“The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!”
2 Samuel 1:19
It is a thing of shame when a nation that had previously ruled is defeated and brought to scorn. In the same way, it is an error when a child of God embraces sin instead of living righteously like the royal breed they are.
The leading cause of any fall is pride. It can be the pride of feeling that you know much, or the pride of feeling like you can expose yourself to certain temptations because you’re too strong to fall, or even the pride of knowing better than God – especially when He gives certain instructions that seem unreasonable to man – and, therefore, unwilling to obey Him or walk in His ways.
The only thing that was able to strip Israel off their beauty and dignity was their pride, which stemmed from the fact that they were bound to God by covenant and were His beloved. Imagine a nation whose God had always risen to defend being brought to waste because they believed that their own ways were better than their God’s.
The lamentation that rose in Israel after their defeat showed just how wrong they were. Beware, dear Christian, of losing your royal inheritance at the feet of pride.
Charge: Watch your steps; do not be that mighty one who falls.
Further Study: Lamentations 5, Isaiah 1-4.
Happy weekend.
