Haughtiness

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Isa 10:12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks." 13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep."

 

I love the word pictures that the prophets often used. Here Isaiah speaks of the pride of the King of Assyria. So proud that he boasted of lifting the treasures from his conquered nations and compared it to taking eggs from the nest of a brooding chicken. And the chicken (the nations) neither moved a wing or made a peep in protest. Oh yeah, this king was powerful and gave himself all the glory!

 

Well God has a word for this arrogant king and any and all others who lift themselves up above God as if all their accomplishments are their own doing. He says, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart, and the glory of his haughty looks!” He won’t be beaming so much when all he has left is a basket of rotting fruit and eggs.

 

Pr 21:4 tells us: A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.

And in Jas 4:6 , we read "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

Whenever you catch yourself believing your own press clippings remember the words of  Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

What will you bring to God on Judgment Day, a basket of rotten eggs, or the fragrance of a soul filled with Jesus? Boast in Jesus, He is all we have to brag about.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.