ESOCS Devotional 21 July 2024 – Beware of Self Pride
MEMORY VERSE: “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV
TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 8:11-20
Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.
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The first 10 verses of this chapter reminded Israel that, as they enjoyed the wonderful gifts of the abundant land they were entering, they were not to forget the one who was giving them these things. They mustn’t end up loving the gifts more than the giver. How were they to express their ongoing love for God who had so blessed them? (vv. 10-11).
By their obedience, they were to remember the things God taught them through Moses, and to keep on doing them. For not only was God giving them a lovely place for their own, but Moses reminded them how God had so carefully looked after them through their rebellious years (vv. 15-16).
But Moses also points out another big danger they needed to guard against when, as the years went by, they became well settled and prosperous in the land God was giving them. What was that danger? (vv. 12-14, 17).
The danger of great success is that it can lead to great self-conceitedness – the attitude of “Look at me and what I have accomplished”. That certainly happened to a great king of Babylon. We read in Daniel Chapter 4 that: “Nebuchadnezzar was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon and, as he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendour.’” That chapter went on to show how God put Nebuchadnezzar through a very humiliating experience to humble his arrogant pride.
The important truth of Moses’ words in verse 18 is something we should all keep in mind, especially if there is anything in our life of which we are ‘a little bit proud of’! Whether it’s our careers, our talents and skills, our marriage, how we raised our children . . . we need to work hard at all of these and do the best we can to be successful. But we must always remember that it is God who gives us the power. And He does so because of the promise He made to Abraham to bless his spiritual descendants. Therefore, “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” (Rom 9:16 NKJV).
So, what would happen to Israel if they became so full of themselves that they forgot God? (vv. 19-20). They would end up like the very nations who God was driving out of the land. The nations in Canaan had long rejected God and followed wicked ways. The same would happen to Israel if they ever forgot who it was that had given them such blessing and success.
- Have you been flaunting and boasting of your perceived achievements to spite others?
- Gracious Father, help me to understand and show gratitude that whatsoever I have or may have achieved comes from you the giver of all, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Further Reading: Ezekiel 36:16-32; Mark 16:1-8; Acts 9:20-31
ESOCS Devotional 21 July 2024
