Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Thanks for joining our study as we begin a two-part series about “pride.” First, we review what the Old Testament says and what it means for us. Then, next week, we discuss the New Testament.
Let’s start by defining “pride” and then review two well-known stories from Genesis that illustrate the concept.
Surely, you have heard the phrase “The sin of pride.” And, like all sins, “pride” separates us from God. At the extreme end, being prideful means you act like a conceited, arrogant, self-important know-it-all. Likely, people with those traits do not have God in their lives, thinking they don’t need God because they are their own “god.” People like that are usually a combination of wealthy, successful, smart, talented, and/or physically beautiful.
Then, you know what often happens to prideful people because of the familiar cliché, “Pride comes before the fall.” Like many common sayings, that one is also rooted in truth and recorded in the Bible (See our six-volume series.) The original verse reads:
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
A verse with “a fall” brings us to Adam and Eve, where the sin of pride is responsible for the Fall of Man. Let’s read the passage interspersed with commentary:
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1).
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While questioning God’s strict orders, the devil wants Eve to question God’s authority. But Eve knew better:
“The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,’ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die’” (Genesis 3:2-3).
The devil contradicts Eve because the evil one enjoys thinking himself equal to God:
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4-5).
The devil tempted Eve with the prospect of being like God and knowing good and evil, which is central to the sin of pride:
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).
Because of their pride in wanting to be like God, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command. As a result, they were expelled from The Garden of Eden. Sin entered the world, and life got much harder for them and humankind to this day.
We must recognize how much God hates pride; if God hates something, you had better do the opposite! Acting humble is the opposite of acting prideful, especially towards others. God hates pride SO much that “haughty eyes” (a phrase used to describe pride) is listed first in Proverbs 6:16-17 which reads:
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”
“Haughty eyes” describes the prideful arrogance so hated by God. It means when people consider themselves above others, above God, or on par with Him. Those with faith who love God know that the Lord Almighty is supreme in every way we can imagine and in ways beyond our human comprehension. Therefore, we know that people who think they are smarter than or equal to God will eventually “fall” in one or many ways physically, mentally, financially, personally, or spiritually. That is a rule of the universe as written about God in Psalm 18:
“You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty (Psalm 18:27).
If, before reading this study, you were unfamiliar with “haughty eyes” or the word “haughty,” it appears with warnings in Old Testament verses, such as 2 Samuel 22:28, Psalm 101:5, Proverbs 21:4, and Isaiah 5:15.
Next, we turn to the Tower of Babel, another great Hebrew Bible story with a lesson for humanity: God rules over and slaps us down when we get too prideful. That applies to people, groups, leaders, and nations. We discussed Babel back in Vol. 206. The story is recorded in Genesis 11:1-9:
“Now the whole world had one language and a common speech….Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth’” (Genesis 11:1-4).
Oops, bad decision! Wanting to make a name for themselves rather than acknowledge or glorify God does not end well:
“But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said [probably to his angel messengers], ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other’” (Genesis 11:5-7).
God disables their power of communication so they will understand that He is Almighty God who rules over humankind and inflicts punishment when they get too prideful. But then the Lord went one step further:
“So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there, the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there, the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11: 8-9).
What did we learn today? Pride is a dangerous sin that God hates for good reason. When people, nations, and leaders are prideful, they think they can be like God or better than God, leading to behaviors that God must punish with lasting consequences. Both these Genesis stories are cautionary tales and examples of God altering human circumstances and communication.
This study only scratches the surface of pride in the Old Testament, but I hope you will further pursue the topic. And especially help those with “haughty eyes” to open themselves to the truth. Amen to that!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
She is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit, dedicated to building a future permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C. In July, The National Shroud of Turin Exhibit hosted a four-day exhibit (with a VIP guest) at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, IN. Some new news. Contact: <MyraAdams01@gmail.com>
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