A Tale Of Kings

A Tale of Kings (Prov18:12)

Illus: KING OF THE JUNGLE

I like the story of the arrogant, prideful lion, who wanted to remind other animals how great he was. He went to the gazelle and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?"

Trembling, the gazelle answered, "Why, you are, mighty lion."

He went next to the giraffe and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?"

Fearful, the giraffe answered, "Why, you are, mighty lion."

Next, he went to the monkey and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?"

Startled, the monkey answered, "Why, you are mighty lion."

Finally, he went to the elephant and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?"

The elephant reached out and grabbed the lion with his trunk, slammed the lion to the ground several times, and flung him at last into a large boulder.

As the lion lay there he said to the elephant, "Just because you didn’t know the answer, you didn’t have to take it personally."

Pride

Mankind has a problem that plagues him. This plague follows us wherever we go and threatens to cause us to stumble at any time. This problem is called pride.

Text: Prov 18:12

12 Pride leads to destruction;

humility leads to honor

Ill. A car skidded on some wet pavement and struck a telephone pole, injuring the driver. A woman rushed over to help, but was pushed aside by a man who barked, "Step aside. I’ve taken a course in first-aid." After a moment, the woman politely tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Pardon me, but when you get to the part about calling a doctor, I’m right here."

Man’s nature leans toward worldliness and pride. God makes His grace available to us, however. It is this grace that enables us to be victorious over sin and Satan.

1. What is Pride

PRIDE

Undue confidence in and attention to one’s own skills, accomplishments, state, possessions, or position. Pride is easier to recognize than to define, easier to recognize in others than in oneself. Many biblical words describe this concept, each with its own emphasis. Some of the synonyms for pride include arrogance, presumption, conceit, self-satisfaction, boasting, and high-mindedness. It is the opposite of humility, the proper attitude one should have in relation to God. Pride is rebellion against God because it attributes to oneself the honor and glory due to God alone. Proud persons do not think it necessary to ask forgiveness because they do not admit their sinful condition. This attitude toward God finds expression in one’s attitude toward others, often causing people to have a low estimate of the ability and worth of others and therefore to treat them with either contempt or cruelty. Some have considered pride to be the root and essence of sin. Others consider it to be sin in its final form. In either case, it is a grievous sin.

—Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

2. What's wrong with Pride

a). Mankind wants things his way, in his time, and according to his rules.

b. Pride alienates us from those around us

c. Pride alienates us from God

2. God opposes the proud.

a The practical translation of verse six is “God sets up the battle lines against those who choose to do things their way, but gives grace to those who choose to do things His way.”

Man’s nature leans toward worldliness and pride.

Through God’s grace we can be victorious over sin and Satan.

The Tale of Kings

1.Uzziah

King Uzziah of Judah

26 1-3 After the death of King Amaziah, the people of Judah crowned his son Uzziah[a] king, even though he was only sixteen at the time. Uzziah ruled fifty-two years from Jerusalem, the hometown of his mother Jecoliah. During his rule, he recaptured and rebuilt the town of Elath.

4 He obeyed the LORD by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done. 5 Zechariah was Uzziah’s advisor and taught him to obey God. And so, as long as Zechariah was alive, Uzziah was faithful to God, and God made him successful.

6 While Uzziah was king, he started a war against the Philistines. He smashed the walls of the cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, then rebuilt towns around Ashdod and in other parts of Philistia. 7 God helped him defeat the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur-Baal, and the Meunites. 8 Even the Ammonites paid taxes to Uzziah. He became very powerful, and people who lived as far away as Egypt heard about him.

9 In Jerusalem, Uzziah built fortified towers at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the place where the city wall turned inward.[b] 10 He also built defense towers out in the desert.

He owned such a large herd of livestock in the western foothills and in the flatlands, that he had cisterns dug there to catch the rainwater. He loved farming, so he had crops and vineyards planted in the hill country wherever there was fertile soil, and he hired farmers to take care of them.