Today's Reading:O.T. - Ezekiel 25 - 27
N.T. - Revelation 3:14-21
Focus Verses: Ezekiel 27:32-34
32 As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you: "Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?" 33 When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth. 34 Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you.
Insight:
How many times in the course of human history has the world witnessed the fall of the mighty? Ezekiel prophesied against the port city of Tyre, saying, "This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Tyre: 'Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you?'' Because Tyre gloated arrogantly over the destruction of Jerusalem, it would now suffer the same fate. Instead of being a shining gem of the coast, it would now become a shattered ruin where fishermen would mend their nets and shudder at the memory of the once might city.
Pride, arrogance, and trusting in self always end with disastrous results. As the saying goes, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." Gloating over the failings of others is a deceptive and dangerous form of pride. God calls us to put our trust in him and to walk humbly before him.
Response and Action:
I must trust in the Lord with all my heart. I must never trust in my own strength. I must guard against pride and self-righteousness. I should always remember that every good and perfect gift I have comes from God. I will be thankful, and never let the gifts God has given distract me from the Giver.
O God, you have shown me what is good and what you require: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you. Help me to put my trust in you and to have the wisdom to acknowledge my weakness and dependence upon you. Help me to be a person who prays for others, and acts and hopes for their redemption. Give me a humble spirit that never takes joy in the fall of others, and never gloats when your hand of discipline is on others. Amen.
Proverbs: 30:32
"If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hand over your mouth!
Resources:
Mere Christianity ("The Great Sin" - Chapter 8)
by C. S. Lewis
