Bible Studies: Pride – Part II

The Scripture: Isaiah 57:15

“For this is what the high and lofty One says – He who lives forever whose name is holy, I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

1. Where does God live?

2. Where else?

3. Why?

He Will Scatter Them

The Scripture: Zephaniah 3:11

“I will remove from this city those who rejoice in their pride. But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the Lord.”

4. Who will God allow to stay?

The Lord makes many promises to the humble.

He Teaches the Humble His Ways

The Scripture: Psalm 25:8-10

“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in His ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His ways. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful.”

5. How is the Lord described?

6. What does He teach the humble?

7. How are the ways of the Lord described?

He Sustains Them

The Scripture: Psalm 147:6

“The Lord sustains the humble.”

8. What does the Lord do for the humble?

They Receive Wealth, Honor, and Life

The Scripture: Proverbs 22:4

“Humility and fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.”

9. What do humility and fear of the Lord bring?

God Lifts Up the Humble

The Scripture: Luke 1:51

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.”

10. What does the Lord do for the humble?

God Gives Them Grace

The Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5-6

“Clothe yourself with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

11. To whom does the Apostle Peter say to show humility towards?

12. Why?

13. What are His instructions?

14. Why?

The Bible gives us examples of the truly humble. Let’s see who they are.

The Scripture: Philippians 2:5-9

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name.”

15. Who should we emulate?

16. What did He do?

17. What did God do for Him?

The Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

18. What is Jesus’ invitation?

19. What must we do?

20. What will we receive?

21. How does Jesus describe Himself?

Let’s look at another example.

The Scripture: Numbers 12:3

“Now Moses was a very humble man – more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”

22. How humble was Moses?

The Scripture: Numbers 12:6-8

“When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal Myself to him in visions; I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.”

23. How does God usually speak to a prophet?

24. What was different about the way He worked with Moses?

Humility doesn’t come naturally to some. They have to learn it the hard way.

The Scripture: II Chronicles 33:1-2

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.”

25. What did Manasseh do?

Manasseh did almost everything the Lord had forbidden, including putting altars in the temple of the Lord.

The Scripture: II Chronicles 33:6

“He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.”

26. What did his evil deeds do?

The Scripture: II Chronicles 33:10-11

“The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner.”

27. What did Manasseh do when the Lord spoke to him?

28. What did the Lord do?

The Scripture: II Chronicles 33:12-13

“In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to Him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea, so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.”

29. How did Manasseh respond?

30. What did the Lord do?

31. What did this teach Manasseh?

Another wicked king who had to learn humility was Nebuchadnezzar. When Nebuchadnezzar had a very frightening dream, Daniel, a Jewish member of his court, was called in to interpret it. In his interpretation, Daniel told the king that he would be driven away from people and live with the wild animals for seven years until he acknowledged that the Most High was sovereign over the kingdom of men. He warned the king to renounce his sins.

Nebuchadnezzar refused. He made a huge statue of himself, which he ordered everyone to worship. When his Jewish servants refused to do so, he had them thrown into a fiery furnace, from which the Lord rescued them.

Nebuchadnezzar still did not follow Daniel’s advice and everything happened just as Daniel said it would.

The Scripture: Daniel 4:34-36

“At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever… At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor was returned to me for the glory of my kingdom.”

32. What happened to the king?

The Scripture: Daniel 4:37

“And those who walk in pride He is able to humble.”

33. What are his final words?

34. What pleases our Lord?

Humility is the key to being a servant, and it is the attitude that most represents Jesus.