Ezekiel 28. After our holiday break, we re returning to our study of Ezekiel, and specifically to the third major section of his book

Transcription

1 After ur hliday break, we re returning t ur study f Ezekiel, and specifically t the third majr sectin f his bk The third sectin runs thrugh chapter 32, and in this sectin the Lrd explains t Israel hw He plans t judge the natin s lng-time enemies This sectin is a bridge between the first half f the bk, where we studied Israel s ffenses and the Lrd s respnse f judgment And it leads us int the secnd half f the bk, which reveals the amazing glry awaiting Israel in the Kingdm t cme In between we find this sectin where the Lrd reassures Israel that He will deal fairly with Israel s enemies After all, if the Lrd was willing t g t such terrible lengths t hld His wn peple accuntable, what wuld He d t Israel s adversaries? He tells Israel that they t will be judged, sme in Ezekiel s day and sme in a time t cme in the Kingdm S far we ve studied Ammn, Mab, Edm and Philistia, and we ve started the fifth enemy, Tyre In chapters we learned abut Gd s judgment f this wealthy and independent city state The were prud and began t think that their immense wealth and influence was their wn making But they verlked hw the Lrd had placed them in the perfect psitin t prfit frm the wrld s trade Therefre, because f their arrgance and pride, blinded by their wealth, the Lrd said He wuld judge the natin They were an enemy f Israel, but their ffense wasn t center n attacking Gd s peple but n failing t glrify the Lrd S the Lrd prmised t level the city, remve its prminence And the merchants f the wrld wuld murn its lss 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 23 As we ended, we reached the last part f chapter 27, where the Lrd asked Ezekiel t prnunce a eulgy against the city The Lrd reminded the city hw they cnveniently verlked their bviusly dependence n the rest f the wrld and ultimately n Gd He used a metaphr f a tall, majestic sailing ship t picture the city in its splendr And nw as we pick up in the secnd half f the chapter In v.25 the chapter mves frm prse t petry where we see that ship experiencing shipwreck The pem desn t give us much new n the future f the city It simply presents it in mre succinct and therefre pwer ways, playing upn a picture that was uniquely apprpriate fr this city Being the king f the seas, the Tyrians culd appreciate the symblism better than anyne Ezek. 27:25 The ships f Tarshish were the carriers fr yur merchandise. And yu were filled and were very glrius In the heart f the seas. Ezek. 27:26 Yur rwers have brught yu Int great waters; The east wind has brken yu In the heart f the seas. Ezek. 27:27 Yur wealth, yur wares, yur merchandise, Yur sailrs and yur pilts, Yur repairers f seams, yur dealers in merchandise And all yur men f war wh are in yu, With all yur cmpany that is in yur midst, Will fall int the heart f the seas On the day f yur verthrw. Ezek. 27:28 At the sund f the cry f yur pilts The pasture lands will shake. Ezek. 27:29 All wh handle the ar, The sailrs and all the pilts f the sea Will cme dwn frm their ships; They will stand n the land, 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 23 Ezek. 27:30 And they will make their vice heard ver yu And will cry bitterly. They will cast dust n their heads, They will wallw in ashes. Ezek. 27:31 Als they will make themselves bald fr yu And gird themselves with sackclth; And they will weep fr yu in bitterness f sul With bitter murning. Ezek. 27:32 Mrever, in their wailing they will take up a lamentatin fr yu And lament ver yu: Wh is like Tyre, Like her wh is silent in the midst f the sea? Ezek. 27:33 When yur wares went ut frm the seas, Yu satisfied many peples; With the abundance f yur wealth and yur merchandise Yu enriched the kings f earth. Ezek. 27:34 Nw that yu are brken by the seas In the depths f the waters, Yur merchandise and all yur cmpany Have fallen in the midst f yu. Ezek. 27:35 All the inhabitants f the castlands Are appalled at yu, And their kings are hrribly afraid; They are trubled in cuntenance. Ezek. 27:36 The merchants amng the peples hiss at yu; Yu have becme terrified And yu will cease t be frever. Once again we have the metaphr f the ship sailing the pen seas The great ship represents the fate f the great city The ship entered pen waters, which