Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Hi, everyone.  Sorry I've been slow to leave an entry.  Ezekiel is one of the more unusual passages in this very unusual book.  Here's my thoughts on it.  

Ezekiel 28 is a challenge to keep track of the subject. The prophet has finished speaking to Judah (what was left of Israel, at that time under siege by Babylon) and is addressing neighboring city-states also in danger of judgment. Here he's speaking to the prince of the Tyre, a coastal city-state that was large and prosperous. This prince, like many ancient rulers (and a few today, such as the leader of North Korea) considered himself better than human. He was a god, and Ezekiel sarcastically asks if the prince is going to tell the Babylonians that he is divine before he is killed. But then the tone, and possibly the subject of the prophecy changes and the king of Tyre is addressed. Some suggest that the king and the prince is the same, but this is another interpretation, dating from the second century AD, that suggests that the true king of this capital is Satan. If so, this, along with Isaiah 14, gives us a view to his life before he became the enemy of all humanity. This “king” was in Eden, with a covering of every precious stone, and anointed cherub (a very high rank of angel) who was on the mountain of God and walked among the fiery stones. Stones that burn are symbolic if the immediate presence of God.

What's the point? Tyre was the New York of its day. It was a very prosperous, driven, powerful hub of trade for the entire region. It was an economic powerhouse, but the city was driven by pride and greed. 1 Timothy 6:10 says “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. For which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Perhaps one think that we can take away is that a life dedicated to greed and material wealth can lead one to some very bad company and pride can lead one to vastly overestimate one's abilities. We think we are gods, and we're not.