The King of the Children of Pride

"He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride." (Job 41:34)

God takes an entire chapter of thirty-four verses to talk about a creature that defies imagination or explanation, like something from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. God calls him "leviathan." Biblical Creation apologist, Henry Morris, identifies it as the aquatic version of the great beast behemoth, described in chapter forty, far beyond a crocodile and obviously extinct. But verse thirty-four makes it clear this creature also symbolizes Satan, who is the personification—the king—of pride (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-19). The Bible has much to say about pride, and none of it good. Its association with this dreadful beast paints a devastating word picture of just how God sees it.

The Apostle John, in his first Epistle, tells us this world's system revolves around three obsessions: the lust of the flesh; the lust of the eye; and the pride of life. If something feels good, looks good, or makes you look good, then it is good, or so the world reasons. The pride of life manifests itself in many different ways. There are those who are proud of how well they are able to live, financially; others pride themselves in their outwardly moral lives. Still others derive great self-satisfaction from the social circles in which they move; and, yes, there are even those who fancy themselves as being humble. This, no doubt, is the worst pride of all.

Sadly, we are nearly always the last to discern pride in our own lives. For some reason, it's much more obvious in others. This is one of the many dangers of legalism; it's a breeding ground for pride. These are an ignominious bunch, these “children of pride,” with a truly monstrous king. You and I should be ever conscious of the danger of falling in with, or worse, becoming one of, them.

A Puritan cure for pride: “Remember; your father was Adam, your grandfather dust, and your great-grandfather nothing.” –William Jenkyn