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Chapter 28:11-19 (ESV)

Posted on March 09, 2023  - By Chris LaBelle  

Chapter 28:11-19 (ESV) - Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: “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.
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.
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.
You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created,
    till unrighteousness was found in you.
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.
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.
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.
All who know you among the peoples
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
    and shall be no more forever.”

Question to consider: With whom does God compare the king of Tyre in this lamentation?

The prideful ruler of Tyre, Ethbaal II, faced a destruction so sure, that God wrote for him a lamentation, a funeral song. In his pride, the ruler of Tyre thought himself a god, but this lamentation instead compared him to Lucifer, the most prideful cherub God ever created. The beautiful Tyre was likened to the Garden of Eden, and the king was adorned with every kind of precious stone.

Like all the kings of the earth, God appointed him to be a faithful guardian of the people, but unrighteousness was found in him just like unrighteousness was found in Lucifer. In the abundance of his trade, he became powerful and violent and prideful. Just as God cast Lucifer out of heaven, so He was going to destroy the king of Tyre.

Just as Moses called the serpent in the garden “most crafty” so God pointed out the wisdom of Ethbaal II, and just as Lucifer used his craftiness to deceive Eve and convince Adam to rebel against God, so the king of Tyre used his wisdom for his own splendor and was likewise filled with pride.

Whether the king of Tyre was controlled by Satan or was merely walking the same blasphemous path, he would be consumed by God’s wrath and come to a dreadful end. Implied in this judgment against Ethbaal II is that Satan will also come to a dreadful end. As Tyre was consumed with fire so Satan and his angels will be cast into the eternal fires of hell, and his reign of terror will be no more forever.

Satan was defeated at the cross, and while he still seeks to devour people and separate them from God, God still uses him as a foil to highlight the grace and mercy of Christ so that they may find salvation in His name. The stories of Lucifer and Ethbaal II are both tragic. They were given so much, and rather than using their gifts to bring glory to God and show mercy to His creation, they thought they could become gods and indulged themselves in temporary splendor as they made merchandise out of people.

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, You and You alone deserve all praise, glory and honor. Thank You for not exploiting Your creation but redeeming it and lavishing upon it Your good and perfect gifts. Amen.