A Tale Of Two Kings - [2 Chronicles 26]

This is a tale of two kings. Both established their throne.

Both ruled and reigned their kingdom. They both grew their kingdom. Both commanded armies under them.

Both grew great and mighty. Both became famous. Both tasted success.

And both sinned against God with the awful sin of pride.

Both sought the glory of their own name, not the glory of the Lord. Both were self -exalting.

And both lived in seclusion. One as a leper, and one as it were, as a beast of the field.

Turn with me to the passage that was just read in 2 Chronicles 26, if you will.

King Uzziah. We find ourselves here during the divided kingdom.

As was read, Uzziah was part of the southern kingdom of Judah. And as verse 1 says,

And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father,

Amaziah. If you read the account in the book of 2 Kings 14 and 15, a different name is used for the same king

Uzziah. Azariah is the name that's used there. Both names have special meaning to them, which are significant to the drama in the story in our text and scripture here.

Uzziah, the name Uzziah literally means, The Lord is my strength. The Lord is my strength.

And that will play a significant role as we go through this text. The one that's used of him in 2

Kings, the name Azariah means, The Lord has helped. The Lord has helped, which will also play a significant role as we go through our text.

So 16 years old, verse 1, they make him king. Verse 2, he built Eloth, which was a significant first act that he did as king, because that was a seaport.

And he restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. Verse 3,

Uzziah was 16 years old, again mentioned a second time, when he began to reign, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem, which was the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah.

Reigned 52 years, till he was 68. His mother's name was

Jekoiah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the

Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. One of the common repeated phrases in the book of Chronicles, to distinguish those kings that were godly, and those kings that were ungodly, is what they did in not the eyes of men, but in the eyes of the

Lord. As it said here of Uzziah, he did what was right in the eyes of the

Lord. A king who was ungodly would be said of him, he did what was evil in the eyes of the

Lord. And we can say that Uzziah came in the long line of godly kings, because the southern kingdom of Judah, out of the 344 years, 234 of those years were ruled by godly kings.

And not only that, but as our text says in verse 4, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father

Amaziah had done. Now when it says that they did right in the eyes of the Lord, it doesn't mean every act of theirs as a king, was righteous before the eyes of the

Lord. Actually, his father, if you look back at the end of chapter 25, verse 27, we won't get into the history of his father, it says more of him in the book of 2

Kings. But verse 27 of our chapter 25 before it says, From the time when he, his father, turned away from the

Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. So though his father turned away from the

Lord, it was said of him that he did right in the eyes of the Lord, his father Amaziah, and in the same manner, his son did what was right in the eyes of the

Lord, King Uzziah, in the long line of godly kings.

This was in quite contrast to the book of Judges, when there was no king, and the book of Judges ends on this sad note,

Judges 21, verse 25. In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

In his own eyes. But here it's, he did right in the eyes of the

Lord. A key verse in the book of 2 Chronicles, if you were to study the book, is 2 Chronicles 16, 9, where it says,

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

The eyes of the Lord run to and fro. So he did right what was in the eyes of the

Lord, not in his own eyes. Even the writer of Hebrews says that everything is laid bare,

Hebrews 4, 13, to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

Not before the eyes of men or before our own eyes, but before the eyes of the

Lord. And the text continues, verse 5. He set himself to do what?

To seek God in the days of Zechariah. That's important, stop there for a moment. We're reminded again this morning from Hebrews 11, 6, that it is impossible to please

God without faith. But those who come to God must believe, the writer continues, that he exists, that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him earnestly.

So he set his heart to seek the Lord, Uzziah did. And the text continues, verse 5.

He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah. This is not the prophet Zechariah. This is not, there's a priest mentioned later in the book,

Zechariah. This is a different Zechariah. And what was his relationship with this Zechariah? Zechariah, who instructed him, the verse says, in the fear of God.

Zechariah was his man who discipled him, if you will, who instructed him, was his teacher, in what?

In the fear of God. And verse 5 continues, concerning Uzziah, who did right in the eyes of the

Lord, who came from a long line of godly kings, following in the footsteps of his father. It says at the end of verse 5, as long as, as long as he sought the

Lord, God made him prosper. It ought to remind us of the words to Joshua, who stepped in some big shoes, the shoes of Moses, and he was fearful.

And God was trying to encourage him and said to him, be strong and very courageous. And in Joshua, chapter 1, verse 8,

God told Joshua, do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything that is written in it.

