Choose Humility

Ezekiel 28:1-8

1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus
saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up,
and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of
God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man,
and not God, though thou set thine heart as the
heart of God:
3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no
secret that they can hide from thee:
4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou
hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and
silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou
increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up
because of thy riches:
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou
hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon
thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall
draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom,
and they shall defile thy brightness.
8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou
shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the
midst of the seas.

The king of Tyre was filled with pride and arrogance. He believed that his kingdom's riches were the result of his own wisdom and strength. He was such a stark picture of conceit that many believe Ezekiel 28 refers to the devil himself. His vanity and his greed for material wealth and power motivated him to exploit nations around his kingdom, leading to God's proclamation of doom against him.

One of the Bible's overarching messages is that God hates human pride and that He will deal firmly with those who refuse to humble themselves. The pages of the scriptures are filled with accounts of people who allowed sinful egotism to destroy them. That's the way it works: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).

But that message has a wonderfully hopeful opposite, and it's summarized perfectly in the writings of the apostle James: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:10).

The king of Tyre had the opportunity to humble himself and to put God in His rightful place in his heart. He chose instead to exalt himself, leading to his fall. Likewise, God calls each and every one of us to humble ourselves and allow Him to lift us up in His time.

Reference: 365 Essential Questions from the Bible
www.barbourbooks.com

The Grim Reaper Preacher says, "Try reading the Bible from cover to cover - you'll like it."