12 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan;
14 against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills;
15 against every high tower, and against every fortified wall;
16 against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.
17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
18 And the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
21 to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
22 Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?
Comment: v12 announces the theme of this short passage. What follows is a list of ‘things’ which are hardly capable of pride! But Lebanon was famed for the quality of its cedar wood; the area around Bashan for its oak timber; Tarshish for its trade on the seas etc. And of course the rich (?prideful) built in elevated places and were able to look down on those living below! And this leads to the sentence, ‘And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.‘ And it is immediately followed by the total destruction of idols, which were no doubt carved out of the finest timbers or shaped out of the best metals. Sadly wealth and status (high places) can also be worshipped, In addition the ‘poles’ around which the baal gods were worshipped were also placed in high places! Then follows more destruction of idols even very expensive ones – thrown out into the caves for moles and bats to worship them! But the final sentence is perhaps the real ‘punch line’ of the passage, ‘Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?‘ Don’t look into yourself and be narcissistic, nor to others to find your answers in them. Look up and see and worship Jehovah, the LORD! There is so much ‘imagery’ in this passage – you don’t get much of the meaning until you look deeper!
Proverbs 14: 32 – The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death. – the Bible talks a lot about death. why? Perhaps because it is universal!
Prayer: Please stir me up to seek You first, O Lord!
As I read it! 