Then you will be prosperous and successful. Uzziah had set his heart to seek the

Lord, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. So we see here in these opening verses of this chapter,

God prospers Uzziah. God is the one who made him prosper. That's the emphasis of the writer.

Now, many people might look at this and say, well, wait a second, as long as Uzziah sought the Lord, God made him prosperous.

So really, in a way, God might be like a genie. We just rub the bottle, and as long as we seek him, we get what we want.

Or we put in the coin in the machine, and we pick the choice of what we want. Jesus taught very clearly in terms of the character of God in the parable in Matthew 20, known as the laborers in the vineyard, or the generous landowner.

I like to refer to it as the sovereign landowner, because he hired different people at different times, did he not?

And he paid at the very end the same amount to those who were hired last, who worked less hours, and paid the same amount to those who were hired first, who worked more hours.

And they complained. What are you doing? This is unfair. You're giving to us the same amount of pay when we worked more hours, the same amount of pay you're giving to those who have worked less hours.

And the landowner's response is, do I not have the right to choose to give what belongs to me?

So this is not, the writer is not saying, we just seek God for the sake of using him to get what we want.

This is a common theme throughout the book of 2 Chronicles, that we see as long as kings like Uzziah sought the

Lord, God in his own gracious and generous and sovereign initiative made them prosper, and he made him prosper.

This is a general statement, verse 5 is, that God, as long as Uzziah sought him, made him prosper.

And now beginning from verse 6 on, as Jonathan read, he describes in detail the specifics of the prosperity that God gave him.

And to understand this section, it's really highlighted by some key words. Verse 9, it uses the word moreover.

Verse 11, again the term moreover, and it's highlighting different aspects of his prosperity.

The first verses from verses 6 to 8, it talks about his international affairs and his conquests.

Verses 9 to verse 10, it talks about his domestic affairs, how he built Jerusalem and Judah.

In verse 11 on, it talks about how he built the army. And we see here in the first section, in his international affairs, verse 6, he went out and made war against the

Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabnah and the wall of Astad, and he built cities in the territory of Astad and elsewhere among the

Philistines. And notice this, verse 7, God helped him against the

Philistines. Again, the writer's emphasis is on God, God prospering him,

God helping him. I could have entitled this The Rise and Fall of the

King, but that would be kind of man -centered. But as we see the language here that the writer is using, it's

God prospering Uzziah. God helped him, verse 7 continues, against whom? Against the

Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gabal and against the Ammonites.

Verse 8, the Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt.

Why? For he became very strong. What does

Uzziah mean? The Lord is my strength. He became very strong.

And then he gets into domestic affairs, verse 9, And moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate and at the valley gate and at the angle and fortified them.

And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns. For he had large herds both in the Shepelah and in the plain.

And he had farmers and vine graces in the hills and in the fertile lands. For he loved the soil.

And look what more he did. Verse 11, moreover, in terms of building an army,

Uzziah had an army of soldiers fit for war in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jael, the secretary, and Maseah, the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders.

The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses of mighty men of valor was 2 ,600.

Under their command was an army of 307 ,500 who could make war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy.

And Uzziah, verse 14, prepared for all the army, shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows and stones for slinging.

In Jerusalem he made engines invented by skillful men to be on the towers and the corners to shoot arrows and great stones.

He was at work. He was building Judah. He had built Eloth initially, and he's building the army, he's building the city, and he's protecting them from the enemies.

And the writer is saying, verse 7, God helped him. Verse 8, he became strong.

Uzziah again means the Lord is my strength. And notice how he culminates in this section of God prospering

Uzziah at the end of verse 15. And his fame, which was said earlier, spread even to Egypt.

And his fame spread far. Watch this. For he was marvelously helped till he was strong.

The writer doesn't say who helped him, but it's an obvious thing who helped him from the context.

Verse 7, God helped him. For he was marvelously helped by whom? By God. Till he was strong.

Uzziah, the Lord is my strength. God prospered

Uzziah. And then from verse 16 on, we see our text talking about God punishing

Uzziah. God punishing Uzziah. And verse 16 begins with what's no doubt one of the strongest words in the scripture, but in his book,

Transforming Grace, Jerry Bridges talks about God's wonderful buts, this little term.

He talks about, for example, in Romans 3, Jerry Bridges does, where the Apostle Paul, from chapters 1 to 3, talks about that we are under the wrath of God, that we are sinners, condemned to judgment by a holy

God. And then in Romans 3, verse 20, but now a righteousness from God.

