Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
(Zechariah 9:9)
God commands us to be humble. “Seek humility” (Zephaniah 2:3). “Put on . . . humility” (Colossians 3:12). “Have . . . a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8). “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5). Jesus’s promise that God will exalt the humble enjoins us to pursue it (Matthew 18:4; 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14). And his apostles too say, “Humble yourselves” (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).
We have all heard it, pretend to understand it, what is humility to you? Or what does it mean to be humble?
In the form of a noun: Not proud or haughty: not arrogant or assertive. Ranking low in a hierarchy or scale.
Interestingly, humility, according to the regular testimony of Scripture, is not something we can just do. You might have heard the old saying, “when you declare your humble, you are not”.
As we consider the positive examples of those who humbled themselves (from Josiah and Hezekiah to Rehoboam, Ahab, and Manasseh) — as well as the negative examples of those who did not humble themselves (Pharaoh, Amon, Zedekiah, Belshazzar) — what becomes clear is that humbling first belongs to the hand of God. He initiates the humbling of his creatures.
As a verb: “to make humble in spirit or manner” and “to destroy the power, independence, or prestige of”
Have you ever been humbled? Maybe by someone else, not even God (but uses others and allows the situation to arise)
All of us in some way or another have been humbled. The real challenge is when humility confronts us, how do we receive it and how do we respond. What does it do to us?
Do we receive it? Will we humble ourself in response to the humbling, or do we kick against the goads?
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you – 1 Peter 5:6 ESV
Do we see it? First God descends his humbling hand. Then the creature has his turn: God is humbling me. Will I embrace it? Will I humble myself?
Given this background, it is stunning to read about Christ in Philippians 2:8 — in perhaps one of the most striking assertions in all the Scriptures:
Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:8 ESV
How does that scripture illustrate humility? How would you describe it to a young Christian or someone seeking a relationship with God?
Can you see how God moved in this action with Jesus? There has to be a humbling act for him to be obedient to.
But before we assume too much, let’s ask what humility is in biblical terms. If we don’t understand, we might marvel for the wrong reasons.
What is Humility
Fittingly, the first mention of humility in all the Bible comes in the escalating showdown between Egypt’s Pharaoh and Israel’s God, mediated through Moses.
Moses first dared to appear before Pharaoh in Exodus 5, and spoke on God’s behalf,
Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” – Exodus 5:1-2 ESV
Note how prideful Pharaoh is, miscalculated his status, as a creature, in relation to the Creator God. But, through Moses, God speaks to Egypt’s head and calls for him to obey. And Pharaoh refuses. But there is a “call to humlity”
Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? – Exodus 10:3 ESV
After seven plagues, on the cusp of an eighth, God speaks to Pharaoh, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” The piercing question, in the context of this extended power encounter, gives us this glimpse into the heart of humility: humility acknowledges and obeys the one who is truly Lord.
Are you in a situation where you are pushing back and resisting the humbling time with God? Maybe out of self-worth or desire to not look weak? Do you have a recent example where you had to face the challenge and just be obedient and humble yourself?
This week, be in tune with the Holy Spirit and we receptive to times when He wants to use humility as a powerful tool for Him. Being humble and retaining humility are elusive. It truly is a characteristic of Jesus that we would be blessed to obtain. Have discussions with your friends, family and ask the challenging question to someone else? “Do you think I am humble?”. Don’t get upset with the responses, but use them for obtaining wisdom and understanding.