The Danger of Pride: Lessons from Isaiah 9

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel. All the people will know it – Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria – who say with pride and arrogance of heart, ‘The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig-trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.’ But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on. Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.”
Isaiah 9:8-12 NIVUK

Isaiah sharply switches from the wonder of the coming “great light”, the One who will “reign on David’s throne” forever, to a warning against Israel, the ten Northern tribes. And the message makes grim reading. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem and mostly prophesied to the kings and people of Judah, which comprised the remaining two tribes of the Jewish nation. But occasionally, he had a word for those in the North. Straight away, he put his finger on their problem – “pride and arrogance of heart”. The references to Ephraim and Samaria refer to the people and their centre of political power. 

The city of Samaria was a source of pride for the Israelites, and they had built it up, so they thought, by their own efforts. And so they reasoned that, should it be destroyed, they would rebuild it even better. Their own efforts would be sufficient, so they thought. But how did they reach this mindset, with the Assyrians building up their forces on their borders? What was it in their logical thought processes that made them think that if they were attacked, then they would just recover through their own efforts? That’s arrogance. “We did it before, so next time it won’t take so long” was perhaps their motto. 

The Israelites had obviously forgotten the proverb, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18), or another one, “Before disaster the heart of a man is haughty and filled with self-importance, but humility comes before honour” (Proverbs 18:12). In Daniel 4, we can read what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. He had a dream that Daniel interpreted for him, and it ended, “You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses” (Daniel 4:25). It was a year later that his pride and arrogance showed up, and Daniel’s prophecy came true. Daniel 4:30, “As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendour’”. The next verse delivered God’s judgment, “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom’”, and off he went to eat grass for seven years and until he “honoured the One who lives forever”.

But this wasn’t just an Old Testament problem. Jesus said, “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). About Jesus, Paul wrote, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). In the preceding verse, Paul wrote, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had“, and that really sums up all that was wrong with the Israelites. The only had an attitude of pride and arrogance, and this ultimately led to their destruction.

But we pilgrims need to be careful. It is so easy to slip into the same mindset as the Israelites, adopting an attitude of pride and arrogance. Perhaps things are going well for us, and we forget that it will be God showing us His favour, not our efforts producing good results. We must always keep close to God, thanking Him for being with us, for keeping us safe when we could so easily lapse into danger, for helping us when we run out of ideas, and for giving us His Spirit to lead and guide us through the minefields of life.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your grace and favour, and for always being with us each and every day. Amen.


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The Folly of External Beauty: Lessons from Isaiah 3

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Woman in worn, tattered clothing standing solemnly behind a sign that reads Jerusalem Day of Reckoning

“The Lord says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets. So the Lord will send scabs on her head; the Lord will make beautiful Zion bald.” On that day of judgment, the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful: ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and veils; scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, and charms; rings, jewels, party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses; mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.”
Isaiah 3:16-23 NLT

What was going on in Judah? The previous verses in Isaiah 3 paint a picture of corrupt leadership, oppression of the poor, arrogance, social disorder, and, sadly, spiritual rebellion against God. But now Isaiah turned to the “daughters of Zion”, referring to wealthy and influential women in Jerusalem who reflected the culture’s pride and luxury. In his vision, Isaiah described Zion, Jerusalem, as being like one of the affluent women who resided there, a woman who flirted with her eyes, with a mincing walk just sufficient to bring attention to herself with the tinkling of ankle bracelets, and he went on to describe a long list of their possessions. So the woman could be seen to be wealthy, obsessed with outward appearance, and oozing with excessive luxury. 

But Isaiah continued the next section with “On that day of judgement”. All the woman’s finery would disappear when the Lord stripped everything she owned away. And he related all of this to his beloved Jerusalem, the city on the hill that he loved. So much in Jerusalem was just like this woman, full of luxury and finery, but none of it would survive the judgment of the Lord. 

What was going wrong? The people of Jerusalem had become guilty of the sin of pride, outwardly beautiful but spiritually impure. The warning was that external elegance could not save a society that was morally collapsing. The people were cultivating an image of luxury and pride in its appearance while ignoring justice and holiness. They had forgotten verses like 1 Samuel 16:7, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’”. God doesn’t look at how people present themselves externally. He looks directly into what is in their hearts, what they are thinking and how they view God and the people around them. Jesus warned the people about the Pharisees in a lengthy discourse in Matthew 23. Here is a selection of verses that record what He said, “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. … What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! … Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23: 5, 25, 28). 

For Christians, God’s people, today, does that mean we must dress sombrely and even poorly, without jewellery or any other embellishments? In days past, religious groups such as the Puritans dressed in sombre colours with styles designed to be modest and unrevealing, and there is nothing wrong with that unless it becomes an obsession. The Bible never forbade finery, with Rebekah being blessed with “… a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists” (Genesis 24:22b). The virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 “… dressed in fine linen and purple gowns” (Proverbs 31:22). And of course, we mustn’t forget Lydia in Acts 16. The issue is when appearance becomes an idol, luxury becomes pride, and wealth blinds people to justice and to God.

