“because he did not give glory to God” (Acts 12:23, NKJV)
In this teaching, as well as the following instalments, we would like to present a couple of examples of how pride affected certain Biblical figures in a serious manner, and the consequences thereof. “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Cor. 10:11), just as is spelled out in Isa. 16:6, said of Moab: “We have heard of the pride of Moab— he is very proud— of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath …” In Hebrew Moab means “of his father” (Thayer), he could, in other words, be typologically presented as the father of pride.
The first example of a proud individual is the king of Tyre (not Satan – see again the teaching of Day 1022-1024): “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you say, I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, in the midst of the seas,’ yet you are a man, and not a god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you! With your wisdom and your understanding you have gained riches for yourself, and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches).” (Ezek. 28:2-5). Clearly he had much more than other people, in material as well as spiritual terms, but his heart became haughty on account of it, and through that he brought about God’s judgement upon him (James 4:6).
The second example is the prosperous King Nebuchadnezzar who had a dream about his greatness, which showed him (through Daniel’s word of wisdom which interpreted the dream) that God would bring him to a realisation of his own pride: “At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, ‘Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?’ While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! ‘And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.’” (Dan. 4:29-32). This frightful experience took place exactly as is outlined here.
A beautiful, third New Testament example is to be found in Acts 12:21-23: “So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.” Be afraid!
- Selah: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the attitude of your heart to you, specifically in terms of pride.
- Read: 8-9; 2 Cor. 10.
- Memorise: 2 Cor. 10:3-6 (Look at the beautiful synchronicity in verse 1).
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read Guy Hersberger’s The Way of the Cross in Human Relationships.
