Ezekiel 31 Devotional

Height That Was a Gift

“I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’”Ezekiel 31:9 (BSB)

God sends Pharaoh a lesson from another empire. Look at Assyria, he says, pictured as a cedar of Lebanon with its top among the clouds (31:3). Deep springs watered it, birds nested in its branches, and great nations lived in its shade (31:4-6). Not even the trees in the garden of God could match it (31:8). And God says plainly where its beauty came from: he made it beautiful (31:9).

But the tree grew proud of its height (31:10). God handed it over, and foreigners cut it down. Its branches lay broken in every ravine, and the birds now perched on its fallen trunk (31:12-13). It fell as a warning to every other well-watered tree (31:14), and Pharaoh is told he will share its fate (31:18). The cedar's height was real, but none of it was its own. Paul reminds believers that everything they have was received, which leaves no room for boasting (1 Corinthians 4:7). Every gift you have is safer held with gratitude than with pride.

To think about: Which of your strengths or successes do you most easily take credit for, and how could you hold it today as a gift from God?