In our world, we don't usually think of the meek gaining much of anything except for those things that the strong don't want. An inheritance, however, does not depend on the strength of the one that inherits. Jesus Christ described Himself as meek when He said "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 KJV). We also know that this meek Lamb will overcome those who are evil, and take His place as Lord over all. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful." (Revelation 7:14 WEB).  He also said that His death would cause the devil - the prince of the world - to be cast out: Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. (John 12:31 WEB). How did the devil come to be the prince of the world, and how did it become necessary for Jesus Christ to redeem mankind?

Originally, dominion of the earth was given to man. God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (Genesis 1:27-31 WEB). According to God, man's position over the earth was good. There was one commandment that was given to man: Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17 WEB).

Someone who was truly meek would have obeyed this commandment. Adam and eve, however, chose to disobey God.  Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Yes, has God said, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'" The woman said to the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" The serpent said to the woman, "You won't surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit of it, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:1-6 WEB). 

After deciding to be proud instead of meek, God questioned Adam and Eve: Both of their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" The man said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" (Genesis 3:7-11 WEB).

Adam decided that he would not be meek and humble himself, and so he blamed his sin on God and on Eve: The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12 WEB). God questioned Eve, and she decided not to be meek and humble herself, and so she blamed her sin on the serpent: Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (Genesis 3:13 WEB).

Because Adam and Eve decided not to be meek and obedient, the devil took dominion of the earth. Furthermore, man is completely unable to justify himself. Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12 WEB).  But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 WEB). God, through the free gift of grace, has redeemed us all, and made it possible for man to be justified in Jesus Christ. But the free gift isn't like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not as through one who sinned: for the judgment came by one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification. For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. For as through the one man's disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one will many be made righteous. (Romans 5:15-19 WEB).