Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. Proverbs 16:18.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Moses conversed with Me like a friend does with his friend. I came to meet him in the burning bush on Mt. Horeb (also known as Mt. Sinai). I sought him out. I gave him My Covenant Name that I had never revealed before to those who walked with Me. I preserved him in a miraculous way as an infant. I worked wonders with him in the earth just with his shepherd’s staff in his hand but My mighty arm obtaining the result in partnership with him. No one knew Me like Moses knew Me. He not only saw My works, but he also sought to know My ways.
I gave him the first writing of My Word, written with My own hand. I revealed to him the story of the creation of the earth and of the patriarchs and prophets. He wrote the book of Genesis as if an eyewitness account by revelation on the mountain top as he became radiant in My Word. I told him of things to come, the appointed times in the calendar of salvation (the moedim), four of which have be gloriously fulfilled and three of which remain but are coming soon. Even Jesus explained that Moses wrote about Him.
Moses understood the Passover lamb and the sacrificial offerings in the tabernacle and the office of the High Priest. I gave him the rules of how to govern a nation and move over two million people in an orderly and organized fashion across a vast and arid desert. I rained down bread from Heaven before him and sent quail to the camp. I gave him water out of flinty rocks, enough for over two million people and their flocks and herds. I gave him the plans for the most amazing mobile temple ever designed or built by man. And at age 120 his vigor was unabated and his eye not dim. He knew Me and I knew him. He did not want to go anywhere if I was not with him.
But what is the most outstanding praise I give about Moses?
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3.
Through all the revelation, fellowship, and outstanding wonders that took place at his hand he became more and more humble in his love and awe of Me and his hunger for My glory to fill his life. The more he saw of who I was and the more he learned of My power exercised in love, My slowness to anger and compassion for My stiff necked people, the more in love with Me he became. Instead of pride at all the great favor I gave him, it humbled him to the point that he became radiant every time I spoke My Word to him. He was grateful but above all he loved Me.
What did he advise his fellow Israelites as he led them to the land I had promised them from the time when I made covenant with Abraham? And these words came from his own heart.
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
And Jesus quoted that as the most important commandment. It made the life of Moses stand out alone as qualifying him for leadership and great responsibility. Do you recall what Jesus asked Peter that qualified him to lead and feed the flock of the Church? Yes, “do you love Me more than these?” Moses loved Me more than any other person that was redeemed out of Egypt. He stood out for his love, which made him humble in gratitude.
He was faithful in all My household. And he was with Me in glory on the mountain of the transfiguration with Elijah and conversed with Jesus, the One about whom he had written.
He knew the power in My Word. Moses loved My Word. He wrote songs with it. The first song revealed in the Bible, Moses wrote. Exodus 15:1-21. And the last words to the Israelites before he departed this life were written as a song. And I tell you that in Heaven the victorious saints are singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Moses sings the song of the redeemed and Jesus sings the song of the redeemer.
And what is it that made Moses so close and so in love with Me? Hearing, writing, and knowing My Word. When people truly receive My Word, it humbles them and the seed of that Word planted in their heart saves their soul, that is renews and transforms their mind, will and emotions so that all the pride becomes humility (like happened to Job when he for the first time heard My Words from Me, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6) and all the bitterness and blame melts away in My love (The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. Job 42:12).
When you take in My Word it is imperishable seed and in that seed My life is in you. For I am My Word, it contains My divine nature and is a living Word, living and working in you to take you from glory to glory. And what does My Word in you go to work to produce? It grows in you to change you into My image and according to My likeness. Remember? Seeds produce in kind!
Moses was continually occupied with My Word, continually looking for Me in My Word. And so was Joshua. I told him to meditate, speak, hear, do My Word day and night to make him more than a conqueror. And it did. He even commanded the sun and moon to stop in the sky, he stopped the orbit of the earth for a day. You still are trying to make up for it.
When you love My Word, you love Me. When you love Me, you love My Word. And when that Word becomes the way you think and speak and becomes your song, and I become your beloved and you are Mine, that is when I know I can trust you to be one with Me forever.
When through seeing Me in My Word you have fallen in love with Me from your heart for who I am to you it is then My Word can go to work in you to do great things. When life has no meaning without Me so that sin is not attractive to you, that is when you have fallen in love with Me in the truest sense and that is humbling yourself under My mighty hand. That is when I can exalt you with no danger of your leaving me for yourself. Fame and riches (as I gave to David), great crowds coming to hear you teaching and be healed, as happened for Jesus, cannot pull you out of Me because all you see is My glory working all this and you stand in humble awe.
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. John 5:19-20.
The quickest way to humility is to love and honor My Word. I resist the proud but give grace to the humble.
Too many do not know Me or love Me, not because they are rejected by Me but because they think they know better than Me what to do to. When you act as My critic and as if it were your job to police and judge what I am about, like Job did when he let the devil into his life, I cannot trust you with even the little things let alone the greater matters of life.
