Year of Realization - Day 49: The arrogance of evil is self-deceiving.

“So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?” Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?””

‭‭Esther‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In His teaching Jesus spoke a truth that is hard to hear and often is skipped over or explained in ways that miss it’s true meaning.

“On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Now, I’ve heard some people explain this by saying that these people thought that they could lie to the Lord and get by with it; these people are saying something they know is not true, trying to get themselves out of trouble.

However, I think it is consistent with the context and with other scriptures to assume that these people were self-deceived; they somehow thought they had a personal relationship with the Lord because of the things they had done using His name. They erroneously thought their disobedience was not important!

Consider what the Lord speaks to the church in Laodicea:

“You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This brings to my mind another reference found in the Book of Hosea where the Lord is commenting that His people don’t know the actual severity of their situation:

““The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners, making themselves as worthless as a half-baked cake! Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don’t even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don’t realize they’re old and weak. Their arrogance testifies against them, yet they don’t return to the Lord their God or even try to find him.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭7‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There it is! The people are self-deceived concerning their actual state because of their arrogance. And that brings us back to Haman.

In our opening scripture we see that Haman assumes that he is the individual the king is referencing as the one who truly pleases him. Whoa! That assumption is going to leave a mark!

Remember, staying humble before the Lord is the only way to not be deceived concerning the truth about yourself, the truth God sees.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#yearofrealization