the Egyptians at the Red Sea. 00:03:18 So now that Moses’ wife, Zipporah, 00:03:20 was going to rejoin them in the wilderness, 00:03:24 is it possible that Miriam may have feared 00:03:27 that she would no longer be the leading lady in the camp? 00:03:31 Perhaps she felt that she would lose some of her prominence to Moses’ wife 00:03:36 —a non-Israelite at that. 00:03:39 Now, although Zipporah was not an Israelite, if we look in Exodus chapter 4, 00:03:42 it shows that she demonstrated her willingness to adhere to God’s laws. 00:03:47 So the root of Miriam’s complaints and murmuring 00:03:51 had nothing to do with true worship or the protection of God’s people. 00:03:57 Instead, the root cause appears to be jealousy 00:04:00 —an improper desire for authority and recognition. 00:04:04 And she, along with her brother Aaron, 00:04:06 used this as an excuse to murmur against Moses. 00:04:13 But if we look back in this account, 00:04:14 how is the meekness of Moses made apparent? 00:04:19 Well, despite the resentment and murmuring on the part of Miriam and Aaron, 00:04:24 Moses patiently and quietly 00:04:27 endured the abuse. 00:04:29 And if we look in verse 2, Moses did not have to defend himself 00:04:34 because “Jehovah was listening,” 00:04:37 and He took action. 00:04:39 If you look in verses 6-8, Jehovah rebukes Miriam and Aaron. 00:04:43 And Miriam, evidently the apparent instigator, 00:04:48 is stricken with leprosy. 00:04:50 And when this happens, if you look in verses 11 and 12 (how interesting), 00:04:54 Aaron asks Moses 00:04:57 to intercede on her behalf. 00:05:00 Now for just a moment, let’s just put ourselves in Moses’ sandals. 00:05:05 Could we blame Moses if he were upset? 00:05:09 Here it is, his older siblings have disrespected Jehovah, 00:05:13 they’ve disrespected Moses as God’s representative, 00:05:17 and now they’re talking about Moses’ wife, 00:05:20 even when there was no just cause to do so. 00:05:24 So could Moses have now felt about Miriam: 00:05:29 ‘You know what? You had this coming to you. 00:05:31 ‘You brought this upon yourself. 00:05:33 You are getting exactly what you deserve’? 00:05:37 Well, even though Moses could have been justified, 00:05:41 when he was given the opportunity, 00:05:43 notice what he does in verse 13: 00:05:45 “[He begins] to cry out to Jehovah, saying: 00:05:48 “‘O God, please heal her! 00:05:50 Please!’” 00:05:54 What a beautiful example of meekness displayed by Moses! 00:06:00 Now, how can his example benefit us? 00:06:05 Well, think about this: When is the next time you and I 00:06:08 might need to show meekness? 00:06:13 Could it be later today if we find that our work is being delayed 00:06:17 by someone else or another department? 00:06:20 Could it be at our meeting this week 00:06:23 if we receive counsel on a meeting part? 00:06:26 Could it be if we find that we’ve lost or that we’ve been passed over 00:06:31 for a privilege of service? 00:06:34 You see, because of our imperfect state, any number of circumstances could arise 00:06:39 where we might need to look back on Moses’ example 00:06:43 of displaying meekness. 00:06:45 Now for just a moment, let’s go back to Zephaniah 2:3. 00:06:53 If you notice in verse 3, we are told 00:06:56 to “seek meekness.” 00:06:59 That means that none of us are born with this quality, 00:07:03 so we have to seek it 00:07:05 by asking, by searching, by praying for Jehovah’s help 00:07:09 to exercise restraint and represent him properly, 00:07:13 even under difficult circumstances. 00:07:17 Perhaps we’ve had the experience in the ministry where we’ve been ridiculed 00:07:21 or we’ve encountered unreasonable individuals 00:07:24 who state all sorts of misconceptions about Jehovah’s Witnesses, 00:07:26 and we’ve heard them. 00:07:28 We don’t believe in Jesus; we break up families; 00:07:31 we don’t believe in helping the community. 00:07:33 And maybe when we hear them, it may bother us. 00:07:37 Frankly, it might even upset us 00:07:39 to the point where we just feel we need to give a reply. 00:07:42 We must defend ourselves. 00:07:45 We have to get the last word in in order to set the householder straight 00:07:48 on our beliefs. 00:07:50 But might that be the very time to seek meekness 00:07:56 —to pray to Jehovah to exercise restraint? 00:08:00 Or perhaps, on a more personal level, 00:08:03 it may be that we experience an injustice. 00:08:06 Perhaps we have a misunderstanding with a member of our family here 00:08:09 or with a brother or sister in the congregation. 00:08:12 And whatever the issue is, 00:08:14 we may have a legitimate complaint. 00:08:19 But isn’t it true that if we’re not careful, 00:08:23 if we don’t seek meekness, 00:08:26 if we don’t seek to resolve the matter in a spirit of meekness, 00:08:30 well, wouldn’t you agree that voicing our legitimate complaint 00:08:35 could very easily cross the line into murmuring? 