Pride is found in every human heart.  Commonly known as the “master” sin, pride is an affront to the Lord.  God hates pride and will bring down every manifestation of it.  This truth is reflected in Isaiah 2: 17: “And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.” 

Scripture teems with individual instances of God’s wrath against this grievous sin.  Because of pride, Sennacherib lost his army (II Ki. 19: 20-35) and King Herod his life (Acts 12: 21-23).  God’s judgment fell upon Korah, Dathan and Abiram because of their pride and subsequent rebellion against the God-ordained authority of Moses and Aaron: “And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation” (Num. 16: 32-33).  It was pride and envy that tormented King Saul and filled his heart with murderous intent against David ( I Ki. 18: 6-12).

Pride caused the downfall of Nebuchadnezzar and Haman.  May we learn precious lessons on humility as we consider the Lord’s dealings with them.

Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel Chapter 4 provides us a classic example of a man who fell because he basked in the glory of his own achievements.  Instead of giving glory to God, Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, boasted : “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Dan. 4: 30).

God’s judgment fell upon him instantly: “While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee” (v. 31).  Immediately, the king was turned into a beast: “The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws”  (v. 33).

However, the account ended on a happy note when the king repented, and acknowledged Jehovah God as the Lord God Sovereign.  God graciously restored the king as the supreme ruler of his empire.  With a thankful heart, King Nebuchadnezzar declared: “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase”  (v. 37).   The great king learnt humility the painful way.  Truly, “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (I Pet. 5: 5)

Haman

King Ahasuerus promoted Haman and “set his seat above all the princes that were with him” (Est. 3: 1).  What a high honour for Haman!  All the king’s servants bowed, and reverenced him.  “But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence” (v. 2b) because “the religion of a Jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as Haman” – Matthew Henry.  Mordecai’s “defiance” made Haman’s proud spirit rage within him.  Thus infuriated, he plotted not only to “lay hands on Mordecai” but also “to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai” (vv. 5-6).   Eaten up by pride and murderous hatred, Haman was not satisfied to merely get at the man who had offended him; he went all out to plot the destruction of his nation as well.  What horrendous evil a proud heart can breed! 

After a special banquet hosted by the King and Queen in his honour, Haman passed by Mordecai who again snubbed him - “he stood not up, nor moved for him” (Est. 5: 9).  Mordecai’s “insolence” further dented Haman’s pride.  Despite the honour bestowed upon Haman by the King and Queen, he declared: “it availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate” (Est. 5: 13).

By God’s intervention, Haman’s wicked plot to destroy the Jews failed, and he was hanged on the very gallows which he had erected for Mordecai (Est. 7: 10).

Conclusion

God sets himself against the proud and abases them (Prov. 29: 23; Jas. 4: 6).  “Those that think to gain respect by lifting up themselves above their rank, by looking high, talking big, appearing fine, and applauding themselves, will on the contrary expose themselves to contempt, lose their reputation, and provoke God by humbling providences to bring them down and lay them low” – Matthew Henry.

Let us humble ourselves before the Lord and our fellow men for the Lord “giveth grace unto the humble.”