(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
The verse declares that Moses was very meek above all the men upon the face of the earth, singular in humility as the meekest of the human family. His meekness was unassuming lowliness that distrusted self and made God his counselor, showing itself in mildness, patience, gentleness under wrong, generosity to the erring, and humble endurance of murmuring and provocation. It was not his nature, for he was naturally impatient and forceful, but he became patient, reverent, humble and teachable through forty years keeping sheep in Midian, where pride and self-sufficiency were swept away and he learned to care for the weak and wayward. Because of that meekness God chose him as visible leader and chief governor, spoke with him face to face plainly and not in visions or dreams, and when Miriam and Aaron murmured against him from jealousy God vindicated him and struck Miriam with leprosy until Moses himself prayed for her healing. Yet even the meekest man failed at the waters of Meribah when provoked to anger he spoke as if he would bring water and smote the rock instead of speaking to it, and for thus exalting self and not sanctifying God he was barred from Canaan, which warns all who bear God's work to cultivate his humility and guard against self-exaltation.
Meaning of Meekness
Numbers 12:3 testifies that Moses was very meek above all men upon the face of the earth, singular in humility, the meekest and most humble of the human family. His meekness stood out among all people and stood in contrast to the murmuring against him, and it is given as the reason the Lord was displeased with Miriam and Aaron for speaking against him and defended Moses as His chosen and faithful servant entrusted with a heavy burden. Their complaint sprang from jealousy and self-originating resentment and ambition, claiming equal authority and believing he considered himself superior, while human judgments of him did not agree with God's view of him. God honored him not for training gained in the Egyptian court but because of his meekness, talking with him face to face as a man talks with a friend, and the same holds for all who carry forward God's work.
His meekness meant humility and unassuming lowliness, without pride, recognizing his own weakness and making God his counselor rather than trusting in himself. It was formed through severe discipline and close connection with God, after struggling to uproot pride and habits shaped by Egypt, until he became mild in spirit, patient, generous toward those who erred, kind, reverent, and humble in his dealings with others. It remained his brightest trait amid murmuring, reproach, and provocation, and was reflected in his reverent response when called at the burning bush. His humility was joined with generosity, nobility, sound judgment, and fully developed qualities, so that his life embodied the truths and standards he taught and enabled him to exhort others effectively and speak from the heart.
Meekness as described in the verse means patience and gentleness under wrong. Genuine humility is not a fitful effort to conquer self by human strength but a grace to be cherished by those who desire to see God's glory.
The description was given under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In Moses' time this character was not prized by heathen or Jews, so the statement that he was the meekest man on earth would have excited pity or contempt rather than praise or being regarded as condemnation. Yet meekness is a precious grace, among the first qualifications for Christ's kingdom, whose divine beauty is revealed in Jesus' own life and character. It is learned from Christ through Christian experience, including the school of affliction.
How Moses Became Meek
Meekness was not Moses' nature, for he was naturally impatient, yet he was chosen to deliver Israel and trained as a general, at first supposing that deliverance would come by force, so that he killed an Egyptian who was smiting an Israelite. He then fled to Arabia, to Midian, and kept sheep for forty years, where his pride and self-sufficiency were swept away. In that solitary wilderness life with God, seeing God's majesty in the mountains showed him his own weakness and the insignificance of Egypt's gods, while the simplicity of shepherd life removed the effects of Egypt's luxury and ease.
Through long discipline and severe trial in close connection with God he firmly grasped God's grace and humbly sought and pleaded for wisdom from heaven until he was strengthened and overcame his impatience. After struggling to uproot pride and habits shaped by Egypt, he became mild in spirit, patient, reverent, humble, teachable, generous toward those who erred, and kind, with strong faith in the God of Jacob. Through that long discipline he learned humility until he became teachable and fit for God to guide and trust with Israel's leadership, not trying to control the Holy Spirit but himself controlled by the Spirit.
He became the meekest man on earth by the grace of Christ, which never makes a person proud or lifted up in self but makes him meek and lowly in heart as he learns of the divine Master. He did not gain it at once but by forty years in Midian learning to be a good shepherd by caring for the weak, guiding the wayward, and seeking the wandering, having humbled his soul before God and learned his lesson at the feet of Jesus. That shepherd training fitted him to be a general to lead Israel out of Egypt and to care for God's flock by nourishing the weak, instructing the wayward, and bringing the lost back to the fold, living as seeing the invisible God and learning daily in the school of Christ.
God Defended His Servant
The declaration that Moses was very meek above all men stands in the midst of murmuring against him by Miriam and Aaron. Their complaint sprang from jealousy and envy, from ambition and self-originating resentment. They claimed equal authority with him, as if God spoke through them no less than through him. They believed he considered himself superior to them and resented the prominence given him.
