Portraits of Meekness

Abraham

Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
[Gen 18:2]

Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
[Gen 23:7]

Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
[Gen 23:12]

One of the pictures or portraits I have of Abraham as I read the book of Genesis years ago was of this simple man of faith bowing low before people he met, with utmost humility. Then, I wondered if it was for this simple, humble state of mind Abraham had that God chose him to walk the land alone, going to the land where God said He’d lead him into.

God had the plan all the while to take the land, and God would in time, grow Abraham’s descendents into a huge nation who would go in to take the land under the leadership of Joshua.

However, Abraham’s time was not the time to take the land.

It would be foolhardy of him to do so.

A wise man like Abraham knows the times and season. He also knew the nature of his calling.

Moses

Moses did not begin meek. He saw the Israelites under severe bondage. He wanted to help deliver them. But he tried to do this on his own strength, in his own wisdom, and in his own time. Moses was presumptuous:

“One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"

The man said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘What I did must have become known.’

When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian…
[Exodus 2:11-15]

After this presumptuous move to deliver the people on his own strength, Moses had to flee for his life. And for 40 years, he remained in the university of the desert of Midian learning the virtue of meekness.

When God appears to him in Exodus chapter 3 to finally instruct him to be the deliverer he had wanted to be, 40 years ago, Moses was no longer interested. In his long conversation with God in Exodus chapters 3-4, we can see that Moses realized that the task was not as simple as he had earlier thought, when he rashly acted and bungled it. This time, he gave God many excuses why he felt unqualified, and why God should send someone else instead. After God had countered all his objections, Moses finally told God that he was just not interested:

‘…Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."’
[Ex 4:13]

Peter

Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
[Matt 26:33-35]

We know that all the apostles fled when Jesus was captured. And Peter who had been most presumptuous did exactly as Jesus said he would—betray Jesus three times.

Peter, like Moses, had underestimated his own ability. He wasn’t even aware of his own unpreparedness for the task he had set himself.

Peter was not ready when he thought he was, to be the witness he had wanted to be for Jesus. There had to be a work of God in his life first. This came in Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, including Peter, in the upper room. Then, he was ready to be the witness he had wanted to be.

Both Moses and Peter had presumed themselves to be ready to serve God, when they were actually merely undergoing the period of preparation. When the power came to move, both men knew the power of God. When the power to act comes, it is a reality, not a presumption.

Both men had to undergo a season of obedience and preparation.

Only God know how long a season of preparation we each need.