00:08:39 And we know how Jehovah feels about that. 00:08:41 So certainly, we would never want to do anything to disappoint him. 00:08:46 Moses was meek —the meekest man who ever lived. 00:08:50 But even he reached a point on one occasion 00:08:52 where he did not show meekness and exercise restraint, 00:08:56 and he suffered the consequences. 00:08:58 So if you and I are to continue to draw close to God 00:09:01 and remain acceptable to him, 00:09:04 we must strive to uproot any traces 00:09:06 of pride, jealousy, ambition, or vindictiveness 00:09:11 that we may see in ourselves. 00:09:14 Yes, Jehovah loves those who are meek. 00:09:18 Those who are meek will inherit salvation. 00:09:23 So may each of us continue to seek this quality 00:09:26 by asking, praying, 00:09:29 and then cultivating a submissive attitude that will allow us 00:09:33 to be among the meek who will inherit the earth.
00:00:01 Our text for today deals with the quality 00:00:03 of meekness. 00:00:05 Interestingly, one Watchtower article stated 00:00:07 that “meekness is [actually] 00:00:10 a difficult quality to cultivate” 00:00:13 —difficult but certainly not impossible. 00:00:17 We can say this because just think of the number of scriptures 00:00:21 that mention the quality of meekness 00:00:23 as being essential for salvation. 00:00:27 For example: Psalm 37:11: 00:00:30 “The meek will possess the earth.” 00:00:33 Psalm 76:9: 00:00:35 “[God will] save all the meek of the earth.” 00:00:39 Psalm 149:4: 00:00:41 “[Jehovah] adorns the meek with salvation.” 00:00:46 And then our text comments mention Zephaniah 2:3. 00:00:49 I invite you to take out your Bibles. 00:00:51 Let’s read that from God’s Word. 00:00:53 Zephaniah chapter 2 00:00:59 verse 3 says: 00:01:01 “Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, 00:01:04 “who observe his righteous decrees. 00:01:07 “Seek righteousness, seek meekness. 00:01:10 “Probably you will be concealed 00:01:13 on the day of Jehovah’s anger.” 00:01:16 So all these scriptures show the connection 00:01:19 between meekness and our salvation. 00:01:23 So let’s take a moment then and examine 00:01:26 how this quality relates to each of us. 00:01:31 The Insight book defines meekness 00:01:33 as “a mildness of temper, without haughtiness or vanity. 00:01:38 “[It is] the mental disposition that enables one 00:01:40 “to endure injury with patience 00:01:43 “and without irritation, resentment, 00:01:46 or vindictive retaliation.” 00:01:49 And as was mentioned earlier, how well this is illustrated 00:01:52 in the Bible example of Moses! 00:01:55 Let’s go back to the Bible —this time to Numbers chapter 12. 00:01:59 We’ll read a particular account and see 00:02:01 how the Bible describes the man Moses. 00:02:07 Numbers 12:1 says: 00:02:10 “Now Miriam and Aaron began to speak against Moses 00:02:13 “because of the Cushite wife he had married, 00:02:16 “for he had taken a Cushite wife. 00:02:18 “They were saying: ‘Is it only by Moses that Jehovah has spoken? 00:02:23 “Has he not also spoken through us?’ 00:02:27 “And Jehovah was listening. 00:02:29 “Now the man Moses was by far the meekest of all the men 00:02:33 on the face of the earth.” 00:02:36 Well, we learn some interesting things in these verses 00:02:39 to help establish why Moses is described 00:02:42 as “the meekest of all the men on the face of the earth.” 00:02:47 Notice in verse 1 that Miriam and Aaron 00:02:50 —Moses’ older brother and sister— 00:02:53 It says they “began to speak against Moses.” 00:02:58 Their speaking against him meant 00:03:00 they were likely spreading their complaints about Moses 00:03:03 throughout the Israelite camp. 00:03:06 Miriam had a measure of influence in the camp. 00:03:09 She was a prophetess. 00:03:11 The Bible says that she led the women in singing and dancing 00:03:14 when Jehovah defeated Pharaoh and the Egyptians at the Red Sea. 00:03:18 So now that Moses’ wife, Zipporah, 00:03:20 was going to rejoin them in the wilderness, 00:03:24 is it possible that Miriam may have feared 00:03:27 that she would no longer be the leading lady in the camp? 00:03:31 Perhaps she felt that she would lose some of her prominence to Moses’ wife 00:03:36 —a non-Israelite at that. 00:03:39 Now, although Zipporah was not an Israelite, if we look in Exodus chapter 4, 00:03:42 it shows that she demonstrated her willingness to adhere to God’s laws. 00:03:47 So the root of Miriam’s complaints and murmuring 00:03:51 had nothing to do with true worship or the protection of God’s people. 00:03:57 Instead, the root cause appears to be jealousy 00:04:00 —an improper desire for authority and recognition. 00:04:04 And she, along with her brother Aaron, 00:04:06 used this as an excuse to murmur against Moses. 00:04:13 But if we look back in this account, 00:04:14 how is the meekness of Moses made apparent? 