Blessed are the Meek - a Parable

There once lived a very wise man in a small village. Because his attire was not gay and gaudy and that he dressed in rags, the people of the town assumed he was poor. However, because of his great wisdom, he had amassed great wealth and distributed it discretely to those in need.

Now, the governor of the town was a rich man. And because of his great riches, he had imagined that his city was invincible. He threw many a banquet and always invited the finest of guests, but never once did he invite the poor commoners to sit at his table.

However, it happened that a great king came to attack the city. He surrounded the city with his archers and horsemen, built massive bulwarks to scale the walls and take the city. Now, when the watchmen on the tower sounded the alarm, the people of the city were unprepared. They sought among themselves who would be mighty and brave. Word traveled up from the paupers that the poor hermit was also wise. Therefore, the governor of the city came to him and offered him great riches if he could amass the people and lead them to battle.

During the night, while the people sat huddled in the meeting hall dicussing their plan of attack, the wise man schlepped under the walls and caused the king's horses to stampede his army. On the morrow, the watchman announced joyfully that the governor had defeated the king and his army.

People praised the governor year after year and held a banquet to remember his victory. As always, the poor wise man was invited, but never was he recognized for his deed which had saved the city. He always sat at the lower tables by the door and his feet were never washed.


How often do we spend a few hours working on a project for work, for the community or for friends and then get no thanks. No one recalls that it was OUR idea that turned out to be such a success. So, in turn, we pout and think of all the malicious things we will do to get back at those who stole our idea or benefited from our endeavors without ever taking the time to recognize us.

The Great Rabbu said, “Blessed are the meek for the will inherit the land.” Yahshua was Hebrew and spoke a dialect of Hebrew known as Aramaic. The word, Blessed, would not have been the same as we use – as if to say, “blessed be the Name of the Almighty.” However, the word in Hebrew is “Ash'Rei” It means Happy. Often we view MEEK people as those with low self-esteem. But in truth, those who are sincerely meek are happy. They don't have a false since of humility. When someone else gets the credit that the meek deserve, they are the first to congratulate them and pat them on the back for their hard work, and not in a sarcastic manner.

This parable is derived from Kohelet (Ecclesiastes 9:13-16)