Isaiah 14:12-17: a reflection

12How you have fallen from heaven, shining one, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low! 13You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north! 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!” 15Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit. 16Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, “Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms, 17who made the world like a wilderness, and overthrew its cities, who didn’t release his prisoners to their home?”

This passage describes the fall of a proud and exalted figure, who had aimed at the heights and was brought crashing down. I will ascend to heaven, he had said in his heart; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will make myself like the Most High. Five times he says I will, reaching to exalt himself even to the place of God. And the result is a fall to the depths: you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

Notice the anatomy of this fall: it began in the heart, with a determination to exalt the self. I will ascend, I will raise my throne, I will make myself like the Most High. It was self-exaltation, the reaching of pride to put itself in the place of God, that led to the fall. The higher the pride aimed, the deeper the fall it brought; the one who would make himself like the Most High is brought down to the depths of the pit.

That is a warning about the danger of self-exaltation, the pride that would put self at the center, in the place that belongs to God. The repeated I will of this passage is the language of pride reaching to exalt itself; and it ends in a fall. We are not immune to that pride; the impulse to exalt ourselves, to put our own will and glory at the center, is in us too. Guard your heart against the self-exaltation that reaches to put self in God's place. Do not let the repeated I will of pride govern your heart; the higher pride climbs, the deeper its fall. Humble yourself before God, giving him the place that is his, rather than reaching to exalt yourself; for God gives grace to the humble, but self-exaltation ends, as here, in a fall.

Lord, this passage describes the fall of a proud figure who said in his heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars, I will make myself like the Most High, and was brought down to the depths of the pit. Warn me by it about the danger of self-exaltation, the pride that would put self at the center, in the place that belongs to you. The repeated I will of this passage is the language of pride reaching to exalt itself; and it ends in a fall. I am not immune to that pride; the impulse to exalt myself, to put my own will and glory at the center, is in me too. Guard my heart against the self-exaltation that reaches to put self in your place. Do not let the repeated I will of pride govern my heart; the higher pride climbs, the deeper its fall. Help me humble myself before you, giving you the place that is yours, rather than reaching to exalt myself; for you give grace to the humble, but self-exaltation ends in a fall. Keep me humble before you, Lord, and free from the pride that reaches for your place.