He bore a heavy burden as the chosen instrument to carry out God's will and purposes. God's Spirit was upon him, and God had placed him in his prominent position and laid the burden of the work upon him. Human judgments of him did not agree with God's view of him as chosen and faithful.
To complain against him was irreverence not only to him but to God who had chosen him. The Lord was displeased with the speaking against His exceptionally meek servant and revealed His wrath in defense of him. The cloud was removed from the tabernacle and did not return until Miriam was removed from the camp, for she was struck with leprosy. Moses did not retaliate but pleaded with God for her healing. She remained shut outside the camp seven days, and Israel did not journey until she was brought back.
The rebuke of Miriam and Aaron and the declaration of Moses' standing were meant as a warning to all Israel, not to those two alone. Their recorded murmuring stands as a rebuke to all who yield to jealousy and complain against those upon whom God lays the burden of His work. Miriam's punishment served as a warning against rebelling against God's established leadership and chief governor.
God Honored Moses Highly
God honored Moses not for the training he had gained in the Egyptian court but because of his meekness. He was specially chosen as the visible leader and chief governor of Israel, one of the Lord's representatives since the days of Adam who kept alive the influences imparted from heaven. He was illustrious for spirituality and moral excellence, and for his self-sacrificing zeal he received the testimony that he was the meekest and most humble of all the human family.
God distinguished him from other prophets and declared him greater than a prophet. He talked with him face to face as a man talks with a friend, directly and plainly and not through visions, dreams, or dark sayings. He led him in a special manner and revealed His glory to him as to no other person on earth.
Through long years of discipline Moses learned humility until he became teachable and fit for God to teach, guide, and trust with the leadership of Israel. He lived as seeing the invisible God and learned daily in the school of Christ. His meekness meant that he did not try to control the Holy Spirit but was himself controlled by the Spirit. That teachable humility helps explain why he received divine wisdom and guidance.
His humility and forbearance, joined with love for God, piety, zeal, and faith greater than that of any other man on earth, gave him great influence among Israel. He wisely directed matters concerning the people's religious life. His meekness and humility brought him honor from God, and he faithfully carried out the high and sacred responsibilities entrusted to him.
His meekness did not make him unfaithful nor lessen the authority God had given him. Though his shepherd's life had been more peaceful, he remained in the position and authority God had given him until God dismissed him.
Meekness Did Not Prevent Failure
The meekest man on earth could not by meekness and unselfish care quell the people's insubordination, even with his best efforts, but instead faced jealousy, suspicion and slander. Though his shepherd's life had been more peaceful, he remained in the position and authority given him until dismissed.
His meekness did not prevent anger when he saw Israel's apostasy, for he was zealous for God's glory and, seeing the people break the law by worshiping an idol, cast down the stone tablets. Meekness did not keep him from acting with bold persistence when Israel's welfare and interests were at stake, for he set aside natural timidity and persistently pleaded with God to spare and not destroy the people, even when offered exaltation through their destruction and the raising of a better people in their place. Meekness could coexist with plainly recalling wrongdoing when directed by God for the people's humbling, for he repeatedly recounted Israel's sins and defended his leadership when their murmuring required it, and before his death reminded them of their rebellion and of his anguished pleas for them, that they might remember their sins and God's unappreciated mercy.
Even he was still tempted, with Satan tempting him to take for himself glory that belonged to God.
He long bore with the rebellion and obstinacy of Israel, proved by long endurance, but at last on the borders of the promised land at the waters of Meribah his patience gave way when the water ceased and the people forgot God's long supply and murmured instead of walking by faith. Made angry by continual murmurings and reproaches, he was provoked into anger and impatience and let them provoke him. When told to speak to the rock that it would give its waters, he spoke as though he and Aaron would provide the water, saying in effect whether he would bring water from the rock, and angrily smote the rock twice with the rod instead of speaking to it as directed.
By giving prominence to self and glory to himself he failed to believe God and to sanctify Him and show Him as holy in the eyes of Israel, taking God's place before the people. His sin marred his role as a representative of Christ. For this one sin of forgetfulness and carelessness he was judged to die with rebellious Israel before crossing the Jordan and was barred from entering Canaan, and his long record of faithfulness did not atone for it, his honored position making the failure more serious.
