Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 28

Verses 1-26

1. Intro:
   1. Have you seen the new Chase Credit Card Commercial, a wife has had it with their family television. She says to the man "You're right, we need a new TV." He brightens up and goes shopping for a new HD TV. Then the music starts "I Want It All, I want it all; I want it all…& I Want it Now!"The commercial mentions "text chase" to get your balance and ends with the tag line "Chase what matters."
      1. Let’s meet a king & the power behind the king, who enjoyed this as their theme song!
   2. Ch.26-28 deal with the judgment of more gentile nations…Tyre & Sidon.
      1. Last week Ezekiel painted 2 pictures of these proud & wealthy cities:
         1. The scraping of a rock [2] the sinking of a ship
      2. This week he finishes their judgment with the 3^rd picture:
         1. The dethroning of a king.
2. THE INFAMOUS DOWNFALL! (1-8)
   1. KING OF TYRE! (1-10)
   2. The Declaration of their Sin (1-5)
   3. (1) Prince/Ruler (nageed) means “the man at the top”.
      1. This was Ethbaal III, who ruled from 591-572B.C.
   4. (2) In absolute arrogance the king sat enthroned in his island fortress as though he was a god.
      1. This is similar to what the Antichrist will do one day.
      2. 2 Thes.2:4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
   5. Pride! (2,5,17) {haughty attitude}
      1. His chief sin was pride, (as per deacons in 1 Tim.3:6) “not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.”
      2. What was the pre-eminent sin of the king Tyre? Pride
      3. Sin is a 3 letter word with “I” in the middle!
      4. Pride is a 5 letter word with “I” in the middle!
   6. Ali on airplane: when told to fasten seatbelts. “Superman don’t need no seatbelt!” Stewardess, “Superman don’t need no airplane”.
   7. (3) In a statement dripping with irony Ezekiel asked the king, Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you?
      1. Probably the Prophet Daniel. Daniel had already achieved a reputation for his wisdom in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar.
      2. The irony was that Ethbaal III felt his wisdom exceeded that of even Daniel who served the country that would ultimately defeat Tyre.
      3. Daniel attributed all his wisdom to God (Dan. 2:27-28), was much wiser than Ethbaal III, who claimed to be a god!
   8. Resulting Punishment (6-1)
   9. Like the king of Babylon who exalted himself as king (Is.14) in this very same way.
   10. The king himself would be brought down to the pit (the grave).
       1. The king would come to an inglorious end, dying a violent death.
   11. (9) His pride does vanish…but it’s when he is in the presence of his slayer!
   12. ANOINTED CHERUB! (11-19)
   13. Here is where the figure of the human ruler seems to morph into Satan himself.
       1. He was the originator of the sins of which Tyre was guilty.
   14. The language of these verses indicates that this discussion passed beyond the king of Tyre to a description of Satan, the power behind this king.
       1. “Perfect in beauty”(12); “Eden, the garden of God”(13); “anointed cherub”(14); “holy mountain of God”(14); “perfect/blameless”(15) - This language demands this discussion moved beyond the king of Tyre.
   15. He was once the highest of all created intelligences, standing as the “anointed cherub” (Ezek.28:14)
       1. Driven by ambition he thought he could lead a coup against the throne of God…and great was his fall!
   16. Why did God make Lucifer? (Light Bearer) To reflect God’s Glory…not steal it!
       1. That’s all of His creations goal to simply REFLECT God’s glory, not steal it!
       2. Reflect = send something back: to redirect something that strikes a surface, especially light, sound, or heat, usually back toward its point of origin. (Encarta)
   17. This passage parallels Is.14:12-17 describing Satan’s high position as a preeminent angel prior to his fall.
       1. But why here? Because he is the real source behind the king of Tyre & really…all pride! (Father of…lies, pride, etc)
   18. Listen to the contrast of Satan’s description in Is.14 & in Jesus’ ministry!
       1. The 6 “I will” statements (I = pride; will = rebellion)
       2. I will ascend into heaven - I will descend from heaven.
       3. I will exalt my throne - I will leave my throne.
       4. I will sit on the mount - I will kneel & wash feet.
       5. I will ascend above the clouds - I will descend below the clouds
       6. I will be like the Most High - I will become man.
       7. Which of these is closer to your approach? In getting ahead at work? To excelling in your ministry? In regards to dealing with marriage issues? To your overall leadership?
