“The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.’ And Jephthah said to them, ‘I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand. And when I saw that you would not save me, I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?’ ” (v1-3)
Have you or someone you know ever tried to pick a fight over flimsy pretenses? The Ephraimites (descendants of Joseph) picked a fight with the Gileadites (generally believed to have descended from Manasseh, Joseph’s other son). The tribe of Ephraim didn’t want to get involved in the Ammonite conflict, but then once it was over, they insisted they weren’t invited. Why would someone pick a fight over such flimsy pretenses? I think it was pride. This was an honor-based culture, so being labelled as cowards is a huge hit to their pride, so they try to defend their honor by making flimsy excuses.
How many times have we felt the need to defend or substantiate our decisions, actions, or circumstances, out of an attitude of pride/honor? Now, of course we don’t think of it as being prideful, since our pride is cunning like that. “I was late because traffic was bad.” We can’t admit that we didn’t allow enough time for rush hour traffic, we stopped at the drive through on the way, and we took the extra ten minutes to find the right shoes to match our outfit. Yet, it’s not our fault we were late – we deflect the blame, make excuses, and justify ourselves.
Pride is a tricky, and dangerous thing. There are too many verses on pride to list them all, but the general theme is summarized well by these two verses: “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” (Pro 29:23) “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Gal 6:3) Pride is a form of self-deception, and we know God hates deception, so the proud will be forcibly humbled, and the voluntarily humble will be honored by God.
Jesus promises “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Mt 23:12) Ephraim was humbled through their defeat by Gilead (a much smaller group of people). The entire world has been humbled in our current circumstances, by a virus against which we are virtually powerless. Despite our best efforts, it’s still spreading.
This is a definition of humbled: “to make someone understand that they are not as important or special as they thought”. I believe the entire human race is facing a turning point moment, where we can choose one of two paths: admit that we’re not as self-sufficient and important as we thought, throwing ourselves at God’s feet, begging for forgiveness and mercy; or, we can continue trying to run this world on our own wisdom and strength, and continue experiencing humiliating circumstances as God opposes our pride. The choice is ours.
Father God, our Lord and King, Creator of this Universe, we throw ourselves at Your feet. Father we have sinned against You. We confess our hearts have been filled with pride, and we have deceived ourselves into believing we are more powerful and have more control than we really do. Father we have been brought low by this virus – our economy is tanking, relationships are strained, jobs are lost, education is flailing, there are panic and anxiety throughout the world, and we are powerless to stop it. Father, please forgive us our sin. Father, please have mercy on us. Father please make Your name known throughout the land, that all may come to glorify You. Father, we leave the fate of the world, and its people, in Your hands. Please deliver us, for we cannot deliver ourselves. In the precious name of Jesus our Redeemer, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training