00:04:19 Well, despite the resentment and murmuring on the part of Miriam and Aaron, 00:04:24 Moses patiently and quietly 00:04:27 endured the abuse. 00:04:29 And if we look in verse 2, Moses did not have to defend himself 00:04:34 because “Jehovah was listening,” 00:04:37 and He took action. 00:04:39 If you look in verses 6-8, Jehovah rebukes Miriam and Aaron. 00:04:43 And Miriam, evidently the apparent instigator, 00:04:48 is stricken with leprosy. 00:04:50 And when this happens, if you look in verses 11 and 12 (how interesting), 00:04:54 Aaron asks Moses 00:04:57 to intercede on her behalf. 00:05:00 Now for just a moment, let’s just put ourselves in Moses’ sandals. 00:05:05 Could we blame Moses if he were upset? 00:05:09 Here it is, his older siblings have disrespected Jehovah, 00:05:13 they’ve disrespected Moses as God’s representative, 00:05:17 and now they’re talking about Moses’ wife, 00:05:20 even when there was no just cause to do so. 00:05:24 So could Moses have now felt about Miriam: 00:05:29 ‘You know what? You had this coming to you. 00:05:31 ‘You brought this upon yourself. 00:05:33 You are getting exactly what you deserve’? 00:05:37 Well, even though Moses could have been justified, 00:05:41 when he was given the opportunity, 00:05:43 notice what he does in verse 13: 00:05:45 “[He begins] to cry out to Jehovah, saying: 00:05:48 “‘O God, please heal her! 00:05:50 Please!’” 00:05:54 What a beautiful example of meekness displayed by Moses! 00:06:00 Now, how can his example benefit us? 00:06:05 Well, think about this: When is the next time you and I 00:06:08 might need to show meekness? 00:06:13 Could it be later today if we find that our work is being delayed 00:06:17 by someone else or another department? 00:06:20 Could it be at our meeting this week 00:06:23 if we receive counsel on a meeting part? 00:06:26 Could it be if we find that we’ve lost or that we’ve been passed over 00:06:31 for a privilege of service? 00:06:34 You see, because of our imperfect state, any number of circumstances could arise 00:06:39 where we might need to look back on Moses’ example 00:06:43 of displaying meekness. 00:06:45 Now for just a moment, let’s go back to Zephaniah 2:3. 00:06:53 If you notice in verse 3, we are told 00:06:56 to “seek meekness.” 00:06:59 That means that none of us are born with this quality, 00:07:03 so we have to seek it 00:07:05 by asking, by searching, by praying for Jehovah’s help 00:07:09 to exercise restraint and represent him properly, 00:07:13 even under difficult circumstances. 00:07:17 Perhaps we’ve had the experience in the ministry where we’ve been ridiculed 00:07:21 or we’ve encountered unreasonable individuals 00:07:24 who state all sorts of misconceptions about Jehovah’s Witnesses, 00:07:26 and we’ve heard them. 00:07:28 We don’t believe in Jesus; we break up families; 00:07:31 we don’t believe in helping the community. 00:07:33 And maybe when we hear them, it may bother us. 00:07:37 Frankly, it might even upset us 00:07:39 to the point where we just feel we need to give a reply. 00:07:42 We must defend ourselves. 00:07:45 We have to get the last word in in order to set the householder straight 00:07:48 on our beliefs. 00:07:50 But might that be the very time to seek meekness 00:07:56 —to pray to Jehovah to exercise restraint? 00:08:00 Or perhaps, on a more personal level, 00:08:03 it may be that we experience an injustice. 00:08:06 Perhaps we have a misunderstanding with a member of our family here 00:08:09 or with a brother or sister in the congregation. 00:08:12 And whatever the issue is, 00:08:14 we may have a legitimate complaint. 00:08:19 But isn’t it true that if we’re not careful, 00:08:23 if we don’t seek meekness, 00:08:26 if we don’t seek to resolve the matter in a spirit of meekness, 00:08:30 well, wouldn’t you agree that voicing our legitimate complaint 00:08:35 could very easily cross the line into murmuring? 00:08:39 And we know how Jehovah feels about that. 00:08:41 So certainly, we would never want to do anything to disappoint him. 00:08:46 Moses was meek —the meekest man who ever lived. 00:08:50 But even he reached a point on one occasion 00:08:52 where he did not show meekness and exercise restraint, 00:08:56 and he suffered the consequences. 00:08:58 So if you and I are to continue to draw close to God 00:09:01 and remain acceptable to him, 00:09:04 we must strive to uproot any traces 00:09:06 of pride, jealousy, ambition, or vindictiveness 00:09:11 that we may see in ourselves. 00:09:14 Yes, Jehovah loves those who are meek. 00:09:18 Those who are meek will inherit salvation. 00:09:23 So may each of us continue to seek this quality 00:09:26 by asking, praying, 00:09:29 and then cultivating a submissive attitude that will allow us 00:09:33 to be among the meek who will inherit the earth.
