Ozymandias

When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor. – James 4:10

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said -- "two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert ... near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lips, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away." – P. Shelly

Osymandias is the Greek name for the Egyptian king Rameses II, who lived from 1304-1237 BC. You know, the Pharaoh of Exodus fame. He reigned for 67 years and if there had been a Guinness Book of World Records at the time, he would have appeared in it. He built the most cities, the most statues, the biggest pyramid, had the most wives (eight–not counting concubines), and fathered over a hundred children! He ruled a territory that stretched from Libya to Iraq, from the Sudan to Turkey. At his command, cities were demolished and families were separated. He actually believed that he was a god! The inscription on the pedestal of his statue reads "King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works." This Pharaoh thought that he was all that and a bag of chips.

But then he came across the real deal. He encountered the God Job described in Job 9:4-13 For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully? Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger…If he sends death to snatch someone away, who can stop him? Who dares to ask him, “What are you doing?” And God does not restrain his anger. The mightiest forces against him are crushed beneath his feet.

We all know what it took to break Pharaoh. What will it take before you submit to the mighty hand of God? When will you yield to Him? At what point will you lower your flag in unconditional surrender? I don’t want you to miss the point – you will yield. You WILL surrender. The question is not if but when. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11) A wise man would recognize an unbeatable force and reconcile himself with it. A wise man would beware of the Ozymandias syndrome.