Cyber-Chapel Blog

In a recent post, I called attention to a word family in Hebrew, derivatives of the verb עלל, with an interesting pattern of distribution. When applied to God, these words are consistently used to motivate people to praise him. When applied to men, they are just as consistently negative, and describe an attitude of childishness and irresponsibility.

This is not the only word family that is negative when applied to man, but positive when applied to God. Here are two examples from another:

Isa 12:5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Ps 17:10 [The wicked] are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.

This time, the focus is on pride. It is wonderful for God to behave in a proud, haughty fashion, but every verse that applies these terms to people condemns them.

This word family is derived from the root גא, whose derivatives all share the notion of height and elevation, either physical or psychological. In fact, our English word “haughty” comes from the same root as “height.” Let’s consider some members of this family.

גאות
The two examples given above extend the form as an abstract, גאות. It’s used of people in only one other place, where it also mocks groundless pride:

Isa 28:1-3 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! 2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. 3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet.

גאון
Another noun derived from this root is גאון. Again, God is praised for exhibiting this tendency, but people are uniformly condemned when they behave this way. Here are some verses that apply it to the Lord:

Exo 15:6-7 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power:
thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee:
thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

Isa 24:14 They shall lift up their voice,
they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD,
they shall cry aloud from the sea.

Isa 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust,
for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. (cf. vv. 19, 21)

And here are some places where it’s used of people:

Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Amo 6:8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

Jer 13:9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil:
pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

“Pride” in this verse is גאה, which we’ll consider shortly.

Isa 13:11  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

“Haughtiness” is גאוה, which we’ll consider later.

Occasionally, גאון is used positively of people, but in every case it describes their attitude toward something that God has given them, not what they claim to be in themselves.

Isa 4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

In the Messianic age, the remnant will rejoice in the fruit of the land that God gives them.

Psa 47:4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.

The “inheritance” is the land that he has given them, which they count as their prized possession. When they become self-confident in their possession, he judges them for it:

Amo 6:8  The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

גאה
Moses praised God, using the verb of this form, at the Red Sea:

Exo 15:1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. (also v. 21)

But Job laments that such conduct on his part would invite God’s judgment:

Job 10:16 And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion and again work wonders against me.

Nouns of the form גאה are used only of people, and are uniformly negative (as in Prov 8:13, cited above; cf. also Isa 2:12; Jer 48:29; Ps 94:2; 140:6; Pr 15:25; 16:19; Jb 40:11f). But the extended form גאוה is used both of God and of people, and again, what is praised in the Lord is condemned in his creatures.

Here are instances where גאוה is used of God:

Deu 33:26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.

Psa 68:34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.

Isa 13:3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness .

And here are examples of cases where it is used of men:

Isa 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

Psa 10:2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor:

Psa 31:18 Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

Psa 36:11 Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.

Psa 73:6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

Pro 29:23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

Psa 31:23 Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

Zep 3:11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.

Here is a single verse that combines several of the words from this family, all in a condemnation of Moab:

Isa 16:6 We have heard of the pride גאון of Moab; he is very proud גא: even of his haughtiness גאות, and his pride גאון, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so. (cf. Jer 48:29)

Summary

God thinks very highly of himself. He ought to. He created the world, and everything in it. He never shows any humility. Never, in response to a worshiper’s adoration, does he say, “Aw, shucks, that’s awfully nice of you to say that, but I really don’t deserve it.” In fact, an important element of worship is for us to agree with God’s arrogant assessment of himself.

By the same token, we have nothing that he has not given us. We can do nothing for which he does not give us breath and strength. We are only clay in the potter’s hand. When we think highly of ourselves, we lose sight of our status as creatures. We pretend to be little gods, able to act in our own strength, and deserving the praise of others. Bluntly, we think people should worship us. Such an attitude is a violation of the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” It’s no surprise that God condemns pride in his creatures. It is a direct challenge to his glorious sovereignty–a puny and feeble challenge, but a challenge none the less, and one that will stimulate his mocking judgment: “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision” (Ps 2:4).