From this God's people are to learn that when self is exalted and given prominence God's work is neglected and He is dishonored, that His name and His alone is to be magnified on the earth, and that He will work counter to those who work counter to Him and work against them and manifest His displeasure. The account teaches that even a meek and faithful person must guard against self-exaltation and loss of self-control, and that sin brings consequences regardless of past service. His experience is a solemn lesson and warning to those in positions of responsibility against dishonoring God, especially school presidents.
Following Moses' Example
Those who carry forward God's work, if they desire to be honored by God, must be humble and distinguished from all others by humility like Moses, for he was singular in humility, the meekest of men and the greatest man who ever stood as leader of God's people, and the one noted for meekness can be trusted for Christ to reveal Himself to the world through him without any threads of selfishness woven in. God's workers should cultivate exceptional meekness like his as they seek to follow Christ's example. Canvassers in particular should cultivate it by following his example. That meekness is to be copied by the canvasser, together with chastity like Joseph and temperance like Daniel, and when this character is present a power will attend him wherever he goes.
The verse means meekness learned by humbling, showing what Moses became through trial and training from pride and self-sufficiency to patience, reverence, and humility, and it teaches the need to learn humility and meekness, to put away self-sufficiency and walk humbly before God. It teaches helping one another all that is possible, being careful not to drive a soul in peril further from Christ, and speaking and acting as God's little children, not as men who would kill. The history of Miriam and Aaron speaking against Moses when he was very meek requires guarding sacredly the interests of one another. A course like theirs — criticizing and condemning brethren, giving loose rein to the tongue in evil surmising and seeking to be first, putting human estimate upon God's messengers and disparaging their work and cutting away the influence God appointed them to have — meets the signal displeasure of God, puts one out of sympathy with God and angels, and brings the same judgment from God in return for things that dishonor His name.
The record of their murmuring from jealousy stands as a rebuke to all who yield to jealousy and complain against those upon whom God lays the burden of His work, since complaint against such a chosen burden-bearer with God's Spirit upon him is irreverence not only to him but to God Himself who chose him and brought God's wrath. His humility was joined with generosity, nobility, sound judgment, and fully developed qualities, and his life embodied the truths and standards he taught, enabling him to exhort others effectively and speak from the heart. That exceptional meekness was a spirit of humility and patience developed through years of toil and waiting in Midian. It enabled him to bear accusations, unbelief, and murmuring without complaint, and prepared him to face pride and envy from those who should have supported him, while his teachable humility helps explain why he received divine wisdom and guidance.
The verse declares that Moses was very meek above all the men upon the face of the earth, singular in humility as the meekest of the human family. His meekness was unassuming lowliness that distrusted self and made God his counselor, showing itself in mildness, patience, gentleness under wrong, generosity to the erring, and humble endurance of murmuring and provocation. It was not his nature, for he was naturally impatient and forceful, but he became patient, reverent, humble and teachable through forty years keeping sheep in Midian, where pride and self-sufficiency were swept away and he learned to care for the weak and wayward. Because of that meekness God chose him as visible leader and chief governor, spoke with him face to face plainly and not in visions or dreams, and when Miriam and Aaron murmured against him from jealousy God vindicated him and struck Miriam with leprosy until Moses himself prayed for her healing. Yet even the meekest man failed at the waters of Meribah when provoked to anger he spoke as if he would bring water and smote the rock instead of speaking to it, and for thus exalting self and not sanctifying God he was barred from Canaan, which warns all who bear God's work to cultivate his humility and guard against self-exaltation.
Meaning of Meekness
Numbers 12:3 testifies that Moses was very meek above all men upon the face of the earth, singular in humility, the meekest and most humble of the human family. His meekness stood out among all people and stood in contrast to the murmuring against him, and it is given as the reason the Lord was displeased with Miriam and Aaron for speaking against him and defended Moses as His chosen and faithful servant entrusted with a heavy burden. Their complaint sprang from jealousy and self-originating resentment and ambition, claiming equal authority and believing he considered himself superior, while human judgments of him did not agree with God's view of him. God honored him not for training gained in the Egyptian court but because of his meekness, talking with him face to face as a man talks with a friend, and the same holds for all who carry forward God's work.
His meekness meant humility and unassuming lowliness, without pride, recognizing his own weakness and making God his counselor rather than trusting in himself. It was formed through severe discipline and close connection with God, after struggling to uproot pride and habits shaped by Egypt, until he became mild in spirit, patient, generous toward those who erred, kind, reverent, and humble in his dealings with others. It remained his brightest trait amid murmuring, reproach, and provocation, and was reflected in his reverent response when called at the burning bush. His humility was joined with generosity, nobility, sound judgment, and fully developed qualities, so that his life embodied the truths and standards he taught and enabled him to exhort others effectively and speak from the heart.
