We love it when we win contests. The thrill of victory! The joy of accomplishment! We win a game and want to do the happy dance, gloating over those we defeated. We have this warm glow that accompanies our victory. Even in a game of chance we seem to think we had something to do with the victory. And we use that victory to accomplish our purposes. We entrench ourselves in a place of authority. We even seem to get some sort of moral authority. After all, we're the winners, we must be better than they are. Look, our lane in traffic is moving faster than that other lane. We must be better. Our train is running on schedule. We must be more important than those other people whose train is behind schedule. And we want to gloat in our victory.
"How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased" (Isaiah 14.3b, ESV). Yet look at the biblical taunt the people of Israel carry on against Assyria. It's different from our taunt over the people who lost the football game against our team. This taunt is commanded by God. It makes factual observations about God's victory. It reminds everyone that we are not responsible for the outcome of the war, but God is. It reminds everyone that we all, just like the Assyrians and other nations, are destined for the grave. Our time ends. We are but instruments in God's hands. If we sinful people execute justice we yet remain sinful people. It is God who is just, not we. Our Lord's reminder here is that sin leads to death and that we are all covered in sin. Need we look farther than our desires to gloat in victories? We could, but we won't for the moment. It's enough to realize in this one brief example that when we actually end up in a positive situation we are quick to snatch glory for ourselves rather than to ascribe glory to our Lord and Savior.
What's the end of sin? It leads to destruction. Assyria has fallen. We too will fall into destruction and ruin in our sin. We all together stand condemned. There is none righteous, none but our God. What hope then? Our hope is that we are the instruments of God's hand, redeemed through Jesus, the perfect Man, who lived the perfect life, died the perfect death, and precedes us in resurrection. It is through his life, death, and resurrection that we gain hope and salvation. He is the one who has had the final word, gloating over sin, death, and hell, showing himself to be the resurrection and the life. He is the one who has risen up against the rulers of this world and has shown himself to be ruler of all.
Lord, grant us that we may boast only in you.
No comments:
Post a Comment