QT 8/17/2023 Ezek 28:12-19, The enemy only appears to be winning

Ezekiel 28:12–19 (ESV) —

12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:

“You were the signet of perfection,

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;

every precious stone was your covering,

sardius, topaz, and diamond,

beryl, onyx, and jasper,

sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;

and crafted in gold were your settings

and your engravings.

On the day that you were created

they were prepared.

14 You were an anointed guardian cherub.

I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;

in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

15 You were blameless in your ways

from the day you were created,

till unrighteousness was found in you.

16 In the abundance of your trade

you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;

so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,

and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,

from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

I cast you to the ground;

I exposed you before kings,

to feast their eyes on you.

18 By the multitude of your iniquities,

in the unrighteousness of your trade

you profaned your sanctuaries;

so I brought fire out from your midst;

it consumed you,

and I turned you to ashes on the earth

in the sight of all who saw you.

19 All who know you among the peoples

are appalled at you;

you have come to a dreadful end

and shall be no more forever.”

 

NOTE: The prophet appears to change his subject. Although a better interpretation is that this is the power behind the King, the true ruler of Tyre, and not the human ruler. This is not a man who thought he was a god, but something much different. He was a cherub and walked on the holy mountain of God. The passage is very similar to another description of Satan found in Isaiah.

 

Isaiah 14:12–17 (ESV) —

12 “How you are fallen from heaven,

O Day Star, son of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground,

you who laid the nations low!

13 You said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

15 But you are brought down to Sheol,

to the far reaches of the pit.

16 Those who see you will stare at you

and ponder over you:

‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,

who shook kingdoms,

17 who made the world like a desert

and overthrew its cities,

who did not let his prisoners go home?’

 

Unlike human trade, this trade was his interactions with the other angels, ultimately leading one-third of the angels to follow him in rebellion.

 

The Ezekiel passage relates the end of Satan with the end of Tyre. But for Satan, this prophecy is still to come. He has not been exposed yet to the world, although many of the rich and elite are aware of him.

 

The enemy is clearly attacking all the foundations of truth that are revealed in the first few chapters of Genesis. He attacks creation, marriage, sexual relationships within marriage, sexual identity, sin, guilt, shame, sexual roles, authority structures, work, and rebellion from God's rule. If I was an outsider looking down upon earth, the enemy has succeeded in making the land and the worldview the opposite of all that God created.

 

And yet, God is still King of kings, and Lord of lords. The creator is not finished yet and has promised more. He will bring his will to accomplishment. My job is to play my part (my mission and ministry), pray, and wait upon him.

 

PONDER:

1. It does seem bleak, but do I have faith to believe in God and not in the world's ways and schemes?

 

PRAYER: Father, I believe in you. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I believe I have a future and a hope. I believe in my new home. I believe in the millennial kingdom that is coming. I believe I will be raptured before your wrath falls. I believe that I am your son. And I praise you, for I am unworthy of all you have promised me.