Nebuchadnezzar Boasting of Great BabylonBible World
16:18Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride that lifts up self ends in ruin, for a haughty spirit goes ahead of a fall into destruction. It claims for self the wisdom, honor, glory and credit that belong to God, and trusts personal ability, judgment and self-sufficiency instead of depending on Him. Prosperity, success, blessings and human praise feed this danger by deceiving the heart to read God's favors as proof of personal goodness and to display its own powers. God stands against this spirit and will bring the proud down to teach them weakness and need of Him, as seen when Nebuchadnezzar's boast over Babylon was followed at once by loss of reason, position and place among men. The warning reaches individuals, families, churches, institutions and nations, especially those favored and successful near the close of time, for only Christ crucified is to be exalted and taking His glory brings certain humiliation and destruction.
Nature of Pride's Fall
Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, and self-exaltation brings danger to the soul. Pride is claiming for self the wisdom, honor, glory and credit that belong to God. That includes boasting in human wisdom, talents and success, and even taking credit for past victories in defending truth that God Himself accomplished.
Pride is confidence in personal ability and human strength, trusting one's own wisdom, judgment, self-confidence, self-conceit, self-sufficiency and self-importance instead of depending on God. Nebuchadnezzar's prosperity made him proud, and his boast about Babylon's greatness was followed at once by judgment in the loss of blessings and reason and position and expulsion from human society. Those elevated by position and reputed wisdom are in grave danger unless they depend on God, while humility and dependence bring comparative safety. Success and human praise can foster pride, so solitude, suffering and humiliation guarded Luther from self-trust after his sudden rise and prepared him to serve safely.
Prosperity, blessings, success and human praise can elevate and deceive, and can make even good people elated. They lead people to misread God's favors as proof of personal goodness or as merely their due, and to display their own wisdom and abilities. The greater the success the less fitting it is to exalt self, for human praise can turn attention from God to glorify human agents, and those buoyed by self-confidence while ignoring God's cautions go forward to certain destruction.
When lifted up and separated from the Lord, the source of strength, a person loses control of the heart so impulse overrules reason and conscience, principle gives way, and he transgresses the moral law and is overcome by temptation. Self-confidence shows itself in stubbornly maintaining a personal opinion even when others may be right, and seeing one's weaknesses and errors and reforming is necessary to avoid ruin. It also shows itself in heedlessly pressing on forbidden paths assuming one can turn back at will, where a misstep can bring eternal ruin. The conceit belongs especially to those who know little and think themselves highly capable, while greater knowledge and responsibility reveal limits and teach humility, and sight of suffering makes a person feel the weight of responsibility and discourages proud claims of expertise.
God's Answer to Pride
God stands opposed to pride and will humble and bring down the proud, and success, blessings and praise can make even good people elated and tempt them to display their own wisdom and abilities, yet the greater the success the less fitting it is to exalt self. Anyone lifted up by confidence in personal ability and human strength and trusting in human wisdom will be overcome by temptation and brought low, for when lifted up and separated from the Lord, the source of strength, control of the heart is lost so that impulse overrules reason and conscience, principle gives way, and the moral law is transgressed. God brings such a person down to teach weakness and need of divine help, and growing recognition of personal weakness should lead to humility and closer dependence on the Lord.
Nebuchadnezzar illustrates this, for his prosperity elevated and deceived him and made him proud. His boast about Babylon's greatness was followed at once by judgment in the loss of blessings and reason and position and expulsion from human society.
When a person is lifted up in his own eyes and thinks he can do something in himself, the Spirit of God is withdrawn and he is left to go on in his own strength until overthrown. Strength with God does not depend on numbers, for one who is right can move the arm of God while a multitude who are wrong are weak and can effect nothing.
God permits those in responsible positions who become lifted up to apparently prosper for a time to reveal the weakness and folly of the natural heart, then in His own time and way brings down their pride and folly and shows them their true condition. When in mercy a testimony of favor is given they frequently become lifted up, lose sight of frailties and weaknesses, rely upon their own judgment and wisdom, and flatter themselves that the work cannot be accomplished without their especial aid.
If the humbled accept the humiliation and by confession and sincere repentance turn to the Lord, perfecting holiness in His fear, He renews His love to them. If like the Jews they shut their eyes to their own sins and choose their own ways, He gives them up to blindness of mind and hardness of heart so they cannot discern spiritual things.