He also mentions Ephesians 2, a classic passage, where it says in the first three verses, we were dead in our trespasses.

We followed the course of this world. We followed the devil, the prince of the power of the air. We were by nature objects or children of wrath.

Verse 4, but God, because of his great love for us, made us alive together in Christ.

He talks about Titus chapter 3, where it says of us that we were before Christ, foolish, disobedient, enslaved by passions, living in malice and envy.

But because of the kindness of God, he saved us. But this is not what's happening here.

Here it's the exact opposite. God is prospering Uzziah as he's seeking him. God is helping him.

God is making him strong. His name Uzziah, the Lord is my strength. Azariah, the Lord has helped.

This is a different, but verse 16, but when he was strong, he grew proud.

He grew proud. He forgot what his name meant. The Lord is my strength.

He grew proud. Verse 16 says to what? To his destruction. Proverbs 16, 18.

Pride goes before destruction, right? And a haughty spirit before a fall. Verse 16 continues, for he was unfaithful to the

Lord, his God, literally disobedient. He was disobedient, unfaithful to the Lord, his God.

How? He entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

But Azariah, the priest, went in after him with 80 priests of the

Lord who were men of valor. 80 priests. This is before Christ instituted church discipline in Matthew 16.

80 priests, men of valor, went in after him.

And notice what it says in verse 18. And they withstood Uzziah. No. They withstood

King Uzziah. They knew who they were going up against. The king.

And what did they say to him? Verse 18. It is not for you Uzziah to burn incense to the

Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense, go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the

Lord God. Why were these priests men of valor?

Because in their confrontation with the king, they confronted him based upon the word of God.

When they said that to him. Numbers chapter 3 verse 10 is very clear.

And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, that's including the king, who's not a priest, he shall be put to death.

The word of God said later in Numbers 18 verse 7. And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all the concerns of the altar, and that is within the veil, and you shall serve.

I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.

Is that what happened to Uzziah? Notice his response in verse 19. Then Uzziah was angry.

Why? It all begins in verse 16. When he was strong, he grew proud.

His response to their confrontation was anger. Verse 19 continues. Now he had a censure in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priest, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priest in the house of the

Lord by the altar of incense. God didn't strike him dead. Verse 20.

And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, the 80 men of valor, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead.

And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out because the Lord had struck him.

This punishment came from the Lord. It was the Lord who made him prosper. It was the Lord who punished him.

There's no ambiguity in the text. Verse 21. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death.

And being a leper, lived in a separate house, for he was excluded of all places from the house of the

Lord, according to the law. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.

Verse 22. Now the rest of the Acts of Uzziah, from first to last,

Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz wrote, And Uzziah slept with his fathers. They buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings.

For they said, he is a leper. And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

That was the legacy he left. He was a leper. Would have been good if Uzziah remembered

God's words to the people from the Torah in Deuteronomy chapter 8, where it says,

Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes, which

I command you today, lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up and you forget the

Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your father did not know, that He might humble you and test you to do you good in the end.

Beware lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of My hand have gotten me this wealth.

You shall remember the Lord your God for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm

His covenant that He swore to your fathers as it is this day. Uzziah had forgotten

His name. The Lord is my strength. God is the one who made

Him prosper and by when He became as strong He grew proud.

The other king is found in Daniel chapter 4 if you would turn there with me. Daniel chapter 4.

This is during the time of the Babylonian captivity. The people of God in exile.

Let's pick it up in verse 28 of Daniel chapter 4.

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of 12 months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon and the king answered and said,

Is not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?

While the words were still in the king's mouth there fell a voice from heaven. O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken the kingdom has departed from you and you shall be driven from among men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the

Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar.

He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagle's feathers and his nails were like bird's claws.

This came upon the king voice from heaven as Daniel was telling the king earlier the

God of heaven spoke this and for what ultimate purpose verse 32 is the key until Nebuchadnezzar knew what?

That the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

That's an important phrase. It's the third time it's repeated in this chapter. Earlier it was repeated in verse 25.

If you look at verse 25 in verse 32 it was God the voice from heaven the

God of heaven saying this to Nebuchadnezzar. In verse 25 it's Daniel interpreting the dream for Nebuchadnezzar when he says the same thing the

Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And then when it was repeated earlier in verse 17 verse 17 of Daniel chapter 4 and that's when

Nebuchadnezzar sees his dream has his dream the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.

That term Most High used of God is mentioned no less than six times in this chapter.

