Pride on Parade
(Ezekiel 25:1-17; 29:1-21; 30:1-26; 31 1-18)
Haughty Eyes
Artist Unknown – from Project Gutenberg
Throughout the Holy Scriptures, God comes down pretty hard on haughtiness. On the other hand, He seems to adore the abased and the abused. The Lord delights in delivering the downtrodden, but He easily grows exasperated at those who exalt themselves.
In today’s Bible readings, we find the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel proclaiming the Word of the Lord, declaring judgment against the oppressors of His people. God calls out these pagan nations, who have held themselves haughtily against the truth, proclaiming their pride in themselves and their own strength and refusing to humble themselves before the one true God.
These few chapters of Scripture contain an astonishing amount of citings of a single phrase, pointing to the purpose of the Lord’s chastisement of these nations:
“Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
This statement appears in many spots of Scripture. In today’s readings, it appears here:
Depending upon the Bible translation you use, you may even find additional references using these and similar wordings.
Clearly, the Lord is interested in gaining and retaining the attention of those He has created. And is He not worthy of our devotion and dedication? Will God not go to whatever lengths are required to draw our eyes to Himself? What will it take to refocus our eyes upon the One who merits our mettle?
Why does our pride block our praise of the One true God? If we honestly look upon the Lord, we may see clearly that only the Lion of Judah deserves a pride.
Will you pray with me?
Great God,
Only You are the all-sufficient One,
Who warrants our wonder,
Deserves our devotion
And worthily wants our worship.
Draw us ever closer
To You,
So all lesser things fall away.
Amen.
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