was the mst dangerus part f a sea jurney fr any ship And at that mment a gale blws in frm the east and breaks the ship East in the Bible is a picture f sin r evil 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 23 And in this case, it s als the directin frm which the Babylnians arrived t cnquer the city As the ship was brken, it s carg and crew were tssed int the sea In v we see all the fine things that were catalged in the prir chapter falling int the deep Remember, the sea is a picture in the Old Testament f the abyss, f the place f judgment in the center f the earth S this scene is picturing what we learned in the earlier chapter when the Lrd prmised t bring thse in the city int Hades Secndly, as the Lrd the prmised, the destructin f the city wuld lead the wrld f merchants t cry ut in despair as their livelihd is gne The Lrd says in v.28 that pasture lands wuld shake with their cries Seaman wh depended n the trade stand at the seashre and gawk at the destructin f the great ship Men will weep bitterly this is what the wrld f cmmerce did when the Lrd brught dwn Tyre As we studied last time, these laments are similar t what will happen when the Babyln f Tribulatin is destryed by Gd The wrld will have truble grasping that smething s great culd be destryed I think this will be the state f humanity with great natins like the U.S. r ther wrld pwers tday are brught lw by Gd The Bible prmises that the wrld will be reshaped in dramatic fashin in preparatin fr the rise f the antichrist during Tribulatin Then in v.32, the Lrd gives us the lament f thse wh murn fr Type, beginning with a questin f Wh is like Tyre? Tyre s histric strength and resistance t invasin made it the envy f the wrld 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 23 Therefre, it s fall was as stunning as it wuld be tday t hear that the U.S. r China had fallen t an enemy S the lamentatin is a mixture f amazement and hrrr In vs the lament recunts the fall f the ship, which tells us that the peple f the earth were retelling the fall f Tyre fr years after It was the news n ne culd stp talking abut This is a gd example f hw the Lrd brings Himself glry even amng the ungdly His wrks are s stunning and awe-inspiring that cause the wrld t testify t Gd s greatness withut even knwing Wh they credit Finally, the fall f this great city will cause the kings f the wrld t becme hrribly afraid The wrld has been rcked When yur hpe fr the future desn t cme frm knwing the Lrd s prmises, yu nly have the wrld as yur fundatin And fr the wrld, Tyre was the sure bet S if yu wanted t rest yu cnfidence fr the future n smething that yu felt culdn t be shaken, yu bet n Tyre remaining strng Yu threw yur lt in with Tyre s s that yur business depended n Tyre s prsperity And yur security depended n Tyre s mercenary armies and yur trading partners depended n access t Tyre s ships Nthing in the wrld was mre dependable, r s the wrld thught S when the city fell, it rcked the wrld, leading kings t be trubled Because if Tyre culd be taken, wh culd be safe? And if Tyre wasn t dependable, what was? That s why the wrd f Gd says: 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 23 Is. 28:16 Therefre thus says the Lrd GOD, Behld, I am laying in Zin a stne, a tested stne, A cstly crnerstne fr the fundatin, firmly placed. He wh believes in it will nt be disturbed. S the Lrd prnunced judgment n the city, and it came t pass shrtly after Ezekiel revealed it Babyln subjugated the city immediately after cnquering Jerusalem fr the third time Later when the city is cnquered by the Greeks, they penetrate the walls, the city is taken and ransacked fr the first time Eventually, the city ceases t be a place f imprtance But the Lrd isn t dne speaking judgment against Tyre, and nw He mves t naming certain individuals specifically These tw characters are the subject f the final chapter dedicated t Tyre The first is the prince f Tyre, while the secnd is called the king f Tyre Let s lk at each in turn: Ezek. 28:1 The wrd f the LORD came again t me, saying, Ezek. 28:2 Sn f man, say t the leader f Tyre, Thus says the Lrd GOD, Because yur heart is lifted up And yu have said, I am a gd, I sit in the seat f gds In the heart f the seas ; Yet yu are a man and nt Gd, Althugh yu make yur heart like the heart f Gd Ezek. 28:3 Behld, yu are wiser than Daniel; There is