Meekness as described in the verse means patience and gentleness under wrong. Genuine humility is not a fitful effort to conquer self by human strength but a grace to be cherished by those who desire to see God's glory.
The description was given under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In Moses' time this character was not prized by heathen or Jews, so the statement that he was the meekest man on earth would have excited pity or contempt rather than praise or being regarded as condemnation. Yet meekness is a precious grace, among the first qualifications for Christ's kingdom, whose divine beauty is revealed in Jesus' own life and character. It is learned from Christ through Christian experience, including the school of affliction.
How Moses Became Meek
Meekness was not Moses' nature, for he was naturally impatient, yet he was chosen to deliver Israel and trained as a general, at first supposing that deliverance would come by force, so that he killed an Egyptian who was smiting an Israelite. He then fled to Arabia, to Midian, and kept sheep for forty years, where his pride and self-sufficiency were swept away. In that solitary wilderness life with God, seeing God's majesty in the mountains showed him his own weakness and the insignificance of Egypt's gods, while the simplicity of shepherd life removed the effects of Egypt's luxury and ease.
Through long discipline and severe trial in close connection with God he firmly grasped God's grace and humbly sought and pleaded for wisdom from heaven until he was strengthened and overcame his impatience. After struggling to uproot pride and habits shaped by Egypt, he became mild in spirit, patient, reverent, humble, teachable, generous toward those who erred, and kind, with strong faith in the God of Jacob. Through that long discipline he learned humility until he became teachable and fit for God to guide and trust with Israel's leadership, not trying to control the Holy Spirit but himself controlled by the Spirit.
He became the meekest man on earth by the grace of Christ, which never makes a person proud or lifted up in self but makes him meek and lowly in heart as he learns of the divine Master. He did not gain it at once but by forty years in Midian learning to be a good shepherd by caring for the weak, guiding the wayward, and seeking the wandering, having humbled his soul before God and learned his lesson at the feet of Jesus. That shepherd training fitted him to be a general to lead Israel out of Egypt and to care for God's flock by nourishing the weak, instructing the wayward, and bringing the lost back to the fold, living as seeing the invisible God and learning daily in the school of Christ.
God Defended His Servant
The declaration that Moses was very meek above all men stands in the midst of murmuring against him by Miriam and Aaron. Their complaint sprang from jealousy and envy, from ambition and self-originating resentment. They claimed equal authority with him, as if God spoke through them no less than through him. They believed he considered himself superior to them and resented the prominence given him.
He bore a heavy burden as the chosen instrument to carry out God's will and purposes. God's Spirit was upon him, and God had placed him in his prominent position and laid the burden of the work upon him. Human judgments of him did not agree with God's view of him as chosen and faithful.
To complain against him was irreverence not only to him but to God who had chosen him. The Lord was displeased with the speaking against His exceptionally meek servant and revealed His wrath in defense of him. The cloud was removed from the tabernacle and did not return until Miriam was removed from the camp, for she was struck with leprosy. Moses did not retaliate but pleaded with God for her healing. She remained shut outside the camp seven days, and Israel did not journey until she was brought back.
The rebuke of Miriam and Aaron and the declaration of Moses' standing were meant as a warning to all Israel, not to those two alone. Their recorded murmuring stands as a rebuke to all who yield to jealousy and complain against those upon whom God lays the burden of His work. Miriam's punishment served as a warning against rebelling against God's established leadership and chief governor.
God Honored Moses Highly
God honored Moses not for the training he had gained in the Egyptian court but because of his meekness. He was specially chosen as the visible leader and chief governor of Israel, one of the Lord's representatives since the days of Adam who kept alive the influences imparted from heaven. He was illustrious for spirituality and moral excellence, and for his self-sacrificing zeal he received the testimony that he was the meekest and most humble of all the human family.
God distinguished him from other prophets and declared him greater than a prophet. He talked with him face to face as a man talks with a friend, directly and plainly and not through visions, dreams, or dark sayings. He led him in a special manner and revealed His glory to him as to no other person on earth.
Through long years of discipline Moses learned humility until he became teachable and fit for God to teach, guide, and trust with the leadership of Israel. He lived as seeing the invisible God and learned daily in the school of Christ. His meekness meant that he did not try to control the Holy Spirit but was himself controlled by the Spirit. That teachable humility helps explain why he received divine wisdom and guidance.
His humility and forbearance, joined with love for God, piety, zeal, and faith greater than that of any other man on earth, gave him great influence among Israel. He wisely directed matters concerning the people's religious life. His meekness and humility brought him honor from God, and he faithfully carried out the high and sacred responsibilities entrusted to him.
