January 22, 2024
The prophet Isaiah writes, “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostril; for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Isaiah 2:22.
It is truly a most remarkable thing when people place so much blind allegiance and trust in man (people), ‘whose breath is in his nostril.’ This we do, knowing how weak, frail, fragile, ignorant, self-centered, and corruptible humanity is as a whole. This appears to be the case in all areas of life, including politics, religion, law, education, medicine, science, economics, and many others. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most people willingly follow others without hesitation. Very few are leaders. Fewer still seek God first. We go to frail men and women, who at their best, have divided loyalties and are generally not that well informed, because they are but human. We do this instead of going to God, who has our best interests in mind and knows all things, including what is best for us. Doesn’t that make you wonder why it is most often the case? Does this reflect our deep-seated distrust of God?
In 2 Chronicles, chapters 15 and 16, we read about the life of the good King Asa. It is written of this man, “But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.” 2 Chronicles 15:17. Asa’s heart was perfect all his days. Few men in history have ever received such a commendation from God.
In chapter 16, instead of calling on God, Asa sought help from the King of Syria. He asked the King of Syria to align with him instead of Baasha, the King of Israel. In verse 7 of chapter 16, Hanani the seer rebuked Asa and said to him, “Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the King of Syria escaped out of thine hand.” Asa sought help from a man, the king of Syria, rather than from God. Asa did not “cease ye from man”. Why is it that we think man is better able to help us than God?
The prophet reminded Asa (in verse 8) that when he relied on the LORD, as in the case with the Ethiopians and the Lubims, who were a vast number, God delivered them into his hands. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9. Asa and the nation would pay dearly for this error, “henceforth thou shalt have wars.”
Asa got very angry with this prophet and put him into prison. When God rebukes us, this is all too often our response: we get angry with the messenger of God and lash out. All of this happened when good King Asa sought man’s assistance instead of God’s help. Asa did not ‘cease ye from man.’ He preferred a word from a man over a word from God. What a mistake for Asa and us when we are more interested in what a man says than what God says.
Later in this chapter, we have one more example of Asa not seeking God. Instead, he sought a man. “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceedingly great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.” 2 Chronicles 16:12. According to the law of Moses, health was promised to all those who obeyed God. He forgot this promise of God, “but to the physicians” went Asa.
What can we learn from this story about the good King Asa? ‘Cease ye from man’ and seek God first. That is true in all essential life decisions, including those related to health issues. God may use other people (Doctors, for instance) to help us with various problems in life, including health-related issues, but our priority and prayer should be to God, not man. Our first prayer in all crucial matters should be to God, and we should ‘cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostril.’ That sounds like good advice to me. Are we afraid to go to God? Is that what stops us from doing it?
“Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin. That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore, the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.” Isaiah 30:1-3
In this passage, the prophet Isaiah rebukes the leaders and people of the nation of Israel for seeking counsel from men instead of from God. He rebukes them because they think that if they go to Egypt, that nation will help them. “That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth”, is a terrible indictment on them. Israel is comprised of God’s children, yet they seek out an enemy for help and do not seek their LORD. This wicked reliance on Egypt will disgrace them and result in significant loss and confusion.
“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD. Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they shall fail together.” Isaiah 31:1-3
The prophet adds some insight in this passage. Israel goes to Egypt because they have great strength in terms of the number of men, many horses, and chariots. Isaiah rebukes them with the truth: “Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.” Israel is placing their trust in the wrong place and sinning greatly against the LORD God who saved them out of Egypt. Egypt is the very nation that enslaved them and mistreated them for hundreds of years. God never failed them, while Egypt did. Yet they ‘cease not from man, in whose nostril is the breath of life.’ This sin against God is very egregious. God earned their trust repeatedly, yet they still choose not to seek God first and obey His directions. Instead, they look to an enemy of God and their enemy for salvation. How fickle and stupid people are. How do we explain this? Is there any hope for us?
The United States and the West rely on their military and financial power, as well as the sheer number of potential and current soldiers. We are constantly threatened by war, even global conflicts. How foolish are those who trust in these things when they are led by man and godless men. When God becomes your enemy, no one can save you. We turn against God whenever nations and individuals put their trust in man instead of Him; only confusion, calamity, and disaster follow.
