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Examples
Of Compulsory Humiliation
"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger,
and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither
did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that
man cloth not live by bread only, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord cloth man live.
Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy
fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he
might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end."
Deut. 8:3, 16.
Ahab was one of the most wicked
kings of Israel. His proud heart had almost entirely
forgotten that the people over which he ruled had ever
been true worshipers of the God of heaven. He persisted in
the most extreme idolatry, despite all the warnings and
judgments of God upon him and the kingdom. He considered
Elijah, the prophet of God, as his enemy and a troubler of
Israel. In the language of the prophet concerning him, we
have his condition in a few words: "Thou hast sold
thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord"; and
the sentence of Jehovah against him was, that he and all
his posterity should be "cut off forever" for
his provocation of God and causing Israel to sin. But what
wonderful mercy we see in God toward erring man! When Ahab
heard the sentence of death pronounced upon himself, he
humbled himself in the deepest repentance. The wrath of
God was turned from him in a measure, and the sentence
revoked. Even in the rigid dispensation of Sinai there was
mercy for those who sought God in the valley of
humiliation.
Josiah, king of Judah, had a tender
heart toward God. He did all he could to repair the house
of God that had been made desolate by the sins of his
fathers, but the book of the law had been lost. When this
was found and read to the king, he humbled himself before
the Lord, and obtained mercy and favor, and his eyes did
not see the judgments God had pronounced upon that place.
He not only humbled himself, but gathered all the
prophets, priests, men of Judah, and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem together and read the book of the law in their
ears. He made a solemn covenant with God to keep all His
commandments with all his heart and soul. All the people
stood to the covenant. This is where God's approval was
found, and it teaches us the lesson with emphasis, that
"God giveth grace to the humble."
At the dedication of Solomon's
temple, God marvelously witnessed His acceptance of the
sacrifices and the building of the house for the earthly
dwelling place of His name among men in that dispensation.
He appeared to Solomon and made a covenant with him to
always keep His eyes and ears open toward that place, to
see and hear all who humbled themselves before Him.
King Rehoboam also found mercy in
humiliation when otherwise he would have been destroyed by
the heathen king. God's compassion was extended toward him
and all Israel when they humbled themselves.
King Asa found great grace when he
was very humble. A very short prayer, though full of faith
and confidence, caused the Lord to turn the battle against
the Ethiopians, and gave victory to His people, verifying
His promise to the king and all who live before Him in
deep humility. "The Lord is with you, while ye be
with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you, but
if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." II
Chron.15:2. What wonderful depths of meaning in these
words, teaching us the importance of clinging unto the
Lord through perfect obedience!
The gracious deliverance wrought in
Jerusalem under King Jehoshaphat, was granted because of
the humble attitude of the king and the people. Daniel
received answer to his prayer through his humiliation
before God. God gave Nebuchadnezzar great honor and a
mighty kingdom, but when his heart was lifted up and his
mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his throne and
compelled to go through the most severe humiliation. His
son Belshazzar came to his sad end because he did not
humble his heart before God.
King Saul was exalted to be head of
the tribes of Israel when he was little in his own sight,
but his deplorable experience of being dethroned, and at
last his disgraceful death, stands out in history like a
danger signal to us all, warning us to keep far off from
the rock of self exaltation, upon which thousands have
been wrecked in the past.
To secure the safety of vessels
along the Pacific coast and near the entrance of harbors,
where there are hidden rocks lying near the surface, there
is placed near each of these dangerous spots a buoy. Some
of these are so constructed that the motion of the waves
rings a large bell. Others blow a loud whistle, keeping up
their doleful sound day and night constantly. In passing
one of these, away out in the ocean, a thought of sadness
comes to the heart, that perhaps there has some time been
a wreck and some poor sailor has gone to the bottom. Then
a thought of gratitude takes its place; for were it not
for this danger signal, our ship might strike this same
rock and we might also sink into a watery grave.
