Mistakes of Pride – Isa 10
“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
Isaiah 10:12Assyria, And the glory of his high looks.”
By definition, pride is something that is hard to identify in our lives. It is much easier to see it in others. But the very thought that we are not prideful is actually pride!
In Isaiah 10, we see how God feels about pride and some of the mistakes that pride causes people to make. This is seen with the nation of Israel and the nation of Assyria.
- Pride causes us to disregard God’s laws and to mistreat others (v.1-4). The leaders of Israel did not care about others: the needy, the poor, the widows, the fatherless. They only cared about themselves. So they made unrighteous and grievous laws. If we find that we don’t love others or care about them, or if we find we don’t care about God and what His Word says, then that is a sure sign of pride in our lives.
- Pride makes us think that any effectiveness or success is due to our own abilities (v.5-19). This is what Assyria thought. As they conquered nation after nation, they began to think that it was due to their own cleverness and courage. But what we learn from God is that He was the One behind them, using them as ‘the rod of [His] anger’ and the staff in their hand was ‘[His] indignation’. Everything they accomplished and were able to do was only because the Lord allowed it and used it. How foolish we are to think that we can do anything on our own. We should labour and work hard, but the whole time we must remember that it is the grace of God that enables us and sustains us (1 Cor 15:10). If we have any thought that we can do or have done something because of our own abilities, we are mistaken and prideful.
- Pride causes us to trust in things and people other than God (v.20-34). Israel had stayed themselves (depended) on outside powers and nations, continually thinking that alliances with Assyria and Egypt might help them. This was a form of pride. Instead, they should have stayed themselves on the Lord, and realised that He was the One who formed them as a nation, called them, delivered them from Egypt and from Midian. And He was the One in whom they needed to trust. If you and I find
ourselvers looking to anything or anyone other than God for help, hope, and strength, we are pridefully foolish. No one and nothing can do what God can do for us. All other sources will fail.
May God help us to see how much pride there is in our hearts. May these common mistakes show us our pride and cause us to confess and humbly trust in the Lord today.