arrogance – The Noontimes

Judges 7: Following God’s Lead

Judges 7: Following God’s Lead

Thursday, July 10, 2025

There is a value in reading scripture slowly while allowing time for reflection and meditation for in this way small themes are given time to blossom into guidelines for living. Today we find a significant idea hidden in the story of the defeat of Midian and it is this. God knows us so well that God forestalls human pride by asking us to rely on only God. In today’s story God asks Gideon to whittle his troops from thirty-two thousand to three hundred. And Gideon does this without questioning; he knows how reliable his God is.

The culling process here is an unusual method for an army. On God’s instruction, Gideon first reminds his troops of the dangers of battle; later he watches how they drink water from the river. He does not appear to question God’s wisdom and he shows no anxiety; he knows how reliable his God is.

Once the three hundred come together, Gideon gives them no more instruction than this: Watch me and follow my lead. After the winnowing process, these loyal soldiers follow Gideon just as he follows the Lord; they know how reliable their God is.

Lying in wait outside the camp, Gideon and the third of the men who are with him overhear the telling of a dream by one of the Midian soldiers. The ominous conclusion is that although the Midianites, Amalekites and Kedemites are numerous as locusts, and although their camels number more than the grains of sand in the desert, the Israelites will be victorious. The Israelites show no angst about having reduced their number to three hundred; they know how reliable their God is. And the enemy flees.

The Lord pronounces to Gideon: You have too many with you for me to pronounce you successful lest you vaunt yourself against me and believe that your own power brought you victory. This is the theme we see repeated often in Judges. The people cry out for help, Yahweh hears their cry and rescues them, once the people feel comfortable in their own skill and power they turn back to the pagan Baals. Then the cycle repeats again. In Gideon’s story, we see the faith-filled soldiers put their trust in this God who has saved them countless times because they know how reliable their God is.

So often I have sat in meetings and watched someone defend their right to make unilateral decisions, forgetting that all comes from God, even the gift of leadership. I have watched these leaders struggle to bring others together behind their decisions not understanding that people follow best when decisions come from God rather than from human ego. They have forgotten – or perhaps have never known – how reliable their God is.

We can rebel against these leaders or we can witness our own confidence in God to them. The choice is always ours. Rather than react in fear, we can act in reliance – just as Gideon does in today’s story, and just as his soldiers do – we can demonstrate to others through our lack of arrogance just how reliable is our God.

And so we pray . . . Powerful and loving God, you know us so well that you understand our tendency to take credit for your gifts. You know that we are inclined to strut with pride when we are successful and complain in fear when we fail. You know that we often believe in ourselves more than we believe in you. Strip us of all hubris and arrogance; bring us humility and modesty. Wipe away our anxiety and fill us with your love. Remind us to follow your lead just as Gideon and his soldiers do. Remind us that when we rely on ourselves alone, we forsake the gift of your wisdom and authority that you so freely give to those who follow you. Tell us again what you have already shown us but that we have so quickly forgotten – that we need not fear anyone or anything, for we know how reliable our God is. Amen.

Image from: https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/1818-psalm-3/

July 10, 2025

arrogance, Gideon, humilty, meekness, Midian, pride, trust in God

Hebrews 10:30-39: Trials Well Borne

Hebrews 10:30-39: Trials Well Borne

Friday, March 28, 2025

*James Tissot: The Mess of Pottage – Jacob and Esau*

This reflection continues thoughts posed in the Revenge and Forgiveness posts on this blog.

Obadiah, one of the Minor Prophets, offers us ideas we will want to examine further.

From the ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE we discover themes. We learn that Obadiah’s name means “servant of Yahweh,” and many scholars believe that his brief prophecy was written between 586 and 553 B.C.E. We know that Obadiah does not specify that his prophecy is meant for any particular king or event; yet he indicates that a major calamity has occurred in Judah and that the Edomites have capitalized on this event. In general, scholars believe that there was a post-exilic setback for the Israelites, and most believe it to be the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. They also remind us that Edom itself fell to this same empire in 553 B.C.E. All of this sets up a story of intense tribalism, payback, and retaliation. We look a little further.

