Pride takes one Captive

November 20, 2016

Jeremiah 13:15-17

  

“Hear and give ear; be not proud, for the Lord has spoken.  Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings darkness before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light, he turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness.  But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears because the Lord's flock has been taken captive.”

Be not proud, why, what happens to an arrogant person, a proud people, and a proud nation?  So I looked up men who are now leaders or have been in leadership to see how they used the word “Proud” and if they were in agreement with Jeremiah.  First was our President Donald Trump, “We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again.”  And then I looked at a quote from Ronald Reagan; “We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.”  What about Douglas MacArthur; “Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.”  And shall we end with a man whose life span was 26 years on planet earth born in 1795 and died in 1821 his name was John Keats, a poet?   And this was his thoughts on the word in question: “I will give you a definition of a proud man: he is a man who has neither vanity nor wisdom one filled with hatreds cannot be vain, neither can he be wise.”

Now I believe it would be advisable to see quotes from the Bible, what has God said about being proud: Jeremiah 9:23-24. “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”  How about James 4:6, “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Now shall we look at the Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” And 1Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

One commentator said Judah was high-minded and haughty and would not heed God’s directives, does that bring to mind your nation?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice