“Seek the LORD, all you HUMBLE of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek HUMILITY. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’S anger…. ‘Therefore, as I live,’ declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Surely Moab will be like Sodom and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah — A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them and the remainder of My nation will inherit them. This they will have in return for their PRIDE, because they have taunted and become ARROGANT against the people of the LORD of hosts’”(Zeph 2:3, 9-10).
The book of Zephaniah divides humanity into two kinds of people: the humble (Zeph 2:3) and the proud (Zeph 2:9-10). In Hebrew, “humble” is lexically related to the idea of being bowed and dejected. Humility, therefore, refers to a posture of inferiority toward God, recognizing one’s place as a servant and God’s place as Lord. “Pride,” on the other hand, is a word that connotes height. In Zephaniah, it refers to a posture of superiority toward God and toward His people. It is this posture, both in the book of Zephaniah and throughout the Bible, that determines a person’s fate. The “tall ones” will be brought low in the day of judgment (Zeph 3:11), whereas the “bowed ones” will be exalted (Zeph 3:12).
It is far better to choose the right posture willingly now than for God to choose a posture for us in the future.
Zephaniah forces us to ask an important question: who is the “tallest” person in our lives, that is, the biggest and most important? If I am on top, then everyone else, including God, is beneath me. For this reason, God hates pride (Prov 8:13; 16:5; James 4:6). It is far better to choose the right posture willingly now than for God to choose a posture for us in the future (see Phil 2:9-11). For the first will be last, and the last will be first (Matt 20:16). It is those who assume a posture of complete dependence on God for support, that is, the poor in spirit, who will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt 5:3-5).
