“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. “
Genesis 2 vs 7
“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 3 vs 19
“Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD. “
Jeremiah 9 vs 23 &24
What is the definition of boast?
Cambridge dictionary defines boast as: to speak too proudly or happily about what you have done or what you own.
Rev. Dr. Ogba Onyeije defines boasting as speaking or acting proudly of who you are, your possessions, achievements and what you will do without recognizing God.
We live in a world where there are many boasting and boasters. Some great nations boasts of their military might and their buoyant economies. Some rich people boasts of their riches and wealth. Some educated men and women boasts of their education. Some talented people boast of their talents. Some beautiful women and handsome men boast of their beauty and handsomeness. Some athletes boast of their athleticism. Some powerful men and women boasts of their power and some successful people boasts of their successes.
Whoever you are, whatever you are, whatsoever you think you may have achieved, the Lord says- “stop boasting for you are mere dust and will return to dust”.
In the book of Genesis the bible says that God formed man out of the ground and molded man out of the dust of the earth. The bible says that God breathed into man and man became living soul. After man had sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit, man was cursed in Genesis 3:19. God said to man – “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
In Jeremiah as quoted above, the Lord says: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches”. To this I will add:
Let not the beautiful and handsome women and men boast of their good looks.
Let not the successful people boast of their successes.
Let not anointed man of God boast of his anointing and grace.
let not the great achievers boast about their achievement.
Let no man boast of anything because man is nothing but dust. The Lord says “if any man has any reason to boast Let it be that he understands and knows God. Let it be that he has relationship with God. Let it be that he is a servant of God. Let it be that he understands the love, kindness and righteousness of God.
May we reference some historic boasters whom God replied after foolish pride and boasting
Pharaoh Ramesses II.
He was the third Pharoah of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful Pharaoh of the New Kingdom. In Exodus 5:2 Pharaoh Ramesses said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.”
When Pharaoh made this statement, God’s wrought was kindled. God decided to harden Pharaohs heart all through the Plagues of Egypt until his own Son- the heir to his throne was killed with the other first sons of Egypt. God wasn’t satisfied. He continued to harden Pharaohs heart and the King pursued the Israelites to his death and that of his military in the Red sea. It wasn’t until 1881 that his mummy was discovered in an ordinary wooden coffin. Pharoah Remesses asked who the Lord is and the Lord replied him till the His identity wasn’t questionable.
King Nebucadeneer
Daniel 4 :30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”.
After the king said the above, God replied him through Daniel saying “They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
And so it took Seven years living and learning as an animal in the forest University for King Nebuchadnezzar to learn that man should not boast.
King Herod
Acts 12 …22 “And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”Herod, when praised, should have ascribed it unto God alone. Instead he actingly received God’s praise and he paid with his life. History tells us of his quote before he died. For he was quoted to be full of regrets and acknowledgement of his mortality and frailty.
Edward John Smith – Captain of Titanic.
After the great Titanic ship was built and ready for first voyage, Captain Edward was asked how safe the Giant Titanic ship was. He boastfully replied “Even God cannot sink the ship”. Unfortunately in that first trip, God replied him. The ship sank and the Captain died.
Tancredo Neves (Former President of Brazil)
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.
Deontay Wilder
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Wilder is particularly known for his formidable punching power, having knocked out every opponent he has faced, except Tyson Fury. His knockout-to-win ratio stands at 98%, with 20 knockouts in the first round. Before his 2020 rematch with Tyson, Wilder who had lost no professional bout before that time said “..Even God cannot help Fury this time.” That was it!! He presented God the perfect opportunity to show him that he was nothing but dust given strength, life and wisdom to excel. He got outclassed and knocked out. His unbeaten run was over. God gave him a bitter lesson that He (God) rules the universe, and even though He remains unseen no one can do without him.
Brethren, the skilled doctor, the perfect artisan, the master of craft and engineering were all given wisdom and understanding by God. Even the intelligent Guru who has refused to follow God was given his intelligence by God. The life we live in which we make one achievement or another belongs to God. If so, why should men boast? Why should men talk as if they have achieved without God.
Men must repent of all boastings and turn a humble state unto the glorification of the unseen God. The God of Israel who became visible through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Ogba Victor, a servant to the Churches do admonish all believers with the word of the Lord and if the unbeliever cares to hear; the Lord God Almighty awaits all praises and worship. We must not give in to foolish pride or boasting. For if we boast, let it be that we know God and his son Jesus Christ. Amen!