Jeremiah 48:42
“And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD.”
Psalm 34:3 says, “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” This is a command from God. God wants to be magnified. The word “magnify” means, to extol or glorify. In other words, magnifying the LORD is to increase attention upon Him. The mistake Moab made was they turned their magnification upon themselves. Instead of magnifying the LORD, they magnified themselves. Whenever anyone turns the magnification away from the LORD, they are walking in dangerous ground because God says in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another,…”
So, if we are to only magnify the LORD, then what is improper magnification? We must look to 2 Chronicles 7:14 to understand what it is, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;…” Pride is always the cause of improper magnification. When we turn our magnification away from the LORD, and then place it upon ourselves, then we are magnifying the wrong person. That is why the key to revival is turning the magnification away from ourselves and placing it back upon God. You will notice from 2 Chronicles 7:14, there are three things that lead to improper magnification.
First, lack of prayer leads to improper magnification. Pride always causes us to stop praying. We stop praying because we think we can work our problems out ourselves. This is nothing short of pride. When you pray, you are placing the magnification upon the LORD for you understand that only He can help you with your problems. When you magnify yourself, prayer will not be the first thought that comes to mind when you have problems.
Second, a lack of seeking God leads to improper magnification. What is truly sad is how we seek what man thinks about a subject more than we seek God’s Word. Friend, you must be careful about placing man above God. You must be careful about putting your eyes on man, for this is magnifying man more than God. It truly doesn’t matter what man’s philosophies, methods or thoughts are. What God tells us to do is what really matters.
Third, covering sin instead of turning from it leads to improper magnification. God commands us to turn from our wicked ways if we want revival. It is sad when Christians cover sin to keep their spiritual leaders on their “spiritual thrones.” Covering sin for the expediency of allowing people to keep their position is wrong! When we do this, we are magnifying man above God. We are telling God that man defines sin, and not God.
I caution you to keep God magnified in your life. A humble heart will keep the spiritual magnifying glass upon the LORD. Don’t make the same mistake Moab made by magnifying yourself or others above God. Remember Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” If you don’t want to face a fall or destruction in your life, then you must keep magnifying the LORD.