Peter wrote, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewellery, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God” (1 Peter 3:3-4). Isaiah 3 speaks powerfully to modern culture, obsessed as it is with image, status symbols, social media presentation, consumerism and valuing appearance above character. If we pilgrims are caught up in any of this, perhaps we should pause and ask, “What are we really trusting in”? Another question perhaps is “How much energy are we expending in our outward appearance or the way we present ourselves, to the neglect of God and His Kingdom”? For the woman in Jerusalem, Isaiah had a stark reminder that beauty fades, and status could disappear at a stroke. The message to both them and us today is that Godly character lasts forever.

Dear Heavenly Father. A sober reminder today about our relationship with You and how so many worldly and temporal things can get in the way. Please forgive us for our pride and arrogance, and lead us in better ways, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Worries and Cares

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honour. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT

Is there a connection between the verse on humility and God’s care for us? Is Peter writing down unconnected thoughts or is there in fact something that unites them? We find that we must empty ourselves of pride and arrogance to become truly humble before we can be in a place where God can help us. How many times have we struggled with a problem and then, as a last resort almost, decided to turn to God for help? There is something within us that balks at the thought of seeking assistance from outside ourselves. Well, that is pride, and we have to deal with it “under the mighty power of God”. 

We pilgrims probably had an upbringing that taught us self-reliance. It is a natural way to live and survive in this dangerous world, but one that can get in the way of a total dependency on God. But there is a balance. God wants us to live our lives in accordance with His ways, not ours. And when we overlay His blueprint for living over the one we have developed ourselves, it exposes those parts that are incompatible.

Some people are terrible worriers. Their anxieties are so great that they find that even their health is affected. And if they find they are free from worry, they immediately start worrying again in case they have missed something. Their first port of call is the doctor’s surgery, and then more often than not a downward spiral of dependency on anti-depressants or similar type of drug commences. Others find that for a short time alcohol dulls the pain and brings some form of relief, but addiction can follow and exacerbate the problem. The saddest thing is when this happens to believers. Our lives in this world are inevitably going to bring difficulties and problems. Jesus warned His disciples that “ … Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). And that is the way back to sanity from all the worries of life – because Jesus is far bigger than the world and anything it can throw at Him. 

Many people worry about the state of their nation. An oft-quote verse is 2 Chronicles 7:14, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” We note that humility precedes the praying and seeking God’s face. There is no other way to pray for our nation.

Both Peter and Paul wrote about worries and cares. Paul’s contribution can be found in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. His encouragement to the Philippian church was for prayer, honest and persistent prayer, where needs were articulated and thanks were expressed. And a resulting peace was available for the worrier. As we know, the cause of the worries and cares might still be there, but more often than not, God will shine a light into the circumstances and bring a remedy. 

But back to where we started today. Pride and arrogance will get in the way of our relationship with God and will prevent Him from helping us in our troubles. Humility comes first.

Dear God. Thank You for Your graciousness in accepting our stumbling prayers. Please help us to clear out any remnants of pride and arrogance so that we can indeed come into Your presence in the humility that You desire. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Humility

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Lord, my heart is not proud; 
my eyes are not haughty. 
I don’t concern myself with matters 
too great or too awesome for me to grasp.”
Psalms‬ ‭131:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David is back in the writer’s chair. Scratching away with a quill pen on parchment or something similar – no ancient keyboards available. His thoughts for this Psalm have turned to humility. A quality much respected by God – we read in James 4:6, “And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”” In this Psalm, David declares that he is not proud, and neither is he arrogant. These are both qualities that are accepted, if not respected, in our worldly societies today but are anathema to the Kingdom of God. David continues by saying that he doesn’t get involved in matters that don’t concern him, or that he knows nothing about. As we delve down into the substance of this verse, perhaps there are uncomfortable feelings starting to emerge deep within us. When have we been found guilty of being too proud to ask for, or accept, help? Even when we desperately needed it? When have we looked down on others, thinking that we are so much better than them? And in our societies, everyone has an opinion. We pontificate on just about every subject that comes into our minds. 

“I can run the country better than our politicians”. 

“The Covid emergency would be nowhere near as bad if the public health authorities listened to me”. 

“The boss doesn’t have a clue about the best way to make widgets”. 

The list of our arrogant declarations knows no bounds. 

David continues in this Psalm by sharing what works for him – he told himself to “calm down”. The analogy with a weaned child is interesting – perhaps a child leaving behind their need for a mother’s milk is like us leaving behind our dependence on others for our spiritual sustenance, instead encouraging us to work out for ourselves our relationship with God and His Word, feeding our souls with the richness of God’s food. And in His Word we will find what God really thinks of pride and arrogance.

Paul wrote these words in his Roman epistle, “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (Romans 12:3 NLT). Hmmm…

So to our inevitable question – how does this Psalm help the 21st Century Pilgrim? By encouraging us to look to Jesus. Back to Paul again. He wrote to the Philippian church (2:5) – “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” If we follow Jesus and His example of how to live, we can’t go wrong. So we pray, “Please help me, Lord!”