“Say to the king and the queen mother, ‘Take a lowly seat, for your beautiful crown has come down from your head.’ The cities of the Negev have been locked up…all Judah has been carried into exile, wholly carried into exile.”Jeremiah 13:18-19

Jeremiah was called to give a special message to Judah’s King Jehoiachin and his mother, Nehushta. Even though Jehoiachin reigned only eight years, he was an evil king. And his kingdom was besieged by Babylon. Feeling like they had no choice, Jehoiachin and Nahushta went out to meet Babylon’s king, Nebuchadnezzar, who then took Jehoiachin into captivity (2 Kings 24). But before this final act, Jeremiah warned Jehoiachin about his pride and his need for humility. Nevertheless, the king remained arrogant and defiant. God had called them to look around and see the danger coming. He asked them to account for the people who were their responsibility: “Where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful sheep?” He warned that Jehoiachin would look back with regret. He might wonder, “Why have these things happened to me?” The answer? “Because of the magnitude of your iniquity.” God Himself would “scatter them like drifting straw to the desert wind” and expose their weaknesses openly—all because they had “forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.” He had seen their “adulteries” and knew about “the lewdness of your prostitution” and their “abominations.” Neither Jehoiachin nor Nehushta took these warnings seriously. They refused to take a “lowly seat” or change. As God told Jeremiah, He hates pride, and He promised to “destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.” There was hope, but only if they repented (Jeremiah 13). Brothers & Sisters, the message is the same for us today. Remember: God hates pride! “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate” (Proverbs 8:13). Be on guard against pride. Humble yourself before God.