His meekness did not make him unfaithful nor lessen the authority God had given him. Though his shepherd's life had been more peaceful, he remained in the position and authority God had given him until God dismissed him.
Meekness Did Not Prevent Failure
The meekest man on earth could not by meekness and unselfish care quell the people's insubordination, even with his best efforts, but instead faced jealousy, suspicion and slander. Though his shepherd's life had been more peaceful, he remained in the position and authority given him until dismissed.
His meekness did not prevent anger when he saw Israel's apostasy, for he was zealous for God's glory and, seeing the people break the law by worshiping an idol, cast down the stone tablets. Meekness did not keep him from acting with bold persistence when Israel's welfare and interests were at stake, for he set aside natural timidity and persistently pleaded with God to spare and not destroy the people, even when offered exaltation through their destruction and the raising of a better people in their place. Meekness could coexist with plainly recalling wrongdoing when directed by God for the people's humbling, for he repeatedly recounted Israel's sins and defended his leadership when their murmuring required it, and before his death reminded them of their rebellion and of his anguished pleas for them, that they might remember their sins and God's unappreciated mercy.
Even he was still tempted, with Satan tempting him to take for himself glory that belonged to God.
He long bore with the rebellion and obstinacy of Israel, proved by long endurance, but at last on the borders of the promised land at the waters of Meribah his patience gave way when the water ceased and the people forgot God's long supply and murmured instead of walking by faith. Made angry by continual murmurings and reproaches, he was provoked into anger and impatience and let them provoke him. When told to speak to the rock that it would give its waters, he spoke as though he and Aaron would provide the water, saying in effect whether he would bring water from the rock, and angrily smote the rock twice with the rod instead of speaking to it as directed.
By giving prominence to self and glory to himself he failed to believe God and to sanctify Him and show Him as holy in the eyes of Israel, taking God's place before the people. His sin marred his role as a representative of Christ. For this one sin of forgetfulness and carelessness he was judged to die with rebellious Israel before crossing the Jordan and was barred from entering Canaan, and his long record of faithfulness did not atone for it, his honored position making the failure more serious.
From this God's people are to learn that when self is exalted and given prominence God's work is neglected and He is dishonored, that His name and His alone is to be magnified on the earth, and that He will work counter to those who work counter to Him and work against them and manifest His displeasure. The account teaches that even a meek and faithful person must guard against self-exaltation and loss of self-control, and that sin brings consequences regardless of past service. His experience is a solemn lesson and warning to those in positions of responsibility against dishonoring God, especially school presidents.
Following Moses' Example
Those who carry forward God's work, if they desire to be honored by God, must be humble and distinguished from all others by humility like Moses, for he was singular in humility, the meekest of men and the greatest man who ever stood as leader of God's people, and the one noted for meekness can be trusted for Christ to reveal Himself to the world through him without any threads of selfishness woven in. God's workers should cultivate exceptional meekness like his as they seek to follow Christ's example. Canvassers in particular should cultivate it by following his example. That meekness is to be copied by the canvasser, together with chastity like Joseph and temperance like Daniel, and when this character is present a power will attend him wherever he goes.
The verse means meekness learned by humbling, showing what Moses became through trial and training from pride and self-sufficiency to patience, reverence, and humility, and it teaches the need to learn humility and meekness, to put away self-sufficiency and walk humbly before God. It teaches helping one another all that is possible, being careful not to drive a soul in peril further from Christ, and speaking and acting as God's little children, not as men who would kill. The history of Miriam and Aaron speaking against Moses when he was very meek requires guarding sacredly the interests of one another. A course like theirs — criticizing and condemning brethren, giving loose rein to the tongue in evil surmising and seeking to be first, putting human estimate upon God's messengers and disparaging their work and cutting away the influence God appointed them to have — meets the signal displeasure of God, puts one out of sympathy with God and angels, and brings the same judgment from God in return for things that dishonor His name.
The record of their murmuring from jealousy stands as a rebuke to all who yield to jealousy and complain against those upon whom God lays the burden of His work, since complaint against such a chosen burden-bearer with God's Spirit upon him is irreverence not only to him but to God Himself who chose him and brought God's wrath. His humility was joined with generosity, nobility, sound judgment, and fully developed qualities, and his life embodied the truths and standards he taught, enabling him to exhort others effectively and speak from the heart. That exceptional meekness was a spirit of humility and patience developed through years of toil and waiting in Midian. It enabled him to bear accusations, unbelief, and murmuring without complaint, and prepared him to face pride and envy from those who should have supported him, while his teachable humility helps explain why he received divine wisdom and guidance.