O my dear brethren, we need not
look around us very far to see some of these sad wrecks! A
poor perplexed soul who once enjoyed the experience of
sanctification and was called to the ministry, but who
lost his experience, then tried to follow the ministry by
joining one of the popular sects, fell into utter
darkness. He came to ask advice, and then told his sad
experience. In the conversation he said, "I see
holiness wrecks all over this country." After he left
I was solemnly impressed with his case, but the term
"holiness wrecks" conveyed a more solemn thought
to me than anything else. As I meditated in silent
reflection upon the subject, I could see all around, some
sad living wrecks—living, yet dead; for all they have in
resemblance of life is a profession. Zealous in work, but,
like the church at Sardis, possessing a name to live, but
dead.
From my early Christian life I have
noticed cases of hopeful, bright, thoroughly saved,
useful, men and women, who were indeed greatly used of God
and whose lights shone with heavenly brilliance all about
them; but suddenly a perceptible dimness began to grow
over them like when a fog arises from the sea and obscures
the bright rays from the sun, and gradually in some
instances and suddenly in others, the light has gone out.
Many a young convert of superior natural ability and a
great measure of grace, who in his early period of divine
experience had unusual power of the Holy Spirit, has
suddenly dropped out of usefulness and simply remained a
nominal professor. In some sad instances they came to a
disgraceful end, leaving a stigma upon his own character,
and a reproach upon the precious cause of Christ.
Many of the most prominent men in
the ministry in the last quarter century, and some who
have in this very evening light reformation caused many to
turn to righteousness, are today among the fallen, and may
appropriately be called "holiness wrecks." The
fact is indeed a most alarming one, and every saint of the
most high God should be awakened to prayerful diligence in
self examination of his own heart; then with open heart
and upturned face to God cry out in the language of the
Psalmist: "Search me O God, and know my heart: try
me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked
way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psa.
139:23, 24.
What is the cause of these
failures? Ah! the answer has already been given in the
experiences of men in Bible times. The tap root of all the
trouble is self exaltation. It is the hidden rock that has
broken in pieces many a beautiful bark on life's ocean,
and caused its precious cargo to sink and be lost; where,
if true humility had been maintained and practiced, there
would have been a successful voyage over the waters and a
triumphant entrance into the glorious haven of rest, where
a crown of life awaits the faithful.
The apostle Paul to Timothy speaks
of some who made shipwreck, and in the same epistle tells
how men became drowned in destruction and perdition. The
only place of absolute safety is in deep humility—
"under the mighty hand of God." He knows just
how to guide us past the dangerous places where others
have made shipwreck. One of the most astounding facts is
that the greatest danger of self exaltation lies nearest
the most glorious victories. The enemy knows this, and it
is necessary that we know it, too.
The more there is to be done for
God the more need there is of true Bible humility. We are
all seeking to be more useful in the hands of God, and
oftimes we fail to find this place, because it is down so
low in the path of humility that to take such a path seems
to lead us into complete uselessness, and the
qualifications we have sought seem to prove to us to be
disqualifications. Now we must learn to become
disqualified. This is what God wants to teach us. He only
can work perfectly in us when we are wholly abandoned to
Him.
We have never been over this way
before, and know not the dangers in the way. Our wily
enemy knows our ignorance and utter helplessness when left
to our own judgment and wisdom; therefore, it is no wonder
that man totally fails when taking counsel with his own
soul, and it is no wonder that our loving Father demands
of us such perfect obedience and humility to Him. He wants
to do for us. He wants to protect us from these dangers
and glorify His name in us, and will most certainly do so
when we have properly humbled ourselves under His hand.
The potter cannot shape the clay until all the hardness
has been taken out; then he can accomplish his design. So
it is with us in the hand of God. Let us seek the very
best qualification, and upon which every other one
depends—Bible humility. Then our loving Father can have
perfect right of way in us, and by sinking us out of sight
to all human usefulness, can exalt us under His own mighty
hand.
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