BigJohn,

And I was under the impression that the Jews were the people of God in the OT and that the NT was for Jews and Gentiles(all that were not Jews).

In regards to ‘blessed are the meek’ popular opinion does not verify truth. A mantra of sorts for me is Mark 9:24….”Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief”. This is saying that one has total faith but needs help in understanding wisdom and truth. It speaks directly to me…..I accept the truth of the Bible but cannot claim to understand it fully. Faith is a gift of grace from God. Hebrews 11:1….”Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do nor see”. No one can become a Christian if he insists on agreeing with every scripture. There is a difference between those who seek to discredit and those who seek to understand it. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”…..if one humbles himself by pleading ‘help my unbelief’ he becomes eligible for the grace of God.

It is best to forget some of the connotations of ‘meek’. In this verse it can be understood as one who is without anger. surprisingly, the ‘meek’(those without anger) can be the most courageous of people…..carrying no resentment of others leads to not being afraid of anyone. Think of holy men, gurus, etc……it is difficult to imagine them as living in fear.

I like this and have experienced it in my life. Thanks..

Also very true to my views, we must humble ourselves before God's Holy Wisdom. In other words let the Holy Spirit move through us, and not spend too much time trying to prove what we think, although we have a view and the good holy books to help guide us. In other words, silence is a great teacher too.

That universal wisdom, it's there.

Backstepping a bit, mourning is healthy, and healing! There is judgment in this biblical view on mourning, we go astray.. and it's not hocus pocus, rather pointing to the inner workings of the heart and God's forgiveness.

John the Baptist baptized with water and said, Repent, and sin no more. Many thought he was the new messiah..

Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit by God, through John, as God willed, what a mystery that one. Jesus said the same thing to many people, go sin no more, however knowing we will, again and again, the point is to awaken to the process of Holyness.

Matthew 3:13-17
New International Version
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Hence, blessed are those who mourn.

Who were God's people before the Jews?
Where Adam and Eve...... Jews?

Why in the Law, where there provisions for non-Israelites?

As for ‘blessed are the meek’: I was looking at the (b) part which speaks that they will inherit the Earth.
I suspect many will argue that is not true.

BigJohn,

I suspect that many people will not attempt to understand it. It is a futile exercise to engage with skeptics…closed minds are their source of pride…:)

But the time of that process and how someone deals with it is very personal.

I wouldn't call mourning a 'blessing' but more a natural response.

:smile:
Blessed can be seen as being ' Fortunate ' enough to be able to mourne and repent which obviously brings inner comfort.....

Hahaha…..I am seeing a lot of resistance to all of this. Maybe we should consider something completely different ?

Cursed are those who mourn for they shall be tormented ?…….:)

Did you just make that up- it is very right on. I never thought about it that way.

And please rem everyone, 2-3 sentences when quoting others here...a-hem, Nowayout!