Defeating the Enemies: Overcoming Pride

Our previous post in this series focused on the importance of relying on God instead of trusting in ourselves. It’s crucial to remember that we can overcome and conquer sin if and when we include God in our lives.  

God promised Israel He would deliver seven Canaanite nations, who were far stronger than them, into their hands (Deuteronomy 7:1).

In the final post of this series we’ll focus on lessons we can learn from how Israel dealt with one of those nations, the Jebusites. 

Don’t procrastinate when dealing with sin

God promised He would destroy these evil enemies if Israel obeyed His instructions. That included making no covenants with them and showing no mercy (verse 2). Many struggle with God’s instructions to wipe out these people of Canaan, as if God’s command was unjust. 

However, understanding God’s power and plan of salvation helps us see things as God sees them. The Canaanites had degenerated into a very evil and corrupt society, and God didn’t want Israel to be influenced by them. The good news is that the story of these people is not over. The Bible reveals they will live again and have an opportunity to repent. (To learn more, read “Is the Second Resurrection a Second Chance?”)

Because of this, God commanded Israel to destroy them utterly. 

However, Israel didn’t do that and instead allowed the Jebusites to remain (Joshua 15:63). This would have significant future consequences. This teaches the lesson that there are always repercussions when we don’t follow God’s commands completely. 

Because David didn’t deal with his lust at the outset, he caused much suffering and hardship for himself and others.  Many years later, when David became king, the Jebusites had entrenched themselves in a stronghold in the heart of Jerusalem, which they called “Jebus.” It cost Israel time and many lives to uproot them under David. 

This provides an essential lesson to us on how we should deal with sin.

In James 1:15, we read of the natural progression of sin. It begins in the mind with lust, which then leads to sin and finally matures to produce death (James 1:14-15). It starts small but becomes a stronghold, difficult to overcome because it was left unresolved. (To learn more, read “What Is Leaven and What Does It Picture?”) 

King David would have done well to heed this lesson when he first noticed Bathsheba bathing (2 Samuel 11:2-3). We can see the damage he did to himself and others by allowing lust to develop into a stronghold of sin. David ended up committing adultery and then murder to cover up the resulting pregnancy (verses 4-5, 14-26).

Because he didn’t deal with his lust at the outset, he caused much suffering and hardship for himself and others. 

The lesson is clear: Don’t procrastinate. Deal with your sins, flaws and weaknesses before they grow into a stronghold in your life. 

The stronghold of pride

When David became king, he went to Jerusalem. The Jebusites, who were sure that David could not take the city, defiantly mocked David and his men, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you.” 

However, David and his army quickly defeated the Jebusites and took Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6-7; 1 Chronicles 11:3-5). 

Their defiant taunting of David revealed their inner pride. 

Like David and Israel, we also have to contend with a prideful enemy. That enemy is probably the most difficult to defeat—ourselves. 

Others can often see our sin, but sometimes pride blinds us to it until God opens our eyes to see ourselves as we are.    Later in his life, David dealt with his own pride when he was stirred to “number Israel” (1 Chronicles 21:1)—in other words, to take a census. God hadn’t commanded him to do this, and there was no real reason he needed to do it. It seems he did it only to satisfy his own pride. 

What David did greatly displeased God. 

He didn’t reflect on his actions until about a year later, when the census was underway. When confronted by God, he realized his sin. He said, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing” (1 Chronicles 21:8). 

His quick repentance reminds us of his sin with Bathsheba. In both cases, he went a long period of time before really realizing the gravity of his sin. This is the deceptive nature of pride—it prevents us from seeing ourselves properly. Others can often see the sin, but sometimes our pride blinds us to it until God opens our eyes to see ourselves as we are.   

However, even though David repented, God decreed there would still be punishment for his sin. God gave him three options: three years of famine, three months of military defeat or three days of a plague on the land of Israel (verses 11-12). 

Tragically, other people paid a heavy price for David’s lapse into pride and sin. 

What can we learn?

• Our actions have consequences. We don’t live in a bubble, and our sins have an impact on others around us. David learned the hard way how his actions affected others. As a leader, he had a powerful influence on his people, and the consequences of his sins were multiplied. Today, we should always seriously consider the consequences of our actions, especially when they involve pride and sin. 
• Beware of pride. In their pride, the Jebusites taunted David that he was too weak to take their city, but God was with him and gave him the victory. David lost sight of this lesson and became prideful himself, causing God to resist him. This is an object lesson in what James warns us: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). 
• God corrects us. At times, God will allow punishment to humble and correct us: “For whom the LORD loves He chastens” (Hebrews 12:6). Some lessons are painful and hard to learn, but God knew it was important for David to have the lesson imprinted on his mind: Don’t be careless with pride and sin again.  

The necessity of overcoming pride

Pride and sin are insidious enemies that we need to conquer and overcome. 

We are at war. We are in a spiritual war for our lives. 

We are to wage war against our wrong desires and thoughts. We should wage that war early—not procrastinating. 

And we must never let our guard down and allow prideful sins to become a stronghold in our lives. If we do, we must repent and put our lives into the loving and merciful hands of God and accept His correction.

Read the previous blog posts in this series:

• Defeating the Enemies: Overcoming Spiritual Strongholds
• Defeating the Enemies: Overcoming Societal Influences
• Defeating the Enemies: Overcoming Weaknesses
• Defeating the Enemies: Overcoming Fear and Faithlessness

Date Posted: July 1, 2024