What other scriptures caution against pride and reliance on wealth? Ezekiel’s Snapshot of Proud Prosperity “By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of your wealth.” – Ezekiel 28:5 Wisdom Literature’s Straight-Talk Warnings • Proverbs 11:28 – “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.” • Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” • Proverbs 23:4-5 – “Do not wear yourself out to get rich… When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle toward the heavens.” • Proverbs 28:11 – “A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man with discernment sees through him.” • Psalm 49:6-9 – “They trust in their wealth and boast in great riches. No man can possibly redeem his brother… the redemption of his soul is costly…” • Psalm 52:7 – “Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth…” Prophetic Echoes of Ezekiel’s Charge • Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “Let not the rich man boast in his riches… but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me.” • Jeremiah 17:5-7 – “Cursed is the man who trusts in man… Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD.” • Habakkuk 2:9 – “Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape disaster!” • Zephaniah 1:18 – “Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the LORD’s wrath.” Jesus on the Folly of Fortune • Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” • Matthew 19:23-24 – “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven… It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle…” • Luke 12:15 – “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed; life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” • Luke 12:16-21 – Parable of the Rich Fool: wealth stored in barns, soul demanded that night. Apostolic Counsel to a Money-Soaked World • 1 Timothy 6:9-10 – “Those who want to be rich fall into temptation… the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” • 1 Timothy 6:17-19 – “Command those who are rich… not to be conceited nor to put their hope in wealth, which is uncertain, but to put their hope in God…” • James 1:10-11 – “The rich man will disappear like a flower in the field… its beauty perishes.” • James 4:6 – “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” • Revelation 3:17-18 – “You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” Putting the Pieces Together • Scripture consistently links pride with misplaced confidence in riches. • Wealth itself is not condemned; relying on it instead of the Lord is. • The fall of Tyre’s prince in Ezekiel 28:5 previews the downfall promised to every heart that swells with self-sufficiency. • God invites His people to hold resources loosely, give generously, and boast only in knowing Him. |
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