The Deadly Harvest of Pride
Verses:2 Kings 19:35–36
"And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh."
Pride is not just arrogance; it is a blindness that distorts reality. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, was a man drunk on power, convinced that his victories proved his supremacy. He marched against nations, burned their idols, and mocked their gods—not realizing that his success came only because God permitted it. But when he turned his scorn toward the living God, his pride sowed the seeds of his own destruction.
His foremost sin was not merely political ambition, but his open disdain for the Lord. He treated Yahweh as just another powerless idol, a god who could not save. This was no ordinary mistake—it was a fatal miscalculation. Sennacherib, like all who worship idols, had convinced himself that gods were nothing more than the work of men’s hands. In his mind, power belonged only to those who seized it. He did not fear divine judgment because he did not believe in a God who could act. His pride made him bold, reckless, and ultimately, foolish.
But the living God does not ignore such defiance. In a single night, the very army Sennacherib boasted in was wiped out—not by swords, not by strategy, but by the breath of God. The mighty Assyrian force, which had terrified nations, was reduced to corpses before dawn. And Sennacherib, who had mocked the Lord in his temple, was later murdered by his own sons—in his own temple. The judgment was swift, absolute, and humiliating.
There is a warning here for all who live without fear of God. Pride convinces us that we are the architects of our own success, that we answer to no one, that we define right and wrong. But the truth is, God resists the proud (James 4:6). The downfall of the arrogant is not a matter of 'if', but 'when'.
If you see the pride of the wicked flourishing, do not despair. Do not rush to retaliate. The Lord does not need our help to execute justice. Sennacherib’s story reminds us that the boastful will fall—not by human hands, but by the hand of God. The only safe place is humility before Him.
Prayer:
Lord, keep me from the pride that blinds and destroys. Let me never mistake Your patience for weakness, nor Your silence for absence. When the wicked seem to triumph, remind me that You alone judge rightly. Break any arrogance in me, and teach me to walk in reverence before You. Amen.