Friday, March 13, 2015

The Boasting Ax

The Bible has some interesting words to describe those who claim recognition, glory, and credit for their own actions in fulfilling God's plan. He describes them as axes boasting against the one that uses it.

Ok, so I guess I should be a little more clear. The Lord calls the King of Assyria that in Isaiah 10 for how he will boast of his inevitable destruction of Jerusalem.

The Lord of course used the wicked to punish the wicked, but then the ax that he has wielded decides to boast itself against Him. Listen in on the Lord's rebuke In Isaiah 10:12-15, 
"Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood."

 Hey, the Lord is sovereign, and He is able to empower men to do His bidding. But after we have done His bidding (either willingly or unwillingly), we tend to take all sorts of credit for the good that we have done.

But how is it that the ax is boasting itself against Him that is using it? or the rod against Him that is lifting it?

It's not as if the rod is suddenly going to jump up and lift itself. Neither are we going to be able to accomplish anything without God. So maybe just maybe we should give Him the credit, and not be like this wicked King of Assyria.

No comments:

Post a Comment