It's not the term Elohim for example in Genesis 1 in the beginning God created

He is the creator it's not the unspeakable name of God Yahweh the self -existent self -sufficient one covenant keeping

God this term Most High is the term El -Elyon for example

Psalm 97 verse 9 says for you O Lord are most high over all the earth you are exalted far above all gods.

In the Septuagint the Greek translation of the Old Testament it's the term Ipsistos it means the

God who is the highest literally He is the highest and why is that term particularly used here as it relates to King Nebuchadnezzar two great illustrations that highlight the use of this term are found earlier in our book turn with me if you will to Daniel chapter 2

God gives two illustrations to show the king that He is the Most High God that as the

Most High God He rules the kingdom of men and He gives it to whom He will chapter 2 let's pick up in verse 12 because of this the king was angry because of what he had a dream and his own people could not interpret it his own magicians and enchanters and they said actually in verse 11 the thing that the king asked is difficult and no one can show it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh so verse 12 because of this the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed so the decree went out now that's important when it comes to sovereign kings a decree is a law a command from the sovereign ruler the king that it will definitely take place verse 13 so the decree went out and the wise men were about to be killed and they sought

Daniel and his companions to kill them then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Ariad the captain of the king's guard who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon he declared to Ariad the king's captain why is the decree of the king so urgent then

Ariad made the matter known to Daniel and Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time that he might show the interpretation to the king and the text letter tells that God reveals the interpretation to Daniel go with me to verse 28 the king asked

Daniel are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen in its interpretation

Daniel answered the king and said no wise men enchanters magicians or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked but there is a

God in heaven who reveals mysteries and then the culmination happens at the end of chapter 2 in verse 47 if you jump there you see

Nebuchadnezzar's response the king answered and said to Daniel truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings

God of gods and Lord of kings the most high God the king the earthly king had set a decree which is supposed to come to pass and God to show him that he is most high higher than the earthly king

Nebuchadnezzar the decree by the earthly king never did come to pass because God in eternity past he had made his own divine decree that definitely did come to pass a second illustration of God being the most high and as the most high that he rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will is found in chapter 3 picking up at verse 8 therefore at that time certain

Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews they declared to king Nebuchadnezzar oh king live forever you oh king have made a decree here's another decree by the earthly king that every man who hears the sound of the horn pipe lyre trigon harp bagpipe and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image he had made a golden image of himself and whoever does not fall down and worship verse 11 shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace there are certain

Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon Shadrach Meshach and Abednego these men oh king pay no attention to you they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up verse 16

Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king oh Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this matter if this be so our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand oh king and I love this part verse 18 but if not be it known to you oh king that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up whenever Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach Meshach and Abednego he ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated and he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind

Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and to cast him into the burning fiery furnace the decree was you worship the image of the king otherwise you're going to be put to death so he put him in the fiery furnace to die it's a decree of the king it's got to come true what does the most high say verse 27 and the

Shadrach the prefects and the governors and the king's consuls gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men the hair of their heads were not singed their cloaks were not harmed and no smell of fire had come upon them

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said blessed be the god of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him and set aside the king's command the king's decree and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god that's the most high god he can set aside any decree or command from any earthly king because he is the highest of all and he rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will our story with the king continues in our chapter 4 verses 34 and 35 after his hair grew as long as eagle's feathers his nails were like birds' claws his body was wet with the dew of heaven living amongst the beasts of the field verse 34 at the end of the days

I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven and my reason returned to me and I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever for his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom endures from generation to generation all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing and he does according to his will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay as sand or say to him what have you done

Nebuchadnezzar knew that because as we saw in chapters 2 and 3 he had passed the decree and the most high

God set that decree aside with his own divine eternal decree it's what

Daniel praised God for in Daniel chapter 2 that we looked at briefly when

God did reveal the mystery to Daniel Daniel praised God and he said of God he removes kings and sets up kings the most high is the one who removes kings and sets up kings as Nebuchadnezzar knew first hand in the culmination verse 36 and 37 at the same time

I reason return to me that the second time he says that and for the glory of my kingdom my majesty and splendor return to me my counselors and my

Lord sought me and I was established in my kingdom and still more greatness was added to me now

I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the king of heaven for all his works are right and his ways are just and here's the clincher and those who walk in pride he is able to humble those who walk in pride he is able to humble he did it with Uzziah who grew strong forgot that the

Lord is his strength who was helped forgot according to his name that the Lord has helped him and he became proud and he did the same thing to king

