November 26, 2006 - Ezekiel 27-29 and I Peter 3

Pride is a terrible sin. I know that goes against everything this world tells us, but it is a fact. Anything that causes us to trust ourselves and to lessen our trust in God like pride does, is a very serious matter. Our only realistic response to God is pure humility. We must learn that truth and practice it every day.

Ezekiel 27 and 28 are prophecies against Tyre for her pride. The princes of Tyre believed that they were gods, because of their wealth and beauty. (28:2) Therefore, God destroyed them for exalting themselves against Him. I believe the passage in Ezekiel 28:11-19 ultimately refers to Lucifer's fall, even though it is given in this context, because Lucifer or Satan exhibited pride of the highest order, since he knew God's presence, but he still thought he could be God. What nonsense! That is the deadly nature of pride. That is why we must reject it. Ezekiel 29 speaks the same type of prophecy against Egypt for the same sin. Please, do not allow pride into your life, because it is the root cause of much sin and destruction.

I Peter 3 exhorts us to live out the opposite of pride. After an excellent passage on marriage responsibilities in verses 1-8, Peter gives us the guidelines for living in humility. We must live in one mind with other believers, and we must not revile others, but treat them with compassion and understanding. The only way we can do this is to forsake the belief that we are better than they are, and they deserve our wrath. This condition is caused by pride, whether we realize it or not. Let's allow ourselves to suffer for Christ's sake. In humility, let's give ourselves to the Lord and to others, so God's perfect will can be done. Let's not allow unforgiveness or strife to sneak into our lives or into our churches. That is never God's will.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 30-32 and I Peter 4.

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