Who are the Edomites and where is their land? These people descended from Esau, the son of Issac, who was cheated of his heritage by his brother Jacob and his mother. Obadiah writes to the people of Judah (the descendants of Jacob) condemning the Edomites for their treachery and violence toward the people of Judah. He also rails against the people for their sins of arrogance and indifference toward God. So this prophecy harkens back to the conflict between these two brothers. Judah feels that the hostility shown to them when they are at a low point by the people of Edom is cruel and unjustified. Edom’s arrogance was founded in its nearly impregnable mountain strongholds where the Edomites safeguarded their wealth (gained from trade) in rock vaults. Obadiah teaches that God is sovereign over all nations. (Zondervan 1464-1465)

*James Tissot: The Meeting of Esau and Jacob*

So much of what we read here reminds us of the story we live each day; our modern world is occupied with ancient themes: indifference to a higher authority, arrogance of the ego, injustice of systems and structures, and the use of cruelty as a fair means to any end. The rivalries in this prophecy echo the petty rivalries we set up early in life and, as we grow older, carefully nurture.

Turning to today’s reading, we see these familiar words in verse 18: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” Yet, despite our recognition of the truth these words bring to us, we need more urging. The prophet, knows that despite enlightenment we will have setbacks, and so he lays them out for us to examine in ourselves: the malignant hope for revenge, the overpowering force of hubris, the willingness to use any means to achieve our ends, the animal-instinctive fear of others. Obadiah asks us examine the suffering of our daily experience as we reflect on his prophecy.

As New Testament believers, we want to be poised for Jesus’ coming into our lives and receptive to the Spirit that lives among us. Feeling Christ’s call to our highest goodness, we might look at Hebrews 11 and determine to follow the example of the faithful lived by the Patriarchs: Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and the Judges . . . “all these . . . approved by the testimony of faith”. We might look to these people as models of how and what we are to do, how and why we are to overcome our lust for revenge, how and why we are to practice love. When we study their individual stories, we see that these ancestors do not lead perfect lives; but they strive for that perfection in their loyalty to Yahweh. They listen, they obey, and they bear their trials well.

In the name of Jesus, let us call out our best selves to serve God, to fulfill his hope in us. Let us be good and loyal servants who want nothing more than to discern our mission and to complete it well. We ask this in the name of Jesus, the one who dwells among us to lead us, to heal us, to restore us, to be one with us.

Amen.

Adapted from a Favorite written on October 27, 2007.

Read the brief prophecy of Obadiah and compare varying translations to better understand our tendency to seek revenge . . . and our need to rely on God’s wisdom rather than our own.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 1464-1465. Print.

Visit the Obadiah – Outrageous Hope page on this blog at: https://thenoontimes.com/the-book-of-our-life/the-old-testament/the-prophets/obadiah-outrageous-hope/ or the Revenge and Forgiveness page at: https://thenoontimes.com/2012/09/09/revenge-and-forgiveness/

Images from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_The_Mess_of_Pottage.jpg and https://thenoontimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/tissot_the_meeting_of_esau_and_jacob.jpg

March 28, 2025

Abraham, Adam, arrogance, cruelty, Edom, Edomites, Enoch, Forgiveness and Revenge, indifference, injustice, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, Judges, Moses, Rahab, Sara

Hosea 5: Consequences

Hosea 5: Consequences

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

A Favorite from November 8, 2009.

“Hosea was one of the first prophets whose message was put into writing. Nevertheless Hosea’s message, like those of Israel’s other ‘writing prophets,’ cannot be understood in isolation from the law and the books of Joshua and Judges, books to which Hosea often alluded”. Zondervan 1428)

Addressing the priests and leaders directly in this chapter, Hosea speaks to the forces which shaped who and what Israel was, and how and why she acted. Hosea calls us today to look at not only the root causes of our actions but the consequences as well. Our own consequences as well as those for others.

A snare, a net, a trap set for the innocent. Arrogance in believing that the voice of God does not arrive through the innocent. Harlotry in maintaining a personal comfort level at the expense of the disadvantaged. Unfaithfulness to the Lord. Giving birth to illegitimate children and causes.

Using the name of the tribe of Ephraim as an equivalent for the whole of Israel, Hosea warns the people that when they turn for help to the leader they have chosen in place of God, he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. This warning from Hosea is stark and even frightening: It is I who rend the prey and depart, I carry it away and no one can save it from me. I will go back to my place until they pay for their guilt and seek my presence. Hosea is clear: If we choose to look out for own skins at the expense of those placed in our care, we will not again be wholly in God’s presence until we repent in a full and sincere conversion. We can easily measure this conversion by the softness of our hearts, by our willingness to risk self in order to save others.

