Pride

2 Esdras 8:50 KJVA

For many great miseries shall be done to them that in the latter time shall dwell in the world, because they have walked in great pride.

Many of us may be familiar with pride in one way or another. Need it be the pride one may have in their name, country, or background. Pride can be a term of endearment reflected by the honor we have in something or someone. But many times, when the Most High uses pride and when it is referenced in the scriptures, it is in regards to the other side of pride; one being prideful. Let us look at a definition of pride using the Strong’s Concordance and dictionary.com:

Pride

• a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.
  

Strong's Number

H1347

Original Word

גּאון

Transliterated Word

gâ'ôn

Phonetic Spelling

gaw-ohn'

Parts of Speech

Noun Masculine

Strong's Definition

From H1342; the same as H1346 : - {arrogancy} excellency ({-lent}) {majesty} {pomp} {pride} {proud} swelling.

Based on these definitions we can see why pride is not a favorable characteristic for one to have and why it is looked down upon for one who is deemed full of it. More importantly it gives us an understanding as to why The Most High God hates a prideful individual (as you will find out more as you read on) and why The Most High is going to bring judgment on all of those who have not repented of their pride. They will ultimately suffer “many great miseries.”

2 Esdras 15:18 KJVA

For because of their pride the cities shall be troubled, the houses shall be destroyed, and men shall be afraid.

Pride will be one of the leading causes of calamity to come upon the earth in these last days. And may be a contributing factor to the things you may be suffering from in your life. As pride is the key, when one is going down the wrong path.

Sirach 10:12 KJVA

The beginning of pride is when one departeth from God, and his heart is turned away from his Maker.

See, the beginning of pride is when a person begins to depart from the Most High God. Your heart, meaning your mind, is no longer focused on doing thus saith the Lord. But rather, thus saith you or whoever else it is that you choose to listen to, in place of The Most High. You are disconnecting yourself from righteousness, which disconnects you from The Most High. The source of your peace and happiness.

Sirach 10:13 KJVA

For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that hath it shall pour out abomination: and therefore the Lord brought upon them strange calamities, and overthrew them utterly.

Pride is the first step to going down a path of sin and is therefore usually correlated to one being sinful or wicked. As we read in the last verse, you have already disconnected mentally, so the spiritual follows and thus the physical. Now one ends up in a state where they are saying things and at some point in time, doing things that the Most High God says is unlawful for us to do. Yet, you do it anyway and may even feel justified in your actions. As your own sins have blinded you. Setting yourself up to have strange unfortunate circumstances befall you as a result of your crimes. And if you stay in that state, some of those things that befall you, you may not be able to recover from and may ultimately cost you your life.

Sirach 14:20 KJVA

Blessed is the man that doth meditate good things in wisdom, and that reasoneth of holy things by his understanding.

You are counted blessed when you’re able to think on things that are considered good and wise. Reasoning in a way that the scriptures agree with as being sound and just.

Sirach 15:7-8 KJVA

7 But foolish men shall not attain unto her, and sinners shall not see her. 8 For she is far from pride, and men that are liars cannot remember her.

When it comes down to the Holy Spirit of wisdom, you cannot attain her by moving contrary to what The Most High finds as good. At which point you are moving foolishly. You’re doing the opposite of what is needed to receive and retain her. That spirit is far from pride and if you are a liar you won’t remember her because you are living a life of falsehood. So much so, that you begin to lose sight of what the truth is because you have been living a lie for so long. You start to become deceived and believe in your own lies.

Sirach 22:22 KJVA

If thou hast opened thy mouth against thy friend, fear not; for there may be a reconciliation: except for upbraiding, or pride, or disclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound: for for these things every friend will depart.

When you have someone, especially a friend or family member that is prideful, it may be hard to make amends and be at peace and have everything go back to the way it was. The faults mentioned above can become as rust in a mirror when they get bad. No matter how many times you clean it or how hard you scrub some rust will still remain. No matter how hard you may try to make it right the damage cannot fully be mended.