Leaving aside, for a moment, the national implications of misplaced trust, let us examine its application in more detail. We have mountains of historical as well as contemporary evidence that speak volumes about how foolish it is when we don’t “cease ye from man.”
As a people, we have made significant progress in many areas that have improved our health and well-being. But we all know there are limits. We also know that few people truly deserve our complete trust.
The exact medical science that has given us all sorts of incredible improvements has also hurt, maimed, and killed many unnecessarily. The COVID-19 vaccine is one such recent example. Even scientists can be moved beyond common sense and reason to advocate for the use of vaccines or other drugs that are not fully vetted, as was the case with this COVID-19 vaccine and other medical advancements, according to many.
We seem to be oblivious to the fact that scientists, like other people, lie. Scientists often operate out of selfish interests, like other people. We seem to believe that the smarter and the more educated one is, the more righteous that person is, but that is not true. Some of the world’s most notorious individuals have been highly educated and intelligent. Remember, there is an expert or a scholar on every corner. And whenever an expert refuses to consider other expert opinions, you know for sure there is a problem and a cover-up in process. This happened often during the COVID period. Denial of the truth persists today.
We may not know for years the damage done to the human population by these COVID-19 vaccines. All this in the rush to bring a cure to market, when safeguards have been forsaken in favor of political considerations. How often does that occur? I suspect it happens more frequently than any of us would like to admit.
Here is another example. Science falsely led us to classify people into different races. This has led to racism, which has led to the murder of people of lower races. Darwin’s theory of evolution was very often used as a pretext for the slaughter of lower races of people. Hitler loved Darwin’s theory. The truth is, there is only one race of human beings. We are all part of the same race, and we share a common bloodline. This insipid form of racism has been used to justify all sorts of evil over the years. Men and women of science convinced many to believe that same lie.
There are plenty of examples where the majority of scientists have been wrong. Sometimes that has led to disastrous results. ‘Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils’. God made us to think. Think about what you are being told, especially by the scholars and experts. Check it out for yourself. Do not automatically believe the expert. Never forget that experts are merely human and often make poor decisions based on inadequate information and flawed motives.
The science behind climate change is another example. These are scientists who can’t predict the weather tomorrow, let alone what our weather will be like decades from now. Why should we believe anything they tell us? Just because more experts believe in man-made climate change than those who do not, that is no reason to accept their conclusions. Many of them are paid to view the material in a particular way. “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostril.”
Did you know that 250,000 people each year die because of medical mistakes, and it is the 3rd leading cause of death. (Per CNBC, Medical errors are the third leading cause of death. Feb. 22, 2018). This includes those who die each year from taking prescription drugs. Our medical experts are frail human beings just like the rest of us.
The examples are endless. This principle not only applies to science and medicine but also to religion. People entrust the health of their spiritual life and their soul to man instead of God. They refuse to think for themselves, to study, pray, and seek God. No wonder scripture calls us sheep. We are. Many are being led to the slaughter. “When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they shall fail together.” Jesus said it this way, “If the blind follow the blind, both fall into the ditch”.
Many other passages of scripture highlight the disastrous results of not consulting God before deciding on a course of action. King David didn’t ask God about taking the census. He was warned not to do it, but he did it anyway. 60,000 died. After their victory at Jericho, Joshua didn’t ask about Ai, and 39 died because of Achan’s sin. There are many more examples.
The fear of man
How is this principle ‘cease ye from man’ different from avoiding the ‘fear of man’? The fear of man is a snare. If we fear man more than we fear God, we will be easily misled, corrupted, and deceived. “Cease ye from man” includes the avoidance of the fear of man but expands beyond that fear. It is relevant in the normal course of life when there is no fear of man involved. Making any life decision about health, finances, education, faith, marriage, and God should all be done after we seek God’s direction. Some of these life decisions do not involve the fear of man. Seeking a man’s advice at times can be helpful, but to seek a man’s advice at the expense of seeking God’s is to be exceedingly foolish. Yet most of us run to a man or woman we think will tell us pleasant and good things about our future, and not the truth. Rational people want the truth from their doctor or pastor, even if it is unpleasant.
Jesus never entrusted Himself to man, for He knew what was in man. Might that partly explain why Jesus lived such a good and holy life? Jesus sought God the Father first, and then He did not need to trust man. In our candid moments, we, too, know what is in man; yet many of us continue to place our confidence in man rather than in God.
“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostril.”
