When I read through all the verses in the Bible that deal with humility, I noticed quite a trend in the Old Testament with the many kings recorded in 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Over the years, Israel and Judah had many earthly kings. Some were good, and some were bad. Some started out good, and ended badly, and others started out horrible, and ended well. Humility was a huge factor as God judged those kings. Let's take a look...
King Ahab of Israel. He was one dirty dog. He and his wife Jezebel were so evil, their very names are to this day synonymous with evil. Jezebel has an evil spirit named after her. Bad folks. You can read their story in 1 Kings 16:29-33 Then Chapters 18-22, but I want to focus on 1 Kings 21:27-29. Elijah the prophet had just hand-delivered a scathing judgement from God, exposing Ahab's evil heart and how burning angry God was toward him for his wickedness.
What was King Ahab's response? "When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around subdued." He was afraid. He heard the word of the Lord against him, and he trembled. What did we learn in Matthew 23:12 about God's currency? "he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Really? Ahab was horrible. His whole life he did what was evil in God's sight. Would God really be true to His word with such a scoundrel? Verse 29 is God's response (speaking to Elijah), "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, because he has humbled himself before Me." Yes, God forgave Ahab and didn't deliver the punishment Elijah had prophesied.
However, sin still has to be paid for, and since Ahab lived long before Jesus and salvation through grace, God said "I will bring the disaster on his house during his son's lifetime." If you flip to 2 Kings 9, you can read how God fulfilled his word through Jehu, who was annointed by God to be king of Israel in place of his nephew Ahaziah (God had promised not to cut off David's lineage, but He was doing some rearranging). Jehu was used to fulfill another judgement from God also, in eliminating the entire lineage of Ahab. (2 Kings 10:11) Don't feel too bad for Ahab's kids though - they were just as wicked as their folks.
Ahab is just one example of humility rescuing a king from God's wrath. I won't dig into all the stories - you can read them on your own if you're interested, but here's a quick list:
King Josiah of Judah - I like this whole story - Josiah was just a kid, and he did BIG things. I also love that the word of the Lord was delivered to him by a WOMAN prophet - Huldah. 2 Kings 22:18 - 20 "Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD: This is what the LORD God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you—this is the LORD’s declaration— therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’”
King Rehoboam of Judah - he was David's grandson, and it was during his reign that God's people were split into two kingdoms, Judah & Israel. He started out good - following the Lord and making wise decisions as he built his kingdom, but once he got comfortable, he abandoned the law of the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 12:5-8 the prophet Shemaiah delivers God's judgement, and Rehoboam and his leaders "humbled themselves and said, 'the Lord is righteous.'" God's response was the same as to Ahab "They have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them," Verse 12 of the same chapter refers to Rehoboam's humility again, "When Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord's anger turned away from him."
Judah's King Hezekiah - he was a good king, but he became proud, and when God healed him from a grave illness, he didn't give God the glory - so God was angry. But in 2 Chronicles 32:26 "Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart - he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem - so the Lord's wrath didn't come on them during Hezekiah's lifetime." The king humbled himself, and because of his leadership, so did all of Jerusalem, and God was pleased.
Then there's Manasseh, his son. Manasseh probably ties Ahab for the Evilest King award. Not only was he evil, he plunged all of Judah back into idolatry, worse than ever before. God gave Manasseh several chances, but he ignored God, as did all the people. So we can read in 2 Chronicles 33:10-13 that God allowed Manasseh to be captured by the Assyrians and led away by hooks to Babylon. Have you ever known anyone who was so stubborn, they only cried out to God when their lives were in crisis? That was Menasseh. "When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the Lord his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to Him, so He heard his petition and granted his request, and brought him back to Jerusalem. So Manasseh came to know that the Lord is God."
This passage gives hope to all the parents who raised their kids in the Lord, only for them to run screaming the other way as adults. Hezekiah raised Manasseh to know God, and although Manasseh was evil beyond measure, in the end, he came back to God. JUST like God promises in Proverbs 22:6 "Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Might take a while, but God is faithful!
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Humility is powerful. A humbled heart has the power to melt God's heart. Humility comes before repentance, and the two go hand in hand. When we sin, we must repent. Even as believers, we aren't to deliberately go on sinning (Hebrews 10:26). God is the same God today that He was when these kings were alive, and even the good kings had to reckon with God when they sinned. So do we.
Humility, repentance, a healthy fear of God - all part of our definition of "poor in spirit" from Matthew 5:3. Foundationally necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven.
What then, is your response? I hope that you understand the power of humility and necessity of repentance. I hope that you will allow God to convict your heart and that you will respond with humility and repent.