“Do you love Me more than these? Feed My sheep.” Love alone keeps you humble and willing to serve another with no resentment or bitterness thinking that you are way too good to be doing servant tasks.
And even for those who love Me there is a form of pride that is not always detected but is deadly. It is thinking because of the revelations you receive in My Word that you know better than anyone else what My Word says and how to walk with Me and you become unteachable. And this is true in any walk of life. Becoming proficient in your task can cause you to hold yourself as knowing more than others and not being able to receive what I have imparted to them that would further you into higher levels as well.
Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22.
That too is a form of pride and a hardened heart. Do you think you are the only person to whom I give revelation of My Word? I want all to know Me from the least to the greatest and you are not the only member in the Body of Christ.
Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3.
If you want to keep from destroying yourself and your ministry, for everything you are called to do for the Kingdom is ministry, watch out for pride. Let Me show to you what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. Guard your heart from pride and you guard your mind from deterioration. Moses mind was good even at 120 years old. And yours should be too.
Chapter 4 of the book of My prophet Daniel, who always walked in humility and received tremendous revelation and kept his position of preeminence in three different empires, you find this amazing testimony of king Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. “How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:1-3.
This is his testimony after he fell to a very low level that nearly destroyed his life and empire through pride. Let us go on with his story because if you have begun thinking of yourself as knowing more than any others think again. And I warned him ahead of time, but he was not mindful of the warning and prided slipped in.
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me. But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy god; and I related the dream to him, saying, ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.” Daniel 4:4-9.
From experience with another dream that he had, which Daniel interpreted, he finally call on Daniel.
“Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great. The tree grew large and became strong and its height reached to the sky, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it. I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven. He shouted out and spoke as follows: ‘Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit; let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field; and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let a beast’s mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him. This sentence is by the decree of the watchers and the decision is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men.” Daniel 4:10-17.
And that was the dream he had seen and told to Daniel. He then asked Daniel to interpret it since the wisemen of his kingdom could not. Daniel 4:18.
Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries! The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth 21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged—it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth. In that the king saw a watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,” this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules. Daniel 4:19-26.
Daniel told him the dream and gave him the advice of how to avoid losing his mind.
Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity. Daniel 4:27.
Pride would do it, humility in honoring Me would save him from the destroyer’s work. When you become proud that is the nature of the devil and it destroyed him. He then instilled that seed in Adam, who planted it in his mind and heart and it destroyed Adam as well.
But the king was not careful and really had no respect for Me but only for himself.
All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. Daniel 4:28-33.
Be careful. Guard your heart. Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. The quickest way to humility and promotion, for with humility come riches and honor, is to love, honor, and respect My Word in awe. As you behold My Word you are changed from glory to glory. But Nebuchadnezzar learned and see how he got justified and sanctified and came back to his right mind.
“But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; fFor His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” Daniel 4:34-35.
And the result? Humility brings riches and honor. It is pure.
At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” Daniel 4: 36-37.
Pride keeps you from enjoying your life and being able to enjoy others. Pride makes you resentful and jealous of others promotion knowing you are better. Pride makes you think you are your own source, and when you find out you are not, it is a great fall.
When you come to know My love for you and experience the greatness of My power towards you as Moses did, that is when you can only stand in wondrous awe at the goodness of the One who loves you and gave you everything for you to enjoy. And you find it all by seeking Me in My Word and letting it plant in your heart and do its work to change you into My image and according to My likeness.
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. Genesis 1:11.
Seeds produce in kind. Plant what you want to become.
Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came— and the Scripture cannot be broken—then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world?” John 10:34-36.
I love you. Proud people do not inherit eternal life. They know too much to humble themselves. Sometimes to save them, they have to lose their mind so they can come back to their right mind.
The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Luke 8:35.
Pride is subtle but it is a demon spirit. It started with the devil himself. Isaiah 14:12-15. Watch out for it, get it under your feet.
And I have destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. Ezekiel 28:16-17.
On your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life. Genesis 3:14.
And may I leave you with this thought. Jesus when He emptied Himself of equality with Me and came and died for you in the flesh how did He describe Himself? Remember He had more revelation than anyone ever had or will, He kept all My commandments, which no one ever had done or ever will, and lived in the miraculous, healing whole crowds, multiplying bread, making the blind see and cripples walk, and casting out demons.
Yes, you know: meek and humble of heart.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
And may I add more: He never rejected anyone who came to Him. He never thought He was too much above you to be open to come to your home and dine with you and you with Him. Humility brings promotion. I gave Him the Name above every other name, to whom every knee shall bow. Humility brings riches and honor.
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.
And you are joint heirs with Him. Think about that! Are you watching My Word come to pass with love?
The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honor and life. Proverbs 22:4.