          1. Is it by being demanding, pushy, usurping, climbing over people…or is it the humble servant path?
       8. If God is using you…be sure God gets the glory!
   19. Wow! Lucifer was “anointed, beautiful, powerful, amazing, & glorious”…but he wasn’t divine & would never be. He had favor with God. He was close to God.
       1. It’s like Pharaoh esteeming Joseph to the top in his kingdom, holding nothing back, but his wife. It would be like him turning around & saying…“I want your wife too!”
       2. Lucifer looked hard in to the mirror…& liked what he saw. So instead of reflecting it back, starred too long! [Rudolph The Red-Nose Reindeer cartoon, Clarice told him he was cute. He ran around “I cute, I cute!”]
   20. He finally sang, "I Want It All, I want it all; I want it all…& I Want it Now!"
   21. Satan was cast to earth & took a 3^rd of the angels Rev.12:7-9.
       1. Pride will be the national religion of hell!
       2. Humility on the other hand “receives praise, & then passes it on to God untouched!”
   22. SIDON! (20-24)
   23. 23 miles north of Tyre. Didn’t become more prominent than Tyre till she fell.
   24. God was going to be glorified in his judgment of Sidon, just as He was with Pharaoh (22).
       1. Ex.14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”
   25. Sidon would know through the pestilence, blood, & sword, it was the Lord!
   26. No longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn –
       1. Num 33:55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.
   27. ISRAEL’S FUTURE BLESSING! (25,26)
   28. He wraps up with a beautiful picture of Israel’s enemies subdued.
       1. In this future millennium, Israel will dwell in shalom!
   29. End:
   30. We have been promised victory, but how do we experience this promised victory?
   31. The spiritual battlefield is the same as a physical battlefield!
       1. [1] You must know your own weakness!
       2. [2] You must know your own strengths!
       3. [3] You must know your enemies weakness!
       4. [4] You must know your enemies strengths!
   32. To either over or under-estimate any of these 4, could prove fatal.
   33. [1] You must know your own weakness!
       1. Paul admitted, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” Rom.7:18
       2. Also, w/o Jesus we can do nothing!
   34. [2] You must know your own strengths!
       1. ​​​​​​​Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil.4:13
   35. [3] You must know your enemies weakness!
       1. ​​​​​​​We talked about his limitations above.
       2. 1 Cor.10:13 “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
   36. [4] You must know your enemies strengths!
   37. Willmington calls these the 16 deadly “D’s” of the Devil.
   38. Disappointment (dis-appointments are when we forget that situations are “just-appointments”…God’s appointments!);
       Discouragement; Despair; Doubt; Disbelief (which is the final form of doubt Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Heb.3:12);
       Distractions (any!); Double-mindedness (i.e. having 2 masters. Or depicted by the neutral observer during the American Civil War who put on a confederate pants & a Yankee coat only to be shot by both sides!);
       Dishonesty (this might be as simple as being less than we should be: as pastors, husbands, wives, workers);
       ​​​​​​​Deceit; Dullness (maybe dull of hearing);
       Deadness (unchecked dullness);
       Delay (putting off salvation or working for Him);
       Discord; Defilement (Vance Havner, addressing a group of youth that came forward to give their lives to full-time service to God said, “Don’t pray “Lord, use me.” He’ll do that alright. In fact, He’ll wear you out, for there’s not enough of you to go around as it is! What you should pray is “Lord, make me useable!”);
       Defame (criticize, or belittle other believers); & Disobedience.
       1. ​​​​​​​The 16 deadly “D’s” of the Devil.