It happened after this that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came to Hanun in the land of the people of Ammon to comfort him. And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Did his servants not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?” Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. 1 Chronicles 19:1-4
Hanun was an inexperienced leader who followed the recommendation of unwise advisors. When he realized that his treatment of David’s envoys had offended David, rather than sending a humble apology to the King of Israel for his error in judgment, Hanun instead employs the services of Syria to assist him in battle against David – a battle that David had not even commenced. Hanun’s expectation of retaliation demonstrates that he knew he was wrong and had offended a king who had previously been an ally. So he prepares for battle.
This is the strategy of pride. It will not bow, so it must fight, oftentimes drawing others into the battle. For not only is Ammon forced to flee in battle, but Syria suffers losses as they flee as well. Needless losses, as the whole thing could possibly have been avoided by an admission of fault by Hanun.
What is more humbling than to admit you were wrong? This is a thing hard enough to admit to ourselves in the secrecy of our own heart, much less to expose our error before the onlooking eyes of others. We fear the loss of respect, the criticism, the perception of ourselves as being weak. So we draw our shoulders back, with chin firmly lifted in defiance, and map out our battle plan….only to end up fleeing.
The Word of God has much to say about pride; none of it good. While we live in an age that promotes self-esteem, self-pride and self-reliance, the Bible still says “without me you can do nothing”. Nothing. How’s that for an ego crusher? But the Lord God does have a way of getting to the heart of the matter.
To eliminate the stronghold of pride in our lives is no easy task, but it is a necessary one. The struggle to be free of it will put us at odds with a society that cannot understand the blessing of a life of brokenness and humility.
For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Psalm 149:4
When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom . Proverbs 11:2
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18
Every Saturday morning we have prayer at my church. Although it is a large church, relatively few people show up for Saturday morning prayer. It is usually the same people each week. I am accustomed to the familiar faces.
Today there was a new face. As soon as he walked in he stood out. He was a bit disheveled in appearance. He didn’t bring a Bible, but had a newspaper in his hand. Several times during the prayer service, he walked uncomfortably close to the platform where our worship leader was sitting. It was disconcerting. I was not the only one that noticed.
I stayed around for a few minutes after the prayer meeting. Others had gone into a pastoral ministry training session. As I walked out to my car I noticed that the man had gone out to his vehicle and was coming back into the church. I passed by him on my way out.
As I drove home, I wondered what this man’s story was. He seemed so out of place. Why was he at our church that morning? Did he know Jesus? And I will never know because I didn’t bother to find out. My scheduled religious activity had been completed and I had other things to attend to. This man and his needs did not make it to the top of my list of priorities. To be honest, he didn’t make it onto the list at all.
I drove home completely ashamed, aware that sharing only a few minutes of my time with this man may have made an eternal difference. I can only pray someone else this morning reached out to the man. But I fear that they may have been too busy receiving training on how to care for people.
Have you ever looked around your church on a Sunday morning during the worship service? If you have, you have probably noticed two distinct groups of people. There are those who seem to be so caught up in the presence of God, so focused on Him that they are oblivious to the things around them. And then there are those who are standing with their hands in their pockets, or arms folded across their chest or looking at their watch. What is the difference between these 2 groups? I believe the difference is in the extent to which the knowledge of who God is has gripped our hearts.
Too often we have allowed the holy things of God to become familiar and common. Or we have not really experienced a personal revelation of His greatness. God is to us some being living in a distant place who we sing songs to once a week. Maybe He hears, maybe He doesn’t. In any case, there seems to be no need to really “engage” in worship. But yet we leave church saying that we have worshipped God. How can you worship One that you do not know? How can you adore or praise One whose praiseworthiness you are unaware of? This at best is mere flattery of God, not worship; an attempt to perform some religious duty that we feel God requires. We may say the right words, but we remain unconvinced. Is God honored in this?
Let us fall to our knees before Him and confess that we have not known Him and have been unable to truly worship Him. Knowing that the Lord is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth, let us seek to be among that group.
PRAYER: Father, too often my worship of you has been mere attendance at a service in order to soothe my conscience that I have performed my duty toward you. But I know that you desire worship that comes from a heart that has experienced a revelation of Your glory. So I ask that You destroy every false idea of You that I have held onto in an attempt to make a god that was appealing to me, and teach me who You are in truth.
Could you do it? If you knew it was God’s will, could you pay the hit man to kill you? Tie yourself to the railroad tracks? Buy the poison that someone would put in your next meal?
Seems a bit ridiculous to even ask these questions because thinking that God would require something like this of us is quite outlandish. But this is exactly what Jesus did.
As Jesus announces that He will be betrayed by one of His disciples, He is asked by His disciples to identify the traitor.
“Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” John 13:26-27.
With these words the final sequence of events that would lead to His crucifixion is set in motion. And as Judas walks out the door on his malevolent mission, the next words of Jesus are – “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” John 13:31
NOW! Not only at the resurrection, not only at the cross, not only at the ascension, but now – in this moment of surrender and yieldedness to the will of the Father.
How beautiful our life becomes and how radiantly the glory of God shines through our lives in the act of laying our own plans, goals and agenda on the altar and bringing down the knife, preferring rather to have God’s will than the things by which we have sought to gratify ourselves.
May we daily lay all things down at His feet as an offering of surrender that He may be exceedingly glorified in us.
He is my Delight 