God honors the humble in spirit.

“A man’s pride shall bring him low.”
The second example[1] of pride and destruction in the Bible are our great-great-grandparents, Adam, and Eve.  God was good to them and fair with them.  He told Adam His expectations for him as He put him into the garden (Genesis 2:15-17).  Adam knew what God required of him and his wife.  God had also told him the consequences of breaking His rule by disobedience.  One day Adam and Eve decided they knew better than God and willfully, proudly, disobeyed Him.

“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:5-6).

That tragic day, Adam and Eve died spiritually and became sinners, as did you and me.  This was the terrible consequence of Adam and Eve’s pride.

Pride does terrible things to people.  It lifts them up in arrogance.  It causes them to think the world revolves around them.  It seduces them away from God and His love.  It makes them feel they can do anything they like without impunity.  God says, “their pride brings them low.”  It puts distance between the sinner and God!  God has not moved, but the sinner is blindly running from Him.

“Before destruction, the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility” (Proverbs 18:12).

“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).

“But honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.”
Albert Barnes prefers this phrase to be translated as, “The lowly in spirit shall lay hold on honor.”[2]  Another Hebrew scholar explains it as “But the lowly attaineth to honor.”[3]  The Cambridge Bible says, “He that is lowly in spirit shall obtain honor.”[4]  The meaning is not hard to discern.  Where pride and destruction are partners, so are humility and honor.  Like as pride comes before destruction, so humility precedes honor.

What can we say to the lowly?  Remember that God keeps the score, do not waste your time keeping your eye on the proud, waiting for him/her to fall.  The Lord will bring honor to the humble in His time and in His way.  Do not let your impatience get the best of you.  We know that “He does all things well,” and God’s timing is impeccable.

“The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility” (Proverbs 15:33).

Quote: “Only God is able to humble us without humiliating us and to exalt us without flattering us” [5] (Ravi Zacharias).

[1] In chronological order, Lucifer’s pride and fall from heaven came first.
[2] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Keil & Delitzsch, Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[4] Cambridge Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[5] Ravi Zacharias, “Recapture the Wonder,” p.118, (2005) Thomas Nelson Inc.