Only Christ and Him crucified is to be exalted, for wisdom, talents and every other blessing are not grounds for self-glory or boasting in human wisdom. Success in God's work is given by God for His glory, and when individuals, churches and institutions boast in wisdom or claim for themselves credit for success that comes from God, taking glory for self brings punishment and humiliation and certain destruction and downfall.
Warning for Believers Today
The warning reaches individuals, families, churches, institutions, and nations, for pride of heart ends in destruction and self-exaltation ends surely in downfall. Boasting in human wisdom or claiming for self the credit for success that comes from God brings humiliation, because success in God's work is given by God for His glory, not for human glory, and taking it for self brings punishment. Cherished pride weakens the church and leaves it without strength, moving it toward a fall.
Success, blessings, and praise can make even good people elated and tempt them to display their own wisdom and abilities. The greater the success, the less fitting it is to exalt self, and God opposes pride and will humble such aspirations, so care must be taken not to lift up self. Those elevated by position and reputed to possess great wisdom are in grave danger, and unless they depend on God they will surely fall, while humility and dependence on God bring comparative safety.
Ministers who sought praise and became self-exalting grew self-sufficient and trusted their own wisdom, making shipwreck of faith. Pride leads to ruin and a haughty spirit to a fall, so prideful habits can prove ruinous and the first step in that direction must be avoided. By contrast, after sudden rise to prominence, solitude, suffering, and humiliation guarded Luther from trusting in himself and prepared him to serve safely, since success and human praise foster pride and self-confidence ends in ruin.
Past victories in defending truth can foster pride when a person takes credit for what God accomplished, and that self-confidence then leaves the person weak in conflict and can bring failure. Self-confidence and a haughty spirit also lead those who heedlessly press on forbidden paths, assuming they can turn back whenever they choose, into a misstep that can bring eternal ruin.
This is the danger of God's people in all ages, and especially of those living near the close of time. When persons in responsible positions are shown favor, they frequently become lifted up, lose sight of frailties and weaknesses, rely upon their own judgment and wisdom, and flatter themselves that God cannot accomplish His work without their special aid. It is not safe to speak in praise of mortals, for they cannot bear it, and Satan makes it his special work to flatter, while God cannot do much for man because man misinterprets blessings as proof of goodness in himself. Many in the last days through pride and self-righteousness are preparing themselves for affliction and sorrow, or for complete separation from God's favor, and they will fall through self-exaltation.
Pride that lifts up self ends in ruin, for a haughty spirit goes ahead of a fall into destruction. It claims for self the wisdom, honor, glory and credit that belong to God, and trusts personal ability, judgment and self-sufficiency instead of depending on Him. Prosperity, success, blessings and human praise feed this danger by deceiving the heart to read God's favors as proof of personal goodness and to display its own powers. God stands against this spirit and will bring the proud down to teach them weakness and need of Him, as seen when Nebuchadnezzar's boast over Babylon was followed at once by loss of reason, position and place among men. The warning reaches individuals, families, churches, institutions and nations, especially those favored and successful near the close of time, for only Christ crucified is to be exalted and taking His glory brings certain humiliation and destruction.
Nature of Pride's Fall
Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, and self-exaltation brings danger to the soul.
Pride is claiming for self the wisdom, honor, glory and credit that belong to God.
That includes boasting in human wisdom, talents and success, and even taking credit for past victories in defending truth that God Himself accomplished.
Pride is confidence in personal ability and human strength, trusting one's own wisdom, judgment, self-confidence, self-conceit, self-sufficiency and self-importance instead of depending on God.
Nebuchadnezzar's prosperity made him proud, and his boast about Babylon's greatness was followed at once by judgment in the loss of blessings and reason and position and expulsion from human society.
Those elevated by position and reputed wisdom are in grave danger unless they depend on God, while humility and dependence bring comparative safety.
Success and human praise can foster pride, so solitude, suffering and humiliation guarded Luther from self-trust after his sudden rise and prepared him to serve safely.
Prosperity, blessings, success and human praise can elevate and deceive, and can make even good people elated.
They lead people to misread God's favors as proof of personal goodness or as merely their due, and to display their own wisdom and abilities.
The greater the success the less fitting it is to exalt self, for human praise can turn attention from God to glorify human agents, and those buoyed by self-confidence while ignoring God's cautions go forward to certain destruction.
When lifted up and separated from the Lord, the source of strength, a person loses control of the heart so impulse overrules reason and conscience, principle gives way, and he transgresses the moral law and is overcome by temptation.
Self-confidence shows itself in stubbornly maintaining a personal opinion even when others may be right, and seeing one's weaknesses and errors and reforming is necessary to avoid ruin.
