“在灭亡以先，必有骄傲；在跌倒以前，心中高傲。”
箴言 16:18
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Proverbs 16:18
The account of King Nebuchadnezzar is an example of how pride can lead to a fall. The prophet Daniel reminded him that God had given him “dominion and power and might and glory” (Daniel 2:37). Nebuchadnezzar initially acknowledged Yahweh was “the God of gods and Lord of kings” (v. 47), but pride got the better of him when he ordered everyone to worship a ninety-foot-tall gold statue of himself (3:1–6).
Ignoring God’s warning, he persisted in his pride and said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built . . . by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (4:30). Just as he was boasting about this, he was suddenly struck down by an illness, believed to be boanthropy, a rare mental disorder where a person believes he is a cow or ox (vv. 31–33).
After seven years, God restored Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity. Then he humbly confessed, “Now I . . . praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven. . . . Those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (v. 37). The arrogant king learned that “when pride comes, then comes disgrace” (Proverbs 11:2) and “pride brings a person low” (29:23).
When have you seen pride lead to disgrace?
No comments:
Post a Comment