Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 4, 2022

There are several Hebrew words for pride in the Bible; some have different meanings depending upon the context. Some can mean majesty or excellence; others can mean lofty, exalted, or (negatively) pride. However, some are almost always negativemeaning also presumption, haughty, or lifted up.

In many Old Testament verses, words with normally different meanings are used euphemistically to symbolize pride. Common Hebrew words for tall, broad, high, and exalted can be used to denote pride. It is safe to say that pride infects the human heart and is also interwoven throughout the biblical Hebrew and Aramaic texts.

That should be no surprise, as pride is the most ancient sin. It actually occurred in Satan before the fall of mankind. What was that first sin? We learn about it and Satans fall from Isaiah 14:1214 (NKJV):

This passage in Isaiah 14 is a proverb or a taunt addressed to the king of Babylon (verse 4). But the prophecy goes beyond a mortal mans description and refers to the power behind the throne: Satan. And in verses 1214, we see clearly that Satans chief sin was pride (and envy).

Another prophecy in Ezekiel 28:1415, again addressed to a human king but also directed to the controlling influence of Satan, tells us that Satan was perfect until unrighteousness was found in him. This passage cant be talking about a post-fall human because no human (except Christ) has been perfect (or blameless before God) since the fall.1

Even Satans deception of Eve, which boiled down to getting her to doubt Gods single prohibition, was, in reality, carefully crafted and aimed at her pride. Although we must be careful in assigning or assuming motives where Scripture does not explicitly state, it is not unlikely that Eves mind began to wander in the direction of Why should we be denied anythingwere we not given dominion over all creation? And why doesnt God want me to know good and evil? Eve was deceived (Genesis 3:13; 2 Corinthians 11:3)but deceived by what? She was deceived by the serpent in the garden, externally, but almost certainly by her pride, internally.

Of the seven sins which God hates the most, pride is at the top of the list!

And when you look over that list, you can clearly see that Satan (even prior to or just in Genesis 3) exhibits every one of those character traits. Pride (I will make myself like the Most High), a lying tongue (has God said?), shedding innocent blood (he knew that Adam and Eve would be punished by God with instant separation from him, as well as mortality leading to eventual death), a heart that devised the wicked plan (of mans fall), swiftly enacting his evil purposes (quite possibly within a few days after day 7 of creation week) and a false witness (perjury against Gods own words)!

Has mankind improved any since the fall? No, if anything, we have gotten worse. Every June now, many celebrate pride month, but in reality, those outside of Christ celebrate pride every day of the year. Scripture does not paint a rosy picture of the heart of man, and pride figures in almost every condemnation passage.

And when you stop to think about it, couldnt these next three passages be the theme verses for pride month since they sum up what is being celebrated?

But it is not only the world that has problems with pride; Christians battle this sin every day. Peter reminds us to Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). James gives us the same warning as Peter did (James 4:6). Paul instructs us to Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion (Romans 12:16 NKJV), to put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3:12), and to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men (Titus 3:2 NKJV).

Why all these warnings against pride and reminders to conduct ourselves with humility? Because the Holy Spirit knows we are prone to this error. Paul even has to remind us that we need to watch our pride even when telling others about the gospel: And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth (2 Timothy 2:2425 NKJV). And Peter tells us the same thing, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

Pride infects us so deeply that we as Christians can be too proud or act too proudly even when telling someone about the salvation of Jesus, who showed the greatest humility of all (Matthew 11:29; Philippians 2:8). Even pastors/elders are susceptible to this sin, which is why Paul exhorts Timothy not to commission new Christians as elders (1 Timothy 3:6). Truly, pride is one of the sins Christians struggle with the most. It may be a trite turn of phrase, but it is true nonetheless: humility is the one thing that, once you think you have it, youve lost it.

It is worth noting here that we sometimes use the word pride in a sense which does not denote the biblical sin of pride. For example, we might say we take pride in a job well done, or we are proud of our children. These terms are more closely related to satisfied/satisfaction, pleasing/pleased, or pleasant/pleasure. And these concepts are mentioned (positively) in Scripture. See Proverbs 12:14, 18:20; Romans 15:17; 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 7:4, 12:10; and Philippians 2:16.

Pride is a very serious sin. It lay at the heart of Satans fall (1 Timothy 3:6) and was likely the sin that motivated Eve to eat the forbidden fruit (and was also likely Adams sin in following Eves rebellion). It is frequently mentioned in Scripture as one of the chief sins God hates and is one of the sins that God gives people up to when they suppress the knowledge of him.

Pride month, as it is celebrated by the anti-God, sexually humanistic culture of today, is especially abhorrent. It endorses and flaunts sinful behavior right (as it were) in Gods face. And the activities associated with pride month (parades, drag queen story hours, etc.) target children with the desire to normalize sexuality of every kind, indoctrinate them into sexual exploration, and groom children for sexual exploitation.

The psalmist Asaph characterized the hearts of those who push pride month and the gender and sexual confusion it introduces to young children and teens:

Continue reading here:

PrideBefore and After the Fall - Answers In Genesis

Category: Hebrew
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