n secret that is a match fr yu. Ezek. 28:4 By yur wisdm and understanding Yu have acquired riches fr yurself And have acquired gld and silver fr yur treasuries Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 23 Ezek. 28:5 By yur great wisdm, by yur trade Yu have increased yur riches And yur heart is lifted up because f yur riches Ezek. 28:6 Therefre thus says the Lrd GOD, Because yu have made yur heart Like the heart f Gd, Ezek. 28:7 Therefre, behld, I will bring strangers upn yu, The mst ruthless f the natins. And they will draw their swrds Against the beauty f yur wisdm And defile yur splendr. Ezek. 28:8 They will bring yu dwn t the pit, And yu will die the death f thse wh are slain In the heart f the seas. Ezek. 28:9 Will yu still say, I am a gd, In the presence f yur slayer, Thugh yu are a man and nt Gd, In the hands f thse wh wund yu? Ezek. 28:10 Yu will die the death f the uncircumcised By the hand f strangers, Fr I have spken! declares the Lrd GOD! This sectin prnunces judgment against a man wh is very rich and as a result is prudly declaring himself t be a gd He is called a prince which indicates he is a ruler, and the title bviusly cntrasts with the later sectin in this chapter Ntice dwn in v.12 Ezekiel is given anther lamentatin abut the king f Tyre Yet we knw that there was nly ne ruler ver the city at any given time and there were n significant secndary rulers (i.e., princes) S wh d these tw characters represent? We dn t want t jump ahead t the secnd character just yet, but when we get there, yu ll see that the descriptin f that king is very unusual Things said abut the king f Tyre dn t match any knwn details f the city s rulers 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 23 As a result, we have t lk in an entirely different directin t find this king, t an entirely different ruler On the ther hand, the things Gd says abut the prince f Tyre d fit the histrical recrds f the rulers f Tyre Therefre, the king f Tyre desn t refer t the actual king f the city but t a different leader wh has a special relatinship t Tyre Meanwhile, the prince f Tyre is the actual city ruler, a man called Ithbaal II wh ruled in Ezekiel s day He is called a prince instead f a king t distinguish him frm anther ruler f srts wh was the real pwer behind the scenes That will becme clearer as we study the secnd part f this chapter But first, lking at what the Lrd says abut this prince, we find a similar message as befre: the king s prblem was pride Specifically, the king s heart was lifted up by his wealth and pwer He reached a pint where he declared himself t be gd, much like the Pharahs and the Caesars f Rme He didn t just tell thers that he was a gd, but he came t believe it in his wn heart Ntice at the end f v.2 the Lrd says he has a heart like the heart f Gd That isn t intended t suggest that the prince f Tyre had a gdly heart It refers t the man s inflated sense f pwer, that his heart perceived itself t be like the heart f Gd But the Lrd pints ut a line earlier that he is just a man, a statement that shuld be bvius t everyne Yet if we lack true spiritual knwledge, ur evil heard is capable f fling itself int thinking it is gd This is particular true when that heart has access t almst unlimited wealth and pwer 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 23 That kind f limitless authrity leads the persn int thinking that n ne and nthing is mre pwerful Until the persn meets the true Gd face t face Nevertheless, the king (prince) f Tyre did have real abilities that cntributed t his pride and self-deceptin First, the Lrd says in v.3 that the king was an intelligent persn, by Gd s grace In fact, the Lrd says that the man is smarter than Daniel Remember, Daniel and Ezekiel were cntempraries living in Babyln tgether By the time Ezekiel wrte this prphecy, Daniel had been in Babyln fr abut 20 years And by that time he had ascended t his psitin next t Nebuchadnezzar He has interpreted thse dreams and been placed in charge f the curt f magi His stry was prbably knwn thrughut the empire, and he was admired as an intelligent man Yet the Lrd acknwledges that the king f Tyre was actually a smarter man than Daniel And because f his intelligence, the man had amassed great wealth The cmbinatin f his intelligence and wealth, he had risen t a place f great pwer This cmparisn between the king