Looking at these Old Testament images and oracles we can fast forward to today. We can examine our own lives for the times when we have collaborated with evil, when we have kept silence when lies are told, when we have been sycophants to present leaders rather than Disciples of Christ.

It will be the Lion of Judah – the Messiah – who will roar out of the south to gather in the lost sheep. It will be this savior who will seek out those disadvantaged who were trampled and left for dead by those who looked after their own ease. It is Christ today who attends to those whom we ought to have sheltered and aided. It is Christ today to whom each of us must give a full accounting of who and what we are. And it is Christ who will help us to see that the consequences we receive are those that we ourselves have chosen.

Image from: http://www.shoutsofjoyministries.com/vision-lion-judah/

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 1428. Print.

November 14, 2023

arrogance, Ephraim, harlotry, Lion of Judah, Messiah, Messian, unfaithfulness

2 Corinthians 13: Weakness and Strength

2 Corinthians 13: Weakness and Strength

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Following on the heels of yesterday’s Noontime we see the continuation of the theme of inversion which we always find when we seek Christ.

When we page through the Book of Sirach we come across many wise words about arrogance. In Sirach 10:7-16 we see that pride is a kind of domination over others: Odious to the Lord and to men is arrogance, and the sin of oppression they both hate.

We struggle for independence and compassion and too often create or find schism and haughtiness.

Let us spend time with Sirach today, and as we do we pray.

Mysterious and incarnate Christ, show us the power of humility and meekness.

Human and divine Jesus, guide us that we might see the corrupting influence of power and prestige.

Obedient and healing Christ, help us to understand that our cross is our pathway to you.

We strive for what we already have and this is the same lure that drew in Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. We want to be like gods and we do not realize, or do not know or remember, that we find our own divinity in Christ. We do not realize, or do not know or remember, that we are one with God in the Spirit. We do not realize, or do not know or remember, that we have no need of little gods for we are, through the grace and kindness of Christ, one in union with God.

Paul reminds us that our weakness makes us strong, our poverty makes us rich. This is the wealth we will want to store up. This is the power we will want to wield. Let us remember this message today and all days.

Adapted from a reflection written on June 14, 2008. Click on the image above for posts on perseverance and growth, or visit: http://theoutsidewithin.com/tag/plants/

To learn more about the Book of Sirach, visit: http://biblehub.com/dictionary/s/sirach.htm

July 16, 2022

Adam and Eve, arrogance, humility and meekness, inversion, poverty versus wealth, power, Sirach

2 Peter 2:10-13: Bold and Arrogant

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

2 Peter 2:10-13

Bold and Arrogant

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to revile glorious beings, whereas angels, despite their superior strength and power, do not bring a reviling judgment against them from the Lord. But these people, like irrational animals . . . revile things they do not understand, and in their destruction they will also be destroyed, suffering wrong as payment for wrongdoing.

As we hear so often in the Peter’s words: We reap what we sow. False teachers are always among us but Jesus is clear in his many parables that wheat is separated from chaff and sheep from goats. The marvelous quality about God’s love is that God is always willing to forgive us. The story of the Prodigal Son might also be named the story of the Forgiving Father and we are grateful for this parable of abundantly generous love.

Today, let us spend some time reflecting on who we follow and why. Let us decipher the words we take as true and why. What campaigns do we believe? What newscasts or papers do we follow? Which of our family, neighbors or friends do we believe over others and why? Do we pursue comfort or growth? Do we look for unity or create division? Do we question to learn or question to make a point? Are we bold and arrogant and irrational? Or are we humble and modest and rational? And why?

Image from: http://project-gimpbc.deviantart.com/art/GIMP-Arrogance-Grunge-II-63786001

October 7, 2020

angels, arrogance, false teachers, forgiveness, humility

Hosea 5:1-15: Our Affliction

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Hosea 5:1-15: Our Affliction

Hear this, O priests, pay attention, O house of Israel . . .

This is a sad picture – a people turned away from God in such a way that they have eliminated any possibility of return. In today’s Noontime, the leaders in particular are held to judgment since they have been given the gift of office – yet they abuse it. The priests celebrate their own harlotry. Arrogance bears witness against itself. There is political upheaval and insincere conversion. All appears to be lost.

O household of the king, give ear . . .

Hosea predicts an all-consuming whirlwind later in his prophecy, a coming storm that the prophet Ezekiel also predicts. It is fascinating that no matter how much we are warned of our own coming fall, and no matter how much we learn about ourselves, we continue to walk toward and even tumble over the precipice that is clearly labeled with warnings. There is something about us that wants to self-destruct.

