The Key of Restraint - David Mitts


"Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law."  Pro 29:18 (NASB)

Click here to listen to "The Key of Restraint"


Last chapter, we examined the role of vision in the accomplishment of our destiny and the importance of restraint.  The opposite of restraint is the Hebrew word “parah” which is translated also as uncovered, to be naked, to disdain, or to go out of control.  There is a word picture in “parah” of being untrained and wild at heart with a disregard for the instructions of the Father.  

Aaron and his eldest sons, at different times, during the golden calf incident and with the offering of strange fire were “parah” and the impact was so severe on the vision of God for Israel that it brought devastating consequences.  This is the import of restraint. Vision, a sense of the why for our lives, gives us the motivation for restraint.  

When we realize that we are not insignificant, not a mistake, but a child of a Father who has implanted us with the seed of greatness and that His seed never returns to Him void, then we can begin to learn restraint.

We have an idea now of what being unrestrained looks like and the consequences of death to the vision for our lives.  Now, I want to delve into the power and nature of being restrained. One synonym for restraint is meekness.

Yeshua in the Beatitudes said: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."  Mat 5:5 (NKJV)

This was a direct quote of Psalm 37:11 "But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."  Psa 37:11 (NKJV).

I like to look at the ancient Hebraic word pictures to see into the living meaning of the words. Both of the words for meekness and inheritance are important in order to best discern the way to walk into the vision God has for each of us individually and collectively

Meekness, the synonym for being restrained, is translated from the Hebrew root “anav”. In this verse, it is used in the plural noun form “anavim” or meek ones.  In English, we treat meekness as either an adjective or an adverb.  This means it is a quality of describing either a noun or a verb. In Hebrew, it is a noun.  Why is this important? A noun implies a character of being.  A dog is a noun, a cat is a noun. Everyone knows dogs and cats are different in being or nature and therefore act differently.  Meekness as a noun implies that a transformation of being has occurred that has fundamentally changed the nature of a person or group of people that they are now meek.  To follow the cat and dog analogyone has become a cat when they were previously a dog.

The being of a person, their “is-ness” is known by the term character.  When you read a screenplay, there are characters and they each embody a role in the drama of the play.  In life, we are characters.  These are not just roles we play but the conversation of the heart that manifests in our lives.  Meekness is a conversation. Moses embodied the conversation. Look with me at Numbers 12:3:

"(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)"  Num 12:3 (KJV)

Moses showed up in the conversation of humanity known by the term “all the men who were upon the face of the earth” as meek.  In the context that we are speaking of today, Moses showed up as restrained.  This wasn’t just a behavior set but a statement of character.

In this section, Moses is being accosted by Aaron and Miriam. Let’s read:

"Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very ( meek )humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!" So the three came out. Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?" So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed. And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. So Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb!" So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "Please heal her, O God, I pray!" Then the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again." So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran."  Num 12:1-16 (NKJV)

You’ll notice another synonym for restrained is humble. In this case, Moses could easily have defended himself.  Yet He allows the Lord to speak on His defense. This is why he is considered meek or humble.  He restrains himself from defense against the adversaries and allows God to be His defense and his judge.

The defense of the Lord is to acknowledge Moses as one who is meek, humble, or restrained. The result of this is that God speaks face to face with Moses. Moses was able to see the form of the Lord.  This is a powerful reality. God calls Moses faithful.

The word faithful is Emunah.  It is the feminine or the receptive form of amen. Amen is the affirmative response to the word that is spoken. What I am trying to describe is that Moses so conformed Himself to God’s words that God saw Moses as Himself in the earth.

"So the LORD said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet."  Exo 7:1 (NKJV)

This is meekness in action. When we are restrained in our lifestyle and attitudes and how we think to the thoughts and attitudes and choices of God then we are meek.

In this place, we are in agreement with God and His plans for and through us

Meekness is a deliberate decreasing in our perspective and focusing on God’s perspective.  It is literally seeing the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.""  Joh 3:3 (NKJV)

Being born again is a description of a transformational process.  Mostly we use the term as an equivalent for being saved or for receiving Jesus into our heart.  These are definitely valid and true statements. I just want to expand the perspective a little.  What does it mean to be born? How do we know if a baby has been conceived? It is the receiving of the seed of the father into the womb-seed of the mother.  It is word mixed with word or what the Bible refers to as faith. 2 seeds become one. In our spiritual birth, it is the same, we receive the seed of God’s word into our heart and what is born is a new man, a new creation. We go from being 2 conversations, ours and God’s into one.  This is being born again. 

Being born again is the beginning of meekness or humility. I say the beginning because we need to be transformed fully by the renewal of our thinking into His thoughts, the face to face encounter that Moses had.  Then we like Moses become meek, humble and grace flows in our lives.

We live literally by faith, by the conversation of our heart and our eyes come into focus and we can see.  We have 2 eyes so we can focus. When we see with God’s eyes and our eyes, we come into a new focus, the kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God isn’t just a place called heaven. No!  It is the operation of His authority in and through our lives!

This is called meekness and it brings about His inheritance in us.

When we decrease our focus on ourselves and focus on Him then we begin to see and can run the race of our lives. This was the fervent prayer of the Apostle Paul:

"Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,"  Eph 1:15-20 (NKJV)

Paul’s prayer was for our meekness, our restraint. You see vision, seeing brings restraint!  When the eyes of our heart are opened, and the light of His word comes into our heart fully then we focus on what He focusses on and we can see to run our race with purpose.

Paul tells us that there then is an inheritance in the saints. Inheritance is what occurs for the meek, the humble, the restrained. This is the second Hebrew word I want to look at in Psalm 37:11.

But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 
(Psa 37:11)

This is the Hebrew word “yaresh”. This is the combination of “Yah” which is one of the names of God and “rosh” which means head or authorityIt is the idea that all authority comes from God through the father in the family whose job is to impart his wisdom to his children who then derive their true authority from that relationship.

Now, we can see why meekness is the key. When pride grips our heart and we think we are better than our fathers then we lose the blessing of the wisdom from above. This is called as the meekness of wisdom that leads us into true success, the paths of peace!

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (Jas 3:13-18)

Activation: Heal your relationship with the Father by releasing judgments against your father. Respect authority and see all authority as the channels of a river of blessing!

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