and Daniel ffers us a useful reminder that we can t judge the quality f a persn nr his imprtance t Gd based n human perfrmance statistics The wrld wuld have cmpared Daniel and the king and cncluded the king was the better man He was smarter, mightier, and richer And the Lrd made him that way the Lrd granted this man the skills that prpelled him int his psitin and success 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 23 Of curse, the Lrd did the same fr Daniel The pint is that the Lrd ften gifts the unbelieving wrld with great skills, which allws them t achieve great achievements and wealth And the wrld celebrates such their achievements because that s all they have t cheer abut Wealth and pwer is heaven t the wrld that has n eternal future S when we see the unbelieving wrld blessed in these ways, we need t be careful abut making value judgments abut their standing with Gd Cnversely, when believers are less successful in wrldly terms, that desn t mean Gd isn t happy with us Daniel was less successful than the king f Tyre, nevertheless he was far mre blessed in the lng run Then we see the final accunting f wh was actually the better man, starting in v.7 Strangers wuld cme against this king, and this ruthless natin wuld draw its swrds and take away the king s wealth and pwer When that same ruthless natin came against the less-intelligent Daniel, it resulted in him being exalted t a psitin f pwer This is hw Gd cmmnly wrks he turns the tables n the wrld t shw that the wrld s wisdm is actually flishness Then in v.8 the Lrd prmises this leader f the city wuld be brught dwn t his appinted end He wuld die the death f thse wh are slain in battle He wuld be n different than thse wh are buried at sea S that in the end, the man wh was s pwerful and wealthy was indistinguishable frm the pauper wh dies in the gutter Death is the great equalizer It treats everyne the same, and it leads everyne t the same place 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 23! Nthing yu gain in this wrld will make a difference in that end mment Only the state f yur relatinship with the Lrd will bring yu distinctin in that mment Finally, the Lrd mcks the king by asking in v.9 if he will be able t say he is a king when he stares in the eyes f the sldier wh slays him? What a wnderful way t expse the flly f any man claiming t be a gd We may be able t fl many ignrant peple int thinking we are a gd, as the ancient kings f the wrld ften did And in many cases, such leaders might becme s arrgant that they are able t cnvince even themselves that they are gds But when the mment an adversary cmes against the man ready t cut him dwn as easily as any ther human being, he will knw the truth As the Lrd says, will that persn sill maintain they are a gd? Wn t they knw in that mment that they have n pwer at all? As yu read the Lrd s retrt t the king, yu might be tempted t cmpare this situatin t that f Christ n the crss After all, Christ is Gd and yet He t was struck dwn by His adversaries Culdn t we say the same things abut Christ wuld He say He is a gd if He can be struck dwn? The difference is that n ne tk Christ s life frm Him he was struck and He was pierced, but He didn t die until He chse t die Nthing tk His life He lay it dwn fr His sheep He said Presumably, had Christ nt given up His spirit, He never wuld have died That s the difference between a Gd Wh chse t die fr His Creatin Vs. a creature wh can nt stp death despite claiming t be gd The king f Babyln dies the death f the uncircumcised, the Lrd says in v.10, 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 23 This may sund strange as if it suggests that there is a different death fr Gentiles vs. Jew, but it s speaking f smething else The Tyrians practiced circumcisin t but bviusly nt fr the reasns Israel received circumcisin The mark f circumcisin was seen as mark f distinctin fr that culture S the Lrd is prmising the king he wuld die shamefully at the hands f thse wh were nt privileged in the way he thught himself t be His mark didn t save him because the Lrd has judged him S King Ithbaal II was depsed when Nebuchadnezzar attacked But this lament applies t all the kings f Tyre, including thse wh fllwed Ithbaal during the shrt perids that the city retained pwer Each was defeated at a pint and died Eventually, the city ceased t be and there was n mre