How Losers Win . . .

Numbers 34; Psalm 78:40–72; Isaiah 26; 1 John 4

A daughter tells her pushy mother that she needs boundaries. A landowner tells his neighbor that the fence between them is pushing the property line. A little one tells her grandmother that the family dog keeps invading her space. A woman tells a group of teens to “get off my property.” Israel tells the countries around her that “this land is mine because God gave it to us.” Yes, Numbers describes the territory assigned to Israel with precisely defined borders.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east . . . .” (Numbers 34:1–3)

Who can count the wars that have been fought over the land that was marked out as belonging to God’s chosen people? But is the land God promised really about turf and turf wars? So much of the OT reveals the patterns of God — how He works is revealed in the history of His people.

For instance, The escape from bondage in Egypt is a literal illustration of spiritual salvation from the bondage of sin. The wandering in the wilderness illustrates the life of a believer who waffles concerning the commands of God and struggles against Him until all disobedience is replace with faith and then willingness to enter and fight the spiritual battles in that “land” or life of promise.

What about this description of boundaries? Was it a literal allotment yet with spiritual significance? Do those boundaries illustrate that I am free from bondage yet there are places I should not go and things I should not allow in my life? Certainly, God gives me boundaries for protection and that I might live for His glory. Does this mean that the nation of Israel, largely in a state of unbelief in their Messiah, still have a right to the land they claim? Or are they missing the spiritual significance in the reason for the allotment given so many centuries ago?

Yesterday’s church service makes me think how the teachings of Jesus were so contrary to His culture and to ours. He said things like “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) This poverty of spirit is the last thing anyone wanted. In their minds, the kingdom of heaven was won by keeping all the rules.

Jesus followed with, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) This is so contrary to their thinking and ours too. Gaining territory is about taking it, or at least inheriting from a previous owner and has nothing to do with meekness. Even that word is a turn-off because it suggests weakness, a doormat, and no one wants to be one of those.

However, meekness is not well-defined in our culture. The Greek word means ‘strength under control’ like a wild stallion that has been tamed and will do whatever his master wants. It is more about self-control of great power. Instead of going to war to get, grab and take, a meek person let’s others have, go first, be in charge. The Jews didn’t like that idea, nor do most people today. I feel uncomfortable with it too. Yet Jesus said it.

This beatitude as well as the others describe the way His followers think and act. It also describes the outcome of that way of life. Those powerful in religious zeal will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who realize there is nothing in them that deserves it will go into it. Those who are assertive and powerful will not inherit the earth, but those who are meek are promised it! Even though I must strive against spiritual evils to live for Jesus, I do not have to fight for anything else, including the ‘good life’ and including “the earth and the fullness thereof” for it is mine by letting God control me.

The idea that meekness is strength under control is still full of scary ‘what if’ questions such as how will others treat me? How will I behave in daily situations? Will I be misinterpreted? Will other Christians reject me? Will being like Jesus lead to persecution and death?

The bottom line is what Jesus said: “The meek shall inherit the earth.” The psalmist adds, “and delight themselves in abundant peace.” (Psalm 37:11) The ancient Israelites missed it because they tried to get it by their own efforts. Today’s ambitious people try to get it by war, wrangling, money, and manipulation, but Jesus said it happens for the meek. He calls me to live contrary to the world, to human reasoning, to what makes sense. The only application to all of this is abandoning my own understanding and yielding to Him in faith without fear.