Saturday, December 15, 2012
Isaiah 2:17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
ADVENT ACTIONS: THE PROUD SHALL BOW
What makes us proud? Pride rears its ugly head all around us, and so often in us as well. How challenging it is to admit "I was wrong!" Self-centeredness, blaming, bragging, or simply trusting in the materials of this world over God are some of the easy ways pride tears apart relationships.
The prophet Isaiah spoke to God's people about their pride. The verses before the verse above speak about how they took pride and protection in their "tall and lofty" cedars, "towering mountains and high hills," or their "loft towers, fortified walls, and stately vessels." Pride in natural resources or in man-made securities without acknowledgement of God is a pride that "goes before destruction or a fall." How did pride surrounding the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) or the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6) turn out?
The Lord warns us against the pride of our flesh in teaching us that sin itself is a form of pride. Sin is anytime we disobey God and would rather do things our "own way." Isaiah told the people that mankind will be humbled in the day of the LORD. The Day of the Lord we celebrate soon is the coming of the Son of God and Son of Man -- the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was made low and humbled in order to bear our pride and sins on His shoulders on the cross. Jesus was exalted in that day when He rose from the dead and then went on to ascend to His Father's right hand (Philippians 2).
As we thank our Lord Jesus for His humility, we know that "all flesh shall bow" before the LORD God, when He, our King of Kings, comes again! The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 6:1) of this urgency in looking for the coming of Christ when he wrote, "We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Even so, come Lord Jesus! 