It also shows itself in heedlessly pressing on forbidden paths assuming one can turn back at will, where a misstep can bring eternal ruin.
The conceit belongs especially to those who know little and think themselves highly capable, while greater knowledge and responsibility reveal limits and teach humility, and sight of suffering makes a person feel the weight of responsibility and discourages proud claims of expertise.
God's Answer to Pride
God stands opposed to pride and will humble and bring down the proud, and success, blessings and praise can make even good people elated and tempt them to display their own wisdom and abilities, yet the greater the success the less fitting it is to exalt self. Anyone lifted up by confidence in personal ability and human strength and trusting in human wisdom will be overcome by temptation and brought low, for when lifted up and separated from the Lord, the source of strength, control of the heart is lost so that impulse overrules reason and conscience, principle gives way, and the moral law is transgressed. God brings such a person down to teach weakness and need of divine help, and growing recognition of personal weakness should lead to humility and closer dependence on the Lord.
Nebuchadnezzar illustrates this, for his prosperity elevated and deceived him and made him proud. His boast about Babylon's greatness was followed at once by judgment in the loss of blessings and reason and position and expulsion from human society.
When a person is lifted up in his own eyes and thinks he can do something in himself, the Spirit of God is withdrawn and he is left to go on in his own strength until overthrown. Strength with God does not depend on numbers, for one who is right can move the arm of God while a multitude who are wrong are weak and can effect nothing.
God permits those in responsible positions who become lifted up to apparently prosper for a time to reveal the weakness and folly of the natural heart, then in His own time and way brings down their pride and folly and shows them their true condition. When in mercy a testimony of favor is given they frequently become lifted up, lose sight of frailties and weaknesses, rely upon their own judgment and wisdom, and flatter themselves that the work cannot be accomplished without their especial aid.
If the humbled accept the humiliation and by confession and sincere repentance turn to the Lord, perfecting holiness in His fear, He renews His love to them. If like the Jews they shut their eyes to their own sins and choose their own ways, He gives them up to blindness of mind and hardness of heart so they cannot discern spiritual things.
Only Christ and Him crucified is to be exalted, for wisdom, talents and every other blessing are not grounds for self-glory or boasting in human wisdom. Success in God's work is given by God for His glory, and when individuals, churches and institutions boast in wisdom or claim for themselves credit for success that comes from God, taking glory for self brings punishment and humiliation and certain destruction and downfall.
Warning for Believers Today
The warning reaches individuals, families, churches, institutions, and nations, for pride of heart ends in destruction and self-exaltation ends surely in downfall. Boasting in human wisdom or claiming for self the credit for success that comes from God brings humiliation, because success in God's work is given by God for His glory, not for human glory, and taking it for self brings punishment. Cherished pride weakens the church and leaves it without strength, moving it toward a fall.
Success, blessings, and praise can make even good people elated and tempt them to display their own wisdom and abilities. The greater the success, the less fitting it is to exalt self, and God opposes pride and will humble such aspirations, so care must be taken not to lift up self. Those elevated by position and reputed to possess great wisdom are in grave danger, and unless they depend on God they will surely fall, while humility and dependence on God bring comparative safety.
Ministers who sought praise and became self-exalting grew self-sufficient and trusted their own wisdom, making shipwreck of faith. Pride leads to ruin and a haughty spirit to a fall, so prideful habits can prove ruinous and the first step in that direction must be avoided. By contrast, after sudden rise to prominence, solitude, suffering, and humiliation guarded Luther from trusting in himself and prepared him to serve safely, since success and human praise foster pride and self-confidence ends in ruin.
Past victories in defending truth can foster pride when a person takes credit for what God accomplished, and that self-confidence then leaves the person weak in conflict and can bring failure. Self-confidence and a haughty spirit also lead those who heedlessly press on forbidden paths, assuming they can turn back whenever they choose, into a misstep that can bring eternal ruin.
This is the danger of God's people in all ages, and especially of those living near the close of time. When persons in responsible positions are shown favor, they frequently become lifted up, lose sight of frailties and weaknesses, rely upon their own judgment and wisdom, and flatter themselves that God cannot accomplish His work without their special aid. It is not safe to speak in praise of mortals, for they cannot bear it, and Satan makes it his special work to flatter, while God cannot do much for man because man misinterprets blessings as proof of goodness in himself. Many in the last days through pride and self-righteousness are preparing themselves for affliction and sorrow, or for complete separation from God's favor, and they will fall through self-exaltation.