16 You have been deceived
by the fear you inspire in others
and by your own pride.
You live in a rock fortress
and control the mountain heights.
But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles,
I will bring you crashing down,”
says the Lord.”
When I was a kid, my brother and I built a treehouse in a mulberry tree by our barn. For West Texas, it was a big tree. The bottom, our only floor, was about six feet off the ground. It had walls and a roof. We even planned on sleeping in it a time or two, though I don’t know if we ever did. That was a fortress to us. From there, we imagined ourselves as knights fighting off dragons or soldiers in a high lookout point. We had a ton of fun in that old treehouse. Over the years, I’ve helped build treehouses for friends of mine, and we even have a fort-like structure in our backyard now. When the kids were young, it was a place they played in and on, and I’m sure a few imaginary battles were fought inside it as well. When you got inside that fort, you felt like you were someone else, someone larger, someone faster, someone stronger, someone invincible, until Mom called us into the house for dinner.
Jeremiah had a message for the Edomites. These guys were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. Esau was found with deceit in his heart after Jacob stole his birthright. His actions as a young man further distanced him from his family by marrying a foreign woman. Esau and his descendants would be a thorn in Israel’s side for many years, fulfilling the prophecy God gave to Israel.
Our verse comes from Jeremiah’s prophecy against Edom. In it, you find a people whose pride and bravado would eventually be their downfall.
In Jordan, ancient lands of Edom, there are rock formations known as Petra. This fortress was thought to be invincible because of its location. The Lord, through Jeremiah’s prophecy, was making a point: even with a strong fortress, your pride and the fear you strike in your enemies can always come back to bite you in the buttocks.
Pride has a nasty way of giving us a false view of ourselves. Proverbs 16:18 tells us, “Pride comes before being destroyed, and a proud spirit comes before a fall.” Pride gives you a false sense of security. Pride says, “I’m all good and I don’t need anyone,” when in reality, you are two moves away from failure. That’s because when you’re prideful, you can’t see reality. You’ve been tricked into a sense of false comfort. Edom had convinced themselves that because they lived in the mountains and had such an imposing rock fortress, they were indestructible.
The entire prophecy also mentions the worship of Molech, a god who demanded the sacrifice of babies. Pride can also convince you that your current course in life is the right one and that you don’t need to be corrected. In a sense, you become blind to better judgment. For Edom, their worship of false gods and their pride led to their downfall.
Today, take a good hard look at yourself. Can you see any area where pride has crept in and started to build a fortress? It may start like a treehouse, just having fun, but if left unchecked, pride and a proud spirit can build something inside you that often becomes your safety net, crowding out the Lord in your life. Your job becomes more important than your family. “I don’t have a drinking problem.” “My friends aren’t that bad.” Just to name a few. The longer you let pride crowd out the Holy Spirit, the quieter His guidance becomes.
So, get on your knees and pray to the Lord to show you any area of pride in your life. Ask the Lord to help you remove it and replace it with a heart full of the fruit of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22–23:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Don’t be deceived by the fear you inspire in others or by your own pride.
Prayer: Father, I pray that You remove any pride in my life. I pray that it be removed in Jesus’ name. I also pray for a heart full of the fruit of the Spirit and a heart longing for You in all things. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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