Words that Inspire

In the last post, we discussed Isaiah 10 and explored the fate of Assyria and its king, who tried to defeat God’s children and went off script in terms of his divine assignment.  I am continuing with the same bible passage, but we will be looking at it from a different angle. I will summarize the passage below.  

 

Story Summary

The main story is in Isaiah 10:5-19. In this passage we see that God sent Assyria to punish the children of Israel for their transgressions. The assignment God assigns to the king of Assyria is in verse 6. 

 

I send him against a godless nation,

    I dispatch him against a people who anger me,

to seize loot and snatch plunder,

    and to trample them down like mud in the streets.

 

We see in the next verse that the king of Assyria decides he wants to carry out his own agenda. Instead of just looting and plundering, he wants to completely destroy the children of Israel. The king of Assyria boasts that he has conquered nations before Israel and he has the best commanders, so he will abandon God’s plan and carry out his own. Because of this willful change in plans and the  God decides that after his work with the children of Israel is done, he will destroy Assyria and cut the nation down to size.

Pride Goeth before Divine Punishment

 The king of Assyria became proud. The nation of Israel was considered a formidable opponent because they had God on their side. When God sent the king of Assyria to be a tool to punish them,  Assyria got carried away. We often do that. When God gives us a gift like singing, preaching, writing, etc, or an abundance of resources, there is a tendency to get carried away. Time and time again, I have listened to and seen men of God who become full of themselves and always talk about miracles ‘they’ have done and how ‘they’ have been a blessing to their congregation. They become full of their own importance and get a sense of entitlement. This not only happens with pastors and choir leaders, but also everyday people.   

 

All glory to God

The story with the king of Assyria teaches us that gaining pride due to an assignment God has given us or a gift, might make us feel on top of the world for a bit, but there is divine punishment right around the corner. Whatever you are good at and have achieved, NEVER forget to give the glory and honor to God. We do not have the foresight, knowledge and power God has. Without Him, we can do nothing and go nowhere. So, it is imperative that we carry that in our spirits all the time. God can take away the gift he has given or destroy and dismantle, like he did Assyria.  ALWAYS remember:

I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:8). 

 

Let humility be the order of the day. No matter how great an achievement you receive, do not forget God. I will leave us with a poem that I learned as a little girl:

 

He that is down need fear no fall

He that is low no pride

He that is humble, ever shall have God to be his guide.

 

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