God’s Judgment on Pride

Background Scripture: 1 Chronicles 21
Lesson Scripture: 1 Chronicles 21:1-14

Introduction

Pride implies a pleased satisfaction with what one is, has, or has done, and suggests either proper self-respect and personal dignity because of real worth, or excessive self-love and arrogance because of imagined superiority (World Book Dictionary).

Regardless of how pride affects us, it robs God of the honor due Him. How pride was able to enter the heavenly realm and move Lucifer to seek preeminence is a mystery that God has kept secret. Let us allow our pride to be judged before we face eternity, whether it motivates us to be boastful, like King Nebuchadnezzar, or to pridefully toil to maintain an apparently worthy cause, like the angel of the church of Ephesus.

Key Verse

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Prov. 16:18).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

Until the time of today’s lesson King David’s life had been one of continual conflict. He had reigned over Israel for thirty-one years and had subdued the surrounding nations. His men had slain the four remaining Philistine giants of Gath. Thirty-seven of the most valiant men in Israel (2 Sam. 23:8-39) had been his companions in his effort to bring Israel to this state of peace.

What provoked the king to number the people? Were there kingdoms farther afield that possibly posed a threat? Was David feeling pressed to do something tangible to maintain the security he had achieved? It could well be that Satan’s provocation came as a gnawing feeling of vulnerability and David thought that to know the number of his people would be a logical remedy for his insecurity.

Specific guidelines for taking census were given to Moses (Exod. 30:11-16). Money needed to be collected from every man tallied. These funds were appointed to the service of the Lord for a memorial and atonement in order to avert a plague. A census taken in this way would honor God instead of man. It would have fostered a sense of belonging to God and accountability to Him. There is no record that the king followed these guidelines. Even Joab, his ruthless general, could sense that this census would spell trouble for Israel. He told David that God could easily multiply the men of Israel and that knowing the number was not the answer. Did he perceive that the king was beginning to place his confidence in his personal success instead of in God?

Nine months and twenty days later the census was completed, except for Benjamin and Levi. It is noteworthy that the tally of Judah, David’s tribe, is listed separately. Joab’s question, “Are they not all my lord’s servants?” could suggest that the king was concerned about the loyalty of his subjects. Did the high percentage of men from his own tribe give him a feeling of superiority and minimize the other tribes’ worth?

God faithfully sent His prophet to pronounce judgment on David’s pride. Three options were laid out before him: three years’ famine, three months of being destroyed by his foes, or three days of destruction by the sword of the Lord. As the weight of his disobedience settled upon him, King David began to grasp the magnitude of his sin.

Looking back, David could see that famine had visited Canaan in the days of Jacob, when only two years of drought had brought his ancestors severe misery. Three years would weaken the nation, leaving them easy prey to surrounding foes. The elderly and children would likely suffer most.

David knew war. Three months of defeat would be demoralizing to the nation. His strongest men would likely perish. Continued defeat would also cast a shadow on Israel’s God, the One who had been their shield in battle.

Three days of pestilence—who could calculate the toll? Yet David knew that God could be merciful, whereas nature and the enemy would not. So, he chose to cast himself and his people into the hand of God. We wonder why the people bore the brunt of his pride, but this census may have aroused a feeling of invincibility among them. Perhaps they too were tempted to be gratified by their sheer numbers.

As the destroyer was about to descend on Jerusalem, David beheld the angel with a drawn sword. Falling on his face and calling on God, he accepted full responsibility for the plague. He readily accepted the counsel of the Lord through the prophet Gad. On the lowly threshing floor of a Canaanite, David found forgiveness for his pride.

Practical Truths for Today

Pride deceives and ultimately destroys us if we do not recognize it and repent. Boastful, showy pride often targets the immature and is easily detected. Its colors are worn on the surface: the mod hairstyle, the designer clothing, the flashy vehicle, or the latest electronic gadget. In dealing with this kind of pride, there may be a tendency to focus on outward fruits. We will fail to find deliverance if mere outward compliance is our goal.

Could it be that our devotion to the Lord has lost its fervency? Perhaps we have forgotten our resolve to forsake the world as we promised at the time of our baptism. Realizing how prideful we are is a good place to start in dealing with our pride. Godly sorrow for sin leads to repentance and carefulness. “Because the disciple of Jesus is conscious of his proud nature, he chooses to abstain from things that would feed his pride.” 1 We can choose to feed our pride or starve it.

Subtle glorying in our strengths, talents, wealth, or honor is included in the pride of life mentioned in 1 John 2:16. This form of pride targets those who, like King David, have been successful and can draw from their experiences on the road of life. In the quest to feel secure, our deceitful heart readily grasps for tangible evidence. We may look at our track record, our usefulness in the kingdom, our financial accomplishments, or our children and families. Instead of thankfulness for God’s goodness in these matters, smugness can settle in our hearts.

When our faults are pointed out to us and we resist, the wisdom that is from above eludes us (James 3:17). Our heart is no longer fixed on the Lord, and we feel like others are attacking us when we are reproved. We can easily see the faults of others and where they do not measure up to our sense of rightness. We fail to see that in lifting our light above the brethren, we are also rejecting the Lord. By going against the counsel of our brethren, we have manifested an obvious sign of pride.

“A desire to save face or clutching to a sense of being right will hinder us from repenting before God and receiving forgiveness of sins. . . . Worldly wisdom tells us to minimize our faults (not identifying them as sin) and take much credit for any good we possess. It is the very nature of our sinful flesh to promote the works of self as righteousness.” 2

The gospel as introduced by John the Baptist holds forth the command to repent. In the New Testament this word invariably speaks of man’s sorrow for his sins. When we are confronted by our sin, we can either choose to humble ourselves in godly sorrow or exercise the sorrow of the world. King Saul is an example of this sorrow of the world. When he was called into account for his actions, he blamed others: Samuel for arriving too late at the place of sacrifice, and the people for wanting the best things from the spoils of war. Pride caused him to lose his sense of being little. He steadfastly claimed unfailing obedience to God, despite the bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle that Samuel heard. Saul’s desire for honor blinded him to the weightiness of being rejected by God.

Godly sorrow leads to repentance. King David found this kind of sorrow different times in his life. It caused him to see that when he sinned he had failed God first. He did not spare himself or blame others. “Repentance involves the giving up of all excuses for disobedience and being obedient in all things.” 3

Although a humble person is not constantly questioning his standing with God, he does see his depravity and realizes how easily it can lead him astray. He will pay careful attention to the concerns of others, realizing the safety of being in unity with the brotherhood. We are admonished in the Word of God to humble ourselves, and that includes growing in the grace of seeking and accepting the counsel of our brethren and our family.

Questions

1. How do we humble ourselves? Is it the same as repenting of pride?
2. What can we do to move beyond a verbal admission of pride?
3. Discuss: If my brethren point out pride in me, does that mean that I have ignored God’s personal judgment on my pride?
4. Since we are proud by nature, can we repent of pride, or only of how it is manifested?
5. 1 Bible Doctrine and Practice, p. 287
6. 2 Milford Zimmerman, Messenger of Truth, December 24, 2014
7. 3 Reuben Koehn (1907-1995), Selected Editorials, p. 601
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).