Words of Wisdom #290: Arrogance before the Lord will be Humbled

When the Lord gives you rest from your pain, torment, and the hard labor you were forced to do, you will sing this song [of contempt] about the king of Babylon and say: How the oppressor has quieted down, and how the raging has become quiet! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows. It subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution. All the earth is calm and at rest; people shout with a ringing cry… Sheol below is eager to greet your coming. He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you—all the rulers of the earth. He makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. They all respond to you, saying: “You too have become as weak as we are; you have become like us! Your splendor has been brought down to  Sheol, [along with] the music of your harps…Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. You said to yourself: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the [gods’] assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the  Most High.” But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the  Pit… The offspring of evildoers will never be remembered…“I will rise up against them”—the declaration of the Lord of  Hosts—“and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will make her a swampland and a region for wild animals, and I will sweep her away with a broom of destruction.”…Isaiah 14:3-32 (HCSB)

Babylon was the home of the Chaldeans and it became known for its beauty and grandeur, but also for its haughty rulers who proclaimed their own greatness. When they plundered Jerusalem and brought back to their lands the wealth of the temple and palace of the Jews with them, they felt they had defied and defeated the God of the Jews as well. However, little did not realize that they had accomplished the bidding of the Lord and that their arrogance and haughtiness would cause them to be humbled quickly as well. The Jews that were taken into exile to Babylonia after Jerusalem was destroyed were not subjects of the Babylonian kings for long. Persia rose up as the new empire and took Babylon while the Babylonians (Chaldeans) were reveling and partying over their plunder. They were blinded by their own images of greatness, and they felt they were better than the gods they conquered. However, this time they were not flaunting themselves before a man-made god, but the God of the Universe, the one true living God, and He would not let their arrogance go without punishment. And as the passage states they were hurled down in defeat and made the same as their captives, captives themselves.

The Lord is a gracious and just God, and though their were lessons to be learned by His chosen people over their own haughty ways, and misguided attitudes, the Lord responds harshly to those who believe they are without judgment and accountability for their actions. The Lord will bring them down and place them in their rightful place with the humblest of all His people. As the wise saying in Proverbs states:  “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” Prov 16:18 (HCSB)

True greatness in this world never needs to be flaunted. The greatest champions are the most humble of God’s chosen because they know from where their talents and gifts came from. In God’s kingdom, the greatest responsibility comes with the greatest accountability, so beware of wanting to be more than the Lord believes you are able to handle. Be careful that your pride may blind you into believing you are great because of who you are, rather than who you belong…

Coach

www.coachbrown.org

But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and the men of high position exercise power over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the  Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.” Matt 20:25-28 (HCSB)