Word of Encouragement (08/02/2023)
“There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” (1 Sam. 2:2-3).
Hannah in v. 3 displays the only proper response to the God of unrivaled transcendence: humility—“Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth.” The LORD is unequaled among gods, for He alone is the one and only true God. “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (Isa. 45:5). All other so-called gods are no more than a figment of people’s imagination or demons disguised as gods. How can you compare the LORD, who is the true God, with false gods? How do you measure the difference between that which is true and that which is false? There is an unbridgeable chasm between truth and falsehood, isn’t there? If so, how great the gulf between the true God and false gods must be! Add to that the infinite chasm between God the Creator and man the creature, the fallen and sinful man at that!
If so, how can we be proud in His presence? Our lives are in His hands; He gave them. All that we are and all that we have are from Him; He can take them away. We are no more than a bruised reed and a faintly burning wick before Him. We are but dust. Of what can we boast?
Yet, sin makes us do unthinkable things. We claim that we are the master of our own lives, the captain of our destinies. We argue with the very gift of mind God bestowed on us that the One who made us doesn’t exist. We declare that we can do anything we put our minds to when God can take our lives at this very moment. We commit all kinds of shameful and heinous deeds of evil, saying, “Who will know? Who will condemn? What does it matter since there is nothing after death?” All our boasting is like a little dog furiously yapping that scares no one.
We must keep in mind that God is not only unrivaled in His transcendence; He is also intimately involved in our lives and the affairs of the world: “the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” Not only did God create the world but He also sustains and governs it as its sovereign Lord and King. His eyes are ever upon His beloved creation, especially on man, whom He created in His image and is mindful of more than any other creatures. How humbling it is to know that He knows all our actions and thoughts, and He weights them with His perfect justice! What excuse can we offer? What can be our defense for all the wrongs we do? Can we be so arrogant as to say, “What have I done wrong? Why do you judge me?” If we should stand before Him, shouldn’t we shut our mouths in shame or call to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb...”?
How grateful we should be, then, that Christ has borne all our guilt and shame and paid the full penalty of our sins once and for all! Instead of talking proudly, we should humbly praise His grace and love! Instead of letting arrogance come from our mouths, we should boast of His glorious grace and give honor and glory to His name. Let us keep our eyes on the Lord and walk humbly before God and man!