Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Ezekiel 28: The Sin Of Pride

Ezekiel 28 reminds us that one of the chief sins we can commit is pride.
God hates pride.  That comes through loud and clear in the Proverbs and the Prophets.  It is a teaching seen through the parables of Jesus and in the epistles of the apostles.  Whether a hypocrite, a Pharisee, a king like Nebuchadnezzar or the king of Tyre, the hubris that comes from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought is roundly condemned throughout scripture.  Some (C.S. Lewis, for instance) even say it was the sin  of pride that made Satan become the devil.

The chapter begins with God building His case against the ruler of Tyre on account of his pride.  He has made himself a god in his own mind!  "The word of the Lord came to me:: Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GodBecause your heart is proud and you have said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,” yet you are but a mortal, and no god, though you compare your mind with the mind of a god" (vs. 1 and 2).  There is only one man who can claim to be God - and the prince of Tyre isn't Him!

There is a consequence of punishment for such pride.  The prophet reveals God's decision on the matter: the king of Tyre will be thrown down and unceremoniously killed.  "Therefore thus says the Lord GodBecause you compare your mind with the mind of a god, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor.  They shall thrust you down to the Pit, and you shall die a violent death in the heart of the seas" (vs. 6-8)

The good news is that there is a cure for pride.  It's called humility.  If God despises the proud, He loves the humble.  The Bible often pairs its teachings against pride with calls for us to take on humility.  Consider how you can walk humbly with your God today.  Remember, there is a God, and you're not Him!

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