Seek Humility

Zephaniah 2:1–3 (NKJV)

1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation,

2 Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!

3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger.

Before the day of God’s Judgement, before the day of his visitation to recompense every man’s work we are told to seek Humility.

Humillty is something that has to be sought.

True humilty is not something that is naturaly attained, it is something that one has to intentionaly seek after.

THis is the reason why there is a reward,

Matthew 23:12 “12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Why Should we Seek Humilty.

Zephaniah tells us that we may be delivered from the Lord’s anger. HOLD ON TO THIS TAUGHT, WE WILL COME BACK TO IT.

WE WILL SEE LATER WHY HUMILTY DELIVERS YOU FROM GOD’S ANGER.

IF WE ARE TO WALK WITH GOD WE NEED HUMILTY.

Micah 6:6–8 (NKJV)

6 With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

It is a requirement and expectation from God that those who wish to walk with him, must walk with him in humilty.

They must be clothed with humilty, there should not be a place of pride or arrogance.

Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV)

15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

The High and lofty one, the Almighty dwells in the high and holy place with him who is humble.

God will not dwell with the proud, he will dwell with the humble.

He will dwell with them in the high and holy place.

So brethren if you seek to dwell with God in his high and holy place , seek humilty.

1 Peter 5:5–6 (NKJV)

5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

The greek word translated resist (antitassō/ pronounced an-tee-tas’-som-ahi).

The literal meaning is to range oneself against.

In other words, what Pride does is it stirs up God’s range againts you, he would oppose you with his anger and fury.

Zephaniah 2:3 “3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger.”

Humility does is it stirs up God’s grace towards you,

In other words God will look towards with great favor when you clothe youself with humility, but when you clothe yourself with pride God will oppose with his range or wrath

Biblical story that demostrates this important reality of humily and pride.

Numbers 12:1–16 (NKJV)

1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

2 So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.

3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out.

5 Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward.

6 Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.

7 Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.

8 I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?”

9 So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed.

10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.

11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned.

12 Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”

13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.”

15 So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again.

16 And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Let compare miriam and Moses.

Moses was humble more than any man in the world.

It is no suprise that the God who said “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit” will dwell with him, and would speak to him plainly as man would speak to his friend.

His humility was evident becuase, he did not commend himself, or speak of himself as someone who was greater than Aaron or Miriam, though he was.

Humilty is lowliness of mind, is esteeming others better than yourself,

Whenever God exalted Moses because of his humilty, he would seek to be more humble, because he had set it in his heart that he would seek Humility.

Miriam was a prophetes, Exodus 15, she prophesied and led the people in worship.

However, she was not Moses, neither was she as the same caliber or calling as Moses.

So she taught of her self more highly than she actualy is by making herself equal with Moses and spoke in arrogance and pride.

It is one thing to be proud, it another thing to use God to justify your pride. Miriam did both

So God showed her the difference between her and Moses, he sobered her in her thinking to make her see herself as she actually is.

We need to see ourselves as we actually are, not what we think we are.

Galatian 6:3 “3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

So God smote her with leprosy, from being a prophetes to becoming a leper.

Proverbs 29:23 “23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”

BSB Proverbs 14:3 “3 The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.”

Miriam proud speech brough a rod to her back

When Miriam clothed herself with pride, God opposed her, his anger was stirred againts her and it he brough her low in the sight of everyone.

God described what he did to Miriam using an example of a father spitting on his daughter. Her action so disgusted him that he in a sense spit on her with leprosy.

This is to show us how loathsome pride is in the presence of God.

Pride and leprosy

2 Chronicles 26:16–21 (NKJV)

16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men.

18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”

19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar.

20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.

21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

What a sad why to end one’s life, from being a King to living as a leper in an isolated house, being cut off from the presence of God.

Pride is dangerous, it will bring destruction

Proverbs 11:2 “2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”

Philippians 2:1–10 (NKJV)

1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Doing something out of the desire to seek your own selfish interest,(selfish ambition)

Doing something out of pride (conceit), thinking yourself better than others, or more highly than what you are.

Why did Paul say let nothing be done in selfish ambition, and conceit

James 3:14-16 “14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

When you are humble, there is no selfish ambition or conceit, you don’t esteem yourself better than others.

Miriam esteemed herself better than Moses, she got leprosy.

Proverbs 26:12 “12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

Romans 12:16 “16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”

We must be careful that we don’t do anything out of conceit or selfish ambition.

4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

He lived as he appeared.

Because though he was God he was found in appearance as a man, as a slave. So he humbled himself and walked, talked, acted as a bondservant.

Though he was King, he lived and walked as a servant

Though he was God, he lived and talked as a man

Though all authourity was subject to him, he submitted himslef to all authority.

Yet we do quite the opposite, we see and think of ourslelf more than what we are in appearance.

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

If we follow his steps, by clothing ouselves with humilty, lowliness of mind.

Esteeming ourselves better than others then we will be where Christ is.

If we do the opposite, we will end up where lucifer is, we will be brought low to depths of hell as he was.

Going back to the same Book of Zephaniah

Zephaniah 3:9–12 (NKJV)

9 “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him with one accord.

10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, The daughter of My dispersed ones, Shall bring My offering.

11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain.

12 I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.

If we are haughty or Pride, God has promised to remove us from his holy Mountain

Only those who are meek and humble will be left in Zion.

Let us fear God, and seek humilty today