Ezekiel 28
COMMENTARY:
: 2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre. Thus says the Lord GOD; Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet you are a man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God: (5057 “prince” [nagiyd] means ruler, captain, leader, governor, prefect, chief, sovereign, commander, noble or worthy thing.)
DEVOTION: Here we find a human man thinking that he is just like a god. In fact, he says that he is god.
What does he base his statement on? His heart was lifted up above all those who are around him. He makes statements that he can think like a god. He thinks that because he is king of a nation he sits in the place of a god. People around him fall down and worship him.
He goes on to describe himself as sitting on the seas as a ruler not only over land but the seas. It was a nation that dealt with the wealth of the nations of the world. They received ships in on a regular basis that brought the wealth of the world to their door and this king could take whatever he wanted.
He thought he was smarter than any man who ever lived, even though the Bible described Solomon as the wisest man. He didn’t care what others thought. His wisdom had caused him to become a great wealthy man that everyone had to look up to.
God, the REAL ONE, answered his ambition with a judgment. HE doesn’t honor people whose hearts are lifted up above everyone else. HE wants individuals to be servants to the ones they lead. HE has a different philosophy of life. Pride is not something that a created being is supposed to have. Those who are controlled by pride will end in a place called the pit. The final place is called the lake of fire for eternity.
God wants everyone in Ezekiel’s day and in our day to realize that HE is the ONLY TRUE GOD of the universe. HE will not give HIS position away. HE is Sovereign over all created beings. We find later in this chapter that HE is even the creator of angels who think they can rebel against HIM.
This human leader was going to meet the LORD one day and answer for his statements. We are going to stand before the LORD one day to answer for our statements in this life.
We need to watch was we say and think. Our center needs to be Jesus Christ at all times. If this is true and we honor the LORD with our thoughts and actions we can be blessed and not judged like this leader of Tyre.
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD for guidance in all of our statements. As leaders we first answer to the LORD. Those we lead also answer to the LORD if they alow us to lead contrary to the Word of God.
: 5 By your great wisdom and by your traffic have you increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches. (1361 “lifted up” [gabahh] means exalted, to be high, haughty, to be or become overly confident in one’s abilities, greatness, or worth, elevated, proud, hard to understand or arrogant in a bad sense.)
DEVOTION: Too often those who have done will in lift think that they have done it all by themselves. Sometimes there are others who have helped them but they don’t give them credit for the help. Sometimes it was just the right circumstances that caused them to do well.
However, the LORD knows what we need and HE will bless us according to our ability to handle things correctly from a Biblical perspective. We need to realize that the LORD is the one who helps us in our daily life to have what we need to serve HIM and help others.
Our goals should be to always honor the LORD with our life and possessions. This was not true of the nation of Israel and other nations. They seem to think that if they succeed it is all their own doing and forget to realize that life is controlled by the LORD and blessings are HIS to give and take away.
Nations that don’t honor the LORD don’t think they need the LORD until it is too late. Sometimes even Israel fell into this category. It is sad but true that even today we have people who are believers who think that they have done it all on their own instead if giving the LORD credit.
In the Old Testament there were many nations who didn’t love the LORD and thought they could do without HIM. Tyre was one of those nations. They thought they could do anything without the LORD and HE had to show them that they were wrong.
There are times when even those who say they are followers of the LORD who take credit for what is happening in their lives instead of giving the LORD the glory. These individuals will find out that the LORD wants the credit and will take away the blessings, so that, they realize that HE is the one who blesses and HE is the one who can take away the blessings. HE wants to be honored!
CHALLENGE: Are we honoring the LORD with our blessings or are we thinking like the heathen that we are the ones who are doing it all? Only we can answer this question.
: 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you. (1254 “created” [bara] means shape, or form – always with God as the subject.)
DEVOTION: This chapter is one that has a few interpretations. The king of Tyre could be only a human being that was king in the land of Tyre or he could be a figure that is used as a type of Satan.
If the second interpretation is correct which I think is true. The devil was a created being that was perfect at his creation by God. The angels were created before man was created. The angels were given specific responsibilities. Some of them were cherubs. Some were seraphim. Some were messengers. Some were archangels.
In the New Testament we find that some of the good angels are guardian angels for those who will be heirs of salvation. The cherub’s responsibility seems to be to protect the holiness of God. They were first used in the Garden of Eden to keep Adam and Eve from the Tree of Life.
This king or leader is said to be in the Garden of Eden. We know that Satan appeared in the garden to tempt Adam and Eve.
Before the creation of man the Bible implies that the angels in heaven made a choice. There was an angel that wanted to be equal with God. That could never happen. That angel is the devil.
He took about a third of the angels with him in the rebellion. These fallen angels are called demons. Satan or the devil was the cherub that led the rebellion against the LORD. These demons are used as the army of Satan to tempt and confuse those who live in the world. The eyes of those outside of Christ are blind. They can be led astray by these evil angels. The New Testament gives us many example of demon possession and this is still happening today in our world.
When sin was found in him, he was declared to be out of favor with God. He was removed from the mountain of God. He was cast out of the midst of the stones of fire. He will finally end up in the lake of fire for eternity. He will lead a final rebellion after the millennium.
He lied to Eve about what God was doing to them. Satan or the devil had everything and yet he chose to not follow the LORD. Pride was his sin. He wants everyone to join him in the lake of fire. Most of those who live will spend eternity with him in the lake of fire or hell for eternity.
Our responsibility is to warn those in our world about the temptations of the devil. We have to warn everyone that if they are not a follower of Jesus Christ they will spend eternity with the devil and his angels.
The possibilities are great for those who chose to follow the LORD but most do not. They think that they would have it better if they left God out of their lives. Their decision is wrong. Are we allowing the LORD to direct our daily lives?
CHALLENGE: We are created beings that were created second after the angels. We will never become angels and angels will never become human beings. Appearances can be deceiving. Don’t listen to the “angel of light” who in reality is Satan.
: 25 Thus says the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. (6942 “sanctified” [qadash] means hallow, dedicate, holy, consecrate, to manifest holiness, be set apart, to show oneself sacred or majestic, or to be clean.)
DEVOTION: The LORD is judging HIS people because of their sin. HE gives a description of the one behind the people of Tyrus, it is Satan, who is guiding this nation. He was a created being who was supposed to be holy to the LORD but he rebelled. Now the LORD is telling the children of Israel they have rebelled against Him and they will have to face judgment but there is going to be a future day of restoration.
In that day the heathen or all those who are not followers of the LORD will know that it was the LORD who has restored them to a place of honor again. This happened after the captivity but it was not fully understood until the Messiah came to tell of yet another restoration.
God’s people are set apart to HIM alone. They are to be holy. They are to be a group of individuals who trust in HIM alone. It will be great to see this final restoration of the children of Israel during the reign of Christ on this earth.
We are looking forward to the time we will meet Jesus face to face. We have promises that the children of Israel didn’t have but they are still in the plan of the LORD. HE doesn’t ever give up completely on HIS people.
While we are waiting for future events we need to be living a life with the help of the Holy Spirit that is pleasing to the LORD. Each day is a new day of service to the LORD. We have to confess our sins daily and ask for HIS help to serve HIM faithfully. HE will answer our genuine prayer for forgiveness and service.
CHALLENGE: We are sinners saved by grace to serve a living Savior each day. We are set apart by the LORD. We are part of HIS family once we genuinely become a follower of HIM.
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