Sirach 26:26 KJVA

A woman that honoureth her husband shall be judged wise of all; but she that dishonoureth him in her pride shall be counted ungodly of all.

Even in a marriage dynamic many issues can arise from pride. And the burden of proof is going to fall to the wife as she has to ensure she is not moving in pride against her husband, as he is her head. Furthermore, she chose this man. And to dishonor him as your head, especially one in which you chose, is a reflection of you and your decision making. In conclusion, you should remember that your husband is supposed to be following The Most High God and thus a godly man; hence righteous. If you do not follow him or respect him and his authority that means you do not respect the order of The Most High.

2 Maccabees 1:28 KJVA

Punish them that oppress us, and with pride do us wrong.

We always pray that The Most High punish all those who oppress and in their pride do us wrong. And I know just the example that was perfect concerning one of another nation that did us wrong.

2 Maccabees 9:1 KJVA

About that time came Antiochus with dishonour out of the country of Persia

Antiochus was a ruler during the time of the greeks. And even nicknamed himself God manifested. However, he was far from an honorable man.

2 Maccabees 9:4 KJVA

Then swelling with anger, he thought to avenge upon the Jews the disgrace done unto him by those that made him flee. Therefore commanded he his chariotman to drive without ceasing, and to dispatch the journey, the judgment of God now following him. For he had spoken proudly in this sort, That he would come to Jerusalem and make it a common burying place of the Jews.

Antiochus was a very prideful man and thought to greatly destroy our forefathers and foremothers and turn our land virtually into a graveyard of our people. But in his pride, God had judgment in hot pursuit.

2 Maccabees 9:5 KJVA

But the Lord Almighty, the God of Isreal, smote him with an incurable and invisible plague: or as soon as he had spoken these words, a pain of the bowels that was remediless came upon him, and sore torments of the inner parts;

The Most High hit Antiochus with a plague that seemed to almost come out of nowhere. No cure for it and one that started on a microscopic level but rapidly multiplied. He gave him grace and mercy at the beginning because God was patient in how he would respond but when he wouldn’t humble himself and grew in his pride, then so did the judgement he would receive.

2 Maccabees 9:6 KJVA

And that most justly: for he had tormented other men’s bowels with many and strange torments.

But this is what many would call karma, or what goes around comes around. He was one who grew worse in terms of the punishments he would send upon others, so naturally it was good for him to receive a harsh punishment worthy of his actions.

2 Maccabees 9:7 KJVA

Howbeit he nothing at all ceased from his bragging, but still was filled with pride, breathing out fire in his rage against the Jews, and commanding to haste the journey: but it came to pass that he fell down from his chariot, carried violently; so that having a sore fall, all the members of his body were much pained.

Look at how much pride this man had. Going through sore pains in all his body but still hell bent on destroying our people. He didn’t stop, nor maintain, he got worse as his pains got worse. Still FILLED with pride, his cup was running over! Imagine how diseased he had to have been to be in pain all over his body, so much so that he couldn’t maintain his own body and fell out of his chariot, yet, talking about everything wicked your going to do.

2 Maccabees 9:8 KJVA

And thus he that a little afore thought he might command the waves of the sea, (so proud was he beyond the condition of man) and weigh the high mountains in a balance, was now cast on the ground, and carried in an horselitter, shewing forth unto all the manifest power of God.

See, The Most High has a way of allowing events in your life to humble you. This man thought he could command the ocean and weigh the mountains but had no power to lift his own flesh or command his body to heal.

2 Maccabees 9:9 KJVA

So that the worms rose up out of the body of this wicked man, and whiles he lived in sorrow and pain, his flesh fell away, and the filthiness of his smell was noisome to all his army.

Look at where his pride was getting him. His flesh was rotting off of his body internally and externally while he was alive with worms (parasites and maggots) coming out of his body. It was so bad that you could smell him like a walking dead carcass. Even his army was talking bad about him.

2 Maccabees 9:10 KJVA

And the man, that thought a little afore he could reach to the stars of heaven, no man could endure to carry for his intolerable stink.