Nebuchadnezzar who was doing it all for the glory of his name for the glory of his kingdom and realized that the most high sets aside earthly decrees for his divine decree some lessons that we can take away for us this evening

I have three for you very simple first of all God is holy that's the first takeaway

God is holy I remember as a young Christian I was really into memorizing scripture and one of the first verses

I learned was from Isaiah chapter 6 a familiar passage to all of us in the year that king Uzziah died this is

Isaiah's vision I saw the Lord high and exalted seated in a throne and the train of his road filled the temple above him stood the seraphim each had six wings with two they covered their face with two they covered their feet and with two they flew and they were calling to one another holy holy holy is the

Lord God almighty the whole earth is full of his glory now when I would review that I would just kind of pass by the first part of the verse in the year that king

Uzziah died and then I would say I saw the Lord high and exalted but that's a significant thing that need not be passed by over why is it in the year that king

Uzziah died as we read how he died and why how he ended up his life as a leper because he was unfaithful disobedient to God because of his pride it was in that same year that Isaiah the prophet saw the vision and of all the attributes of God that God highlights in the year that king

Uzziah died which does he highlight to the prophet Isaiah his holiness the thrice holy

God so much so that Isaiah's response is what was me I am undone I'm coming apart at the seams for I'm a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips the thrice holy

God that's what Uzziah had done in his pride he disobeyed the holy

God who made clear in his holy word what his role was to be and he usurped the role of the priest instead we learn that God is holy secondly we learn of God that God is sovereign

God is sovereign that was the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar learned the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say to him what have you done

God is sovereign and he carries out his eternal decree and sets aside any decree made by any human king because he is the most high

God and thirdly we learn from this tale of these two kings not only that God is holy and that God is sovereign but that God opposes the proud but wait pastor if God is for me who can be against me he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all who will bring a charge against God's elect it is

God who justifies yes but God opposes the proud

Peter knew that he wrote about in his first epistle 1st Peter 5 James said the same thing in James 4 6

God opposes the pride we saw that clearly in both cases here with Uzziah and Nebuchadnezzar and as Nebuchadnezzar said at the very end those who walk in pride he is able to humble the phrase that was repeated in Daniel 4 three times the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will the first time it was given to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream it finishes with this it says and sets over it the lowliest of men the most high sets it over the lowliest of men he is the most high

God he will oppose the proud he did it with Uzziah with 80 men priests of valor who withstood against him based upon the word that God gave them

Christian pride is an ugly thing it can rear its head in many ugly ways it manifests itself in an unteachable spirit if somebody is trying to teach you something and you say well

I'm already there I've arrived I know it all or it can manifest itself in a critical spirit towards other people because when you're critical of others it takes a focus of self looking at yourself before God instead of comparing myself to God compare myself with others pride can manifest itself in an unforgiving spirit you say well you don't understand that person hurt me really deeply there is no way

I will grant forgiveness do you know what they did to me that's pride speaking and you if you're not a

Christian yet by the grace of God God opposes the proud but the rest of it doesn't end there but he gives grace to the humble and the ultimate humility was shown in the person of Jesus Christ in Philippians chapter 2 the apostle

Paul made it very clear he used the Greek term morphine twice there which means the form he did not

Christ consider equality with God something to be grasped even though he was in the form of God but he emptied himself and he took on the form of a slave and this is where he highlights his humility in being found in human form

Philippians 2 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross that is true humility demonstrated by the

Lord of the universe who laid aside his glory in heaven condescended to come here to earth to be a slave to go to the cross as a substitute in obedience to the father

Paul says that is he humbled himself Jesus himself said in Matthew 18 at that time the disciples came to Jesus saying who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven that seems to be a common topic for the 12 and calling to him a child he put him in the midst of them unless you turn and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven humility means

I come to God acknowledging that I am a sinner deserving his rightful condemnation and judgment humility means

I come to God saying that is nothing that I can do that even my righteous deeds are as filthy rags humility means coming to God and turning to the only one who is the substitute and the rightful payment for my sin and the

Lord Jesus Christ in his book hard to believe pastor John MacArthur writes about this he says quote nothing is worse than spiritual pride because it is a barrier people selflessly put up that separates them from their own salvation there's only one reason why people who know the truth of the gospel are not willing to repent and believe it is because they will not see themselves as the poor prisoners blind and oppressed it has everything to do with the spiritual deadness and blindness of pride to come to God on God's terms requires us to recognize our own total unworthiness and inability and that means the death of pride and the death of self end quote and that is why