I’m not the most consistent blogger, obviously, but I do find it funny how God will remind me of this blog. In my reading of Jeremiah this morning God spoke to me regarding pride and I was thinking that I should write a post about it. The problem is that a few posts ago I made a list for myself of topics to cover for a while. I’ve written about the first two, and honestly couldn’t even remember what was coming next. So, a little reluctantly I pulled up that old post with the list to see what was next and if my impressions this morning could fit in somehow. I wanted to chuckle when I saw what was next. Be glad to be humbled and boast only in Jesus Christ. When I wrote that a few weeks a go I was coming from a different angle and didn’t exactly expect to be reminded of it through Jeremiah but God’s words are much better than my thoughts on this subject anyway. So here goes.
In Jeremiah 50 God is speaking through Jeremiah once again to tell a nation of its impending judgment. This time it’s Babylon. The indictment is that they have oppressed Israel, are full of pride, and idolatrous. There’s not much different there from the indictments toward the other nations that are also being judged. The thing that caught my attention was verse 31 and 32, which sound so similar to other verses about pride.
- Verse 31 says, “Behold I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord God of hosts.” That reminds me of verses like James4:6 and I Peter 5:5 that say that God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.
- Verse 32 says “the proud one shall stumble and fall, with none to raise him up.” That verse reminds me of the verse in Proverbs16:18: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Though these verses in Jeremiah are directed very specifically toward Babylon, the other verses like them are very general verses pertaining to pride. So my question this morning was, how can this proud heart of mine be humble? I don’t want God’s opposition and I don’t want to fall. Thankfully the answer lies in the gospel. I can humble myself by throwing myself on the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in his saving righteousness, and knowing my own spiritual poverty. Which makes me think of this verse. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich yet for your sake he became poor so that you through his poverty might be made rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9
I want to be glad to be humbled – to remember that I add nothing to my salvation, which leads me to boast only in Jesus Christ. I can be humbled by circumstances easily but unless they lead me to the conclusion of my absolute need for a savior, it's not really true humility - only self centered embarrassment - pride in disguise.