Pride

Acts 12:16–24

“But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the LORD struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.”

To God be the glory forever! Today we see a sharp contrast between two men, one took all glory to himself being the local political power, and one kept pointing back towards God for his annointing and authority, back to the Father, unto the Spirit, and the Christ, the Risen Lord, and we witness a pointed difference in outcomes! In all his splendour, king Solomon recognised that God “has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble (Prov 3:34).” Throughout history and even now, the world is full of men and women who indulge themselves and each other in baths of self-aggrandisement. The psalmist says, “though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar (Psa 138:6).” The LORD said, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matt 23:2).” When the people proclaimed Herod Agrippa’s words to be the very voice of God (v. 22), he did not resist the reverence, nor did he say or intimated at all, for the people to “stand up for, I am only a man myself (Acts 10:26).” Godly praise and worship is reserved for God only and the Early Church acknowledged that in their prayers the ultimate power over the world and history is God, they raised their voices together in prayer: "Sovereign LORD," they said, "You made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them… Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, LORD, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus (Acts 4:24, 27–30).” In our prayers, acknowledge God, in our victories praise Him, in our difficulties cry out to Him, in all our ways we recognise His almighty and eternal hand.