Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Ambition
- Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive. When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus. But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.
I have
always found the relationship between Babylon, Assyria, and God’s people
fascinating. I find it fascinating
because Assyria and Babylon are called by God to bring judgment upon the Hebrew
people. I find it fascinating that they
are the instrument of God’s wrath yet they are themselves judged. The prophets make it clear why this is
happening all throughout scripture. But
it is still fun to study.
If we
look at Babylon – which is the nation that this chapter deals with first – we can
see why God is upset with them. God isn’t
upset because they came against His people.
God is upset with them because they thought that they were so great that
they could even become gods. They were
proud. They didn’t give glory to God for
giving them the ability to be successful.
God judges them because they chose ambition of humbleness.
It we
turn to Assyria, we find a very similar issue.
Assyria came into the land and dominated it. But they were cruel. They over-reached what God had called them to
do. They went about it in their own way
rather than doing it as God would have them do.
In other words, they also put themselves ahead of God. Their ambition keeps them from being able to
be humble before the Lord.
The end
result of all of this is that they find themselves being judged by God as
well. Our ambition often causes us to
transition from God’s pleasure to His wrath.
Our ambition often takes us out from humbleness under God to doing
things our own way. That is a danger we
should learn to avoid.
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