And yet there is more to this story. We are graced to be New Testament people who know that God forgives us when we return to God’s call – even when this turning comes at the last moment. And so we look for salvation from our affliction. Do we know that what we truly seek is our own transformation? And do we know that we hold the key to this redemption and rebirth within?

As we move through our Lenten journey, we are called to return to God. Called to turn back to a time when we accepted God’s love with childlike glee. With this turning, we find an openness to change and possibility for healing from our own afflictions. We find a newness of change in Christ.

So although our leaders may have fallen into deep affliction, we need not follow. God’s persistent love – if only we open ourselves to its healing power – brings with it an invitation to wisdom, an offer of grace, a measure of humility, a taste of fidelity and strength, and the enduring gift of un-imagined freedom. Today we ask that God’s persistent love convert our deep affliction to the abiding hope and love that Hosea foretells.

Adapted from a Favorite written on September 8, 2010.

To find prayers for those who suffer during the Easter season, click on the image above or visit: https://newtonpresbytery.org/2019/04/25/prayers-for-those-suffering-in-this-season-of-easter/

February 29, 2020

arrogance, humility

2 Maccabees 9: Giving Up & Giving In

2 Maccabees 9: Giving Up & Giving In

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

We might eliminate a good deal of treachery and betrayal from our lives if we first find a way of doing all things through, and for, and with God alone . . . for God alone guarantees an honorable path for living. God alone assures us a life spent in eternal serenity. God alone makes promises that are fully and truly kept.

These are the closing words from Saturday’s Noontime when we reflected on Chapter 8 of 2 Maccabees. Today we look at The Punishment and Death of Antiochus: the stories of Antiochus’ illness and death. Verses 8 – 11: Thus, he who previously, in his superhuman presumption, thought he could command the waves of the sea, and imagined he could weigh the mountaintops in his scales, was now thrown to the ground and had to be carried on a litter, clearly manifesting to all the power of God . . . Shortly before, he had thought that he could reach the stars of heaven, and now, no one could endure to transport the man because of his intolerable stench. At last, broken in spirit, he began to give up his excessive arrogance, and to gain some understanding, under the scourge of God, for he was racked with pain unceasingly.

After suffering the torment of his pain, he capitulates to the will of God. He vows to restore all that he has ruined, and even vows that he will convert to Judaism. This is a story of a fearsome ruler who surrenders to an even more fearsome Old Testament Yahweh, a God who is relentless in delivering justice. The story ends sadly, with Yahweh apparently deaf to this sinner’s petitions for mercy. So this murderer and blasphemer, after extreme sufferings, such as he had inflicted on others, died a miserable death in the mountains of a foreign land.

We have no way on knowing how this man is ultimately judged by his maker. In the context of the times he was seen as one who sinned so greatly that he became a lost soul, succumbing to the temptation of sin. This is a man who would have done well by listening to the words of Psalm 36: Sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of the heart. There is no fear of God before his eyes. He so flatters himself in his mind that he knows not his guilt. In his mouth are mischief and deceit. All wisdom is gone. He plots the defeat of goodness as he lies on his bed. He has set his foot on evil ways, he clings to what is evil.

The psalmist does not try to solve the riddle of evil into which souls enter when they begin to love lies and deception; nor may we for these are the inscrutable ways of Yahweh. Instead, we might look at this man and ourselves with New Testament eyes, and we might continue with Psalm 36 as we sing to God: To both man and beast you give protection. O Lord, how precious is your love. My God, the sons of men find refuge in the shelter of your wings. They feast on the riches of your house; they drink from the stream of your delight. In you is the source of life and in your light we see light.

Superhuman presumption, excessive arrogance . . . a broken spirit, a believer in love. Nicanor and Antiochus . . . Paul and Abraham. Those who trust only power and self . . . those who trust only God.

Even if – and perhaps especially when – the path directly before us is shrouded in mystery, we are given a clear direction by the source of all life itself so that we might orient our journey. When we suffer from a broken spirit, we will want to see this sorrow as what it is . . . a giving up of presumption and arrogance . . . and a giving in to goodness and light.

For an interesting post about journeying, click on the image above or go to: http://journeyintomidlife.com/contact.htm

December 17, 2019

Abraham, Antiochus, arrogance, betrayal, God’s promises, goodness, Nicanor, Paul, Psalm 36, treachery

Tag: arrogance

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