CHESHVAN
21
Before
Esteem
“…
And before esteem is humility.” (Pro 15:33)
Would
you allow me the license to turn this around somewhat … “humility comes BEFORE esteem.” I see this section of the verse as a
progression, similar to learning the alphabet before one can even attempt to
read a book.
Most
of us can admit that there is nothing within us that is deserving of our
Elohim’s love and mercy, yet these are facets of our Abba’s character that we
desperately need. Our friend Daniel Webster has the following
for one of the definitions of the word ‘humility’: “… a deep sense of one's own
unworthiness in the sight of God, self-abasement, penitence for sin, and submission
to the divine will”[1]. It seems that this is where true humility is born: the recognition of who and what we are
without the embrace of our Father.
I
have seen (and read) of a ‘false’ humility within the body of Messiah,
revealing a sense of pride in how humble the me/myself/I appears to be.
This is nothing new; our Master spoke of it Himself, and it is recorded
for us in Luke 18:10-14. This is a
‘false’ humility, it is very dangerous, and will not go unpunished. James, the brother of our Master, tells us to
‘Humble ourselves in the sight of the
Master’ (Jam 4:10); it is our responsibility. Should we choose to not abase ourselves, make no mistake, brethren – our loving and
benevolent Father will do what needs to be done, as is also stated in the
reference from Luke 18.
However,
when we voluntarily choose to walk in true humility before our Elohim, we must
also trust Him to elevate us to where He
desires us to be. Moshe was considered
the humblest man there ever was (see Num 12:3), yet our Creator elevated him to
be the shepherd of several million
ex-slaves. Moshe’s face would shine and
glow, reflecting the shekinah of our
Creator (see Ex 34:29-30), and this
was the evidence of the honor and esteem that our Father had settled upon
him. And are we not also called to be His light (see Mat 5:14)?
“Seek the Lord [inquire for Him, inquire of Him, and require Him as the foremost
necessity of your life], all you humble of the land who have acted in
compliance with His revealed will and have kept His commandments; seek righteousness,
SEEK HUMILITY [inquire for them, require
them as vital]. It may be you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's
anger.”
(Zep 2:3 AMPC, emphasis mine)
©2020
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