Isaiah 10:12,13

"Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent ..."

In this portion of God’s Word, He is speaking of judgment on Israel, and using the king of Assyria, and his armies, to bring that judgment to pass. Israel was due this judgment because of their sin against God. So, He used the nations around them to carry out the judgment.

He speaks of finishing the work of judgment, though. And then He speaks of judging Assyria. The reason for His judging Assyria is they are guilty of pride. God promises to judge them because they think that they have been able to defeat Israel because of their own strength and wisdom. The thing that they don’t see is that they have been able to defeat Israel because God allowed it to be so. He made it possible, not their own abilities.

In the book of Revelation, God rebukes the church in Laodicea for the same sin. He tells them, "... thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked ..." Their pride was so great that they were entirely unaware of their spiritual condition. They thought they were something, but before God they were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. God goes on to encourage them to turn to Him for a right view of themselves, and for that which would restore them to Himself.

In Isaiah 14:12-14 the story of the fall of Lucifer, known as satan, is recorded. " How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Pride, it turns out, was his downfall as well. For he thought that he could be God. That he could take God’s place. He aspired to be in the throne that only God could occupy.

Genesis 3 records the fall of mankind through sin in the persons of Adam and Eve. A careful reading of the account will reveal that the sin of pride was also at the root of that event. The enemy used the very thing that caused him to fall to tempt the first humans. And it worked! "... you will be like God..." Isn’t this exactly what the enemy wanted for himself? Ever since that day the human race has fallen prey to this strong temptation. I am in control! I will do this or that or the other. All the while ignoring the fact that the God of the universe holds our lives in His hand. Every breath is a gift from Him. Every beat of the heart is His doing.

Proverbs 6:16-19 reminds us, "These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Among everything there is the proud look. How much better is it to give God the glory for that which He has done. How much better to acknowledge Him. To do otherwise is pride, and that is something that God hates. May we learn to give Him the glory in everything!

HJK