Excellent meeting on Humility a couple Sunday's ago...we studied a cross section of kings (Amaziah through Josiah) from Judah and took a look at each of their reigns...whether they were prideful or humble (or both!) and the outcomes of their decisions. I was worried we wouldn't have enough time to do this, but by each of us having our Bibles open and following along together (and me being brushed up on each chapter ahead of time!), we took turns reading specific verses so everyone stayed engaged.
Set 3 Meeting 4 - Humility
Definition: The quality of being modest and respectful
Functional Biblical Definition:
Humility is accepting ourselves as we really are before God…freedom from a sense of one’s own importance with total dependence on God and honest concern for others.
Opposite: Pride
A self-centered preoccupation with, and over estimation of one’s own importance, abilities, or achievements, resulting in unwillingness to submit to God and insensitivity to others.
Scriptures:
Philippians 2: 1 - 11
Deuteronomy 8:2
2 Chronicles 7:14
Matthew 18:4
Micah 6:8
Main Concepts:
1. Realize the danger of pride and pray that all areas of pride in your life will be be revealed
2. God gives grace to the humble.
“Be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5: 5-6
3. Humility is vital to maintaining good relationships with God and others. Conflicts will usually be solved when one of the people involved is willing to take the humble position.
I. Snapshot of Judah’s OT Kings: Previous kings were David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram…
A. Amaziah (25 years old, reigned 29 years) 2 Chronicles 25
1. V. 2 “And he did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.”
2. Hired Israelites to go to war with him against the Edomites w/o consulting God
3. After defeating Edomites, brought back their gods, set them up as his gods, bowed down before them and burned incense to them.
4. Tried to wage war against Israel, was defeated and Jerusalem was plundered. “From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.”
B. Uzziah (16 years old) 2 Chronicles 26
1. Intro to reign…verses 3 - 5
2. Pride is Uzziah’s undoing…verses 16 - 21
C. Jotham (25 years old, reigned 16 years) 2 Chronicles 27
1. Did right in the sight of the LORD v. 2
2. V. 6 “So Jothan became mighty because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.”
D. Ahaz (20 years old, reigned 16 years) 2 Chronicles 28
1. Intro v. 1 - 5
2. Military defeats - v. 19 “For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz…for he brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the LORD.”
3. Compromise with Assyria because of attack by Philistines and Edomites…v. 20 “So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.” Drained the Temple resources, began worshipping Assyrian gods, “Moreover when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he closed the doors of the house of the LORD, and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger.”
E. Hezekiah (25 years old, reigned 29 years) 2 Chronicles 29
1. Intro v 1 - 4
2. Reforms begun…Temple cleaned and consecrated, Temple worship restored…v. 36 “Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.” (8 days to cleans and consecrate the temple!)
3. Passover Reinstitued - all Israel and Judah invited…v. 10 - 11 “So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. Nevertheless some men of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.”
* Humility must precede access to God
V. 23 “Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy.”
4. King of Assyria tries to invade Judah, but God answers Hezekiah’s prayer and the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp.
5. Hezekiah becomes ill to the point of death, but prays and God gives him 15 more years of life. V. 25 “But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.”
F. Manasseh (12 years old, reigned 55 years) 2 Chronicles 33
1. Intro v. 2 - 9 worshipped everything but God!
2. Shed much innocent blood (2 Kings 24:4...”for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood…”)
3. Manasseh humbled by king of Assyria and taken to Babylon…v. 12 - 13 “And when he was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and humble himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.”
4. Manasseh’s repentence…v. 15 - 16 “He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. And he set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.”
G. Amon (22 years old, reigned 2 years)
1. V. 21 - 25
H. Josiah (8 years old, reigned 31 years) 2 Chronicles 34 - 35
1. Intro v. 2 - 3
2. Temple repaired, Lost Book of the Law found, God speaks through the Prophetess Huldah…time of Judah’s judgment was almost at hand but because of Josiah’s humble heart, his eyes would not see it…v 27-28 “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God, when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the LORD. Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you hsall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants…”
3. Passover Observed Again
Our activity this week was to write letters to our New Zealand penpals!