The man who thought he was God in the flesh couldn’t even have a devoted follower to carry him because of how bad he smelled.

2 Maccabees 9:11 KJVA

Here therefore, being plagued, he began to leave off his great pride, and to come to the knowledge of himself by the scourge of God, his pain increasing every moment.

It took for it to get this bad for him to begin, start, just now to humble down and leave off of his pride and to come to the knowledge of himself and how prideful he has been and how the living God, Creator of heaven and earth was judging him for his folly. But it’s too late now, the damage is done. And he being one of another nation, in addition, to being this far gone was way past the time of grace and mercy. But this is how pride can get you and how bad things can get. Every moment getting progressively worse.

2 Maccabees 9:12 KJVA

And when he himself could not abide his own smell, he said these words, It is meet to be subject unto God, and that a man that is mortal should not proudly think of himself if he were God.

He couldn’t even abide his own smell. But at that point he knew he messed up. He knew he was wrong. And finally realized he was not God in the flesh.

2 Maccabees 9:13 KJVA

This wicked person vowed also unto the Lord, who now no more would have mercy upon him, saying thus,

See, he finally got to a place to desire to repent. But it meant nothing because now The Most High God doesn’t want your repentance, he is done extending grace and mercy to you. And that is not the place you want to be in.

2 Maccabees 9:14 KJVA

That the holy city (to the which he was going in haste to lay it even with the ground, and to make it a common buryingplace,) he would set at liberty:

The very place he was in a hurry to go destroy now he wants to set at liberty. But it was too late.

2 Maccabees 9:28 KJVA

Thus the murderer and blasphemer having suffered most grievously, as he entreated other men, so died he a miserable death in a strange country in the mountains.

This man received a judgement worthy of his crimes. He was a murderer and blasphemer who received a torture worthy of the torture he gave others and died a miserable death. Not even at home in his own comfort zone around friends and family but in some foreign country.

Psalm 10:2 KJV

The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

All of this was because he was persecuting the poor; persecuting Israel. Now he is being taken in a judgement worthy of what he thought to do unto our people.

Job 35:12-13 KJVS

There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. [13] Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.

God didn’t want to hear his vain words. It’s easy when you are low to try to apologize and do right because you’re in a low estate. But unfortunately, you have too many people who wait until they get to a bad place to try to apologize and do some good. But as soon as they recover or get a little better, they are back on with the foolishness they were doing.

Proverbs 16:18 KJV

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride will be a sign of coming destruction to a person or group of people. And if they stay there in that spirit they will fall. But they have to see it and change their ways.

2 Chronicles 32:24-26 KJVS

In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. [25] But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. [26] Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah became so sick, he would have died but in his sickness he sought The Most High God who spake unto him and gave him a sign that he would extend his life and heal him. But Hezekiah didn’t become more humble after this, he became more prideful and full of himself. As a result, The Most High God started to judge him and the people because of his actions. Hezekiah had to humble himself and repent but he did before it was too late and before he was too far gone.

Sirach 49:4 KJVA

All, except David and Ezekias and Josias, were defective: for they forsook the law of the most High, even the kings of Juda failed.

Concerning the kings of Israel, all were defective except for David, Hezekiah, and Josiah. All of the other kings forsook the law. While these three may have fallen off here and there or made mistakes, they fought to repent and do better and be better.

Psalm 10:4 KJV

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

The mindset of a truly wicked person is not to seek after The Most High God. They don’t have the same level of concern for The Most High and his laws. It’s not what they are thinking about.

Ephesians 4:23 KJV

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Your mindset is the key in the situation and the beginning of your fall or rise. You must renew the spirit of your mind. Set your thoughts in order and the things you choose to focus on.

Proverbs 29:23 KJVS

A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

Pride will bring you low but humility will keep you from falling and keep you humble.

Proverbs 8:13 KJVS

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

You have to know there is a God and understand his judgements both now and future, if you don’t repent and let that help fuel you to stay on point and stay in line with what he says to do or not to do.

Proverbs 13:10 KJVS

Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.