Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
Obadiah 1:2-4
It seems that on just about every page of the entire Bible, there is some condemnation of pride. God hates pride. Pride is mentioned over and over in the book of Proverbs as one of the things that God hates. Pride is specifically mentioned as the thing that caused Lucifer to fall. He said in his heart, “I will…, I will…, I will…, etc.” This is one more passage in which God reminds us just how much He hates pride.
In verse two, God tells the Israelites that He has made them small and despised among the heathen. And He did that because of “The pride of thine heart…” Their pride deceived them and it destroyed them. They exalted themselves “as the eagle,” and God brought them down.
The same contrast is seen in the Bible over and over again. If we bow ourselves in humility and lowliness, God will help us and lift us up. If we lift ourselves up and swell up with pride, God will bring us low. It happened to the children of Israel. It has happened over and over again throughout history. And it will happen to us if we allow the awful, devastating sin of pride into our lives.
The next time we feel pride swelling up within ourselves, we would do well to remember these verses: “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee…” Is our pride deceiving us today?
Justified Freely 