successrs Nw we reach the secnd half f the lament fr the king f Tyre, a mysterius figure Ezek. 28:11 Again the wrd f the LORD came t me saying, Ezek. 28:12 Sn f man, take up a lamentatin ver the king f Tyre and say t him, Thus says the Lrd GOD, Yu had the seal f perfectin, Full f wisdm and perfect in beauty. Ezek. 28:13 Yu were in Eden, the garden f Gd; Every precius stne was yur cvering: The ruby, the tpaz and the diamnd; The beryl, the nyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquise and the emerald; And the gld, the wrkmanship f yur settings and sckets, Was in yu. On the day that yu were created They were prepared Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 13! f! 23 Ezek. 28:14 Yu were the aninted cherub wh cvers, And I placed yu there. Yu were n the hly muntain f Gd; Yu walked in the midst f the stnes f fire. Ezek. 28:15 Yu were blameless in yur ways Frm the day yu were created Until unrighteusness was fund in yu. Ezek. 28:16 By the abundance f yur trade Yu were internally filled with vilence, And yu sinned; Therefre I have cast yu as prfane Frm the muntain f Gd. And I have destryed yu, O cvering cherub, Frm the midst f the stnes f fire. Ezek. 28:17 Yur heart was lifted up because f yur beauty; Yu crrupted yur wisdm by reasn f yur splendr. I cast yu t the grund; I put yu befre kings, That they may see yu. Ezek. 28:18 By the multitude f yur iniquities, In the unrighteusness f yur trade Yu prfaned yur sanctuaries. Therefre I have brught fire frm the midst f yu; It has cnsumed yu, And I have turned yu t ashes n the earth In the eyes f all wh see yu. Ezek. 28:19 All wh knw yu amng the peples Are appalled at yu; Yu have becme terrified And yu will cease t be frever. This character is called the king f Tyre, thugh we knw the earlier character, the prince, was actually the man running the city Yet this character is called the king, meaning the ne wh truly had the pwer ver Tyre But as I said earlier, we knw the city didn t have multiple leaders r levels f kings perating 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 14! f! 23 S there was nly ne king ver the city at any given time and n princes, Since the prince we studied earlier was the true king f the city, wh is this secnd, greater king? Our answer cmes frm examining the descriptin f this individual carefully Beginning with nticing that similarities and differences t the prince First, like earlier prince wh ruled the city, this king meets his end because f pride ver his wisdm and beauty And like the first leader, this ne will be thrwn dwn and brught lw despite his high view f self But very quickly, we start t see majr differences between the tw characters First, this king s wisdm and beauty exceed that f the prince The king s wisdm and beauty are perfect, the Lrd says In fact, he has the seal f perfectin, meaning the Lrd has judged this leader t be withut flaw at least at the start These statements are nt hyperble, because the cntext indicates they are t be taken literally This king had perfect wisdm, meaning n created thing had mre wisdm And likewise, n created thing was mre beautiful than this king Nw at this pint, we re struggling t think f all that Gd made in Creatin, what was mst wise and mst beautiful If we lk back at the Creatin accunt, we get an imprtant clue Gen. 3:1 Nw the serpent was mre crafty than any beast f the field which the LORD Gd had made. And he said t the wman, Indeed, has Gd said, Yu shall nt eat frm any tree f the garden? The serpent f Genesis 3 was the mst crafty, meaning mst wise, f any creature Gd created 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 15! f! 23 Why was the snake s wise? Because in that particular mment, the sale was being indwelled by Satan, wh was the wisest creature n earth Revelatin 20 tells us this: Rev. 20:1 Then I saw an angel cming dwn frm heaven, hlding the key f the abyss and a great chain in his hand. Rev. 20:2 And he laid hld f the dragn, the serpent f ld, wh is the devil and Satan, and bund him fr a thusand years; The serpent was Satan, and therefre the testimny f Scripture is that Satan is the wisest creature Gd ever made Therefre, the king f Tyre is Satan, which begins t fit the text very well The prince f Tyre was the evil, earthly king ruling the peple But the king f Tyre was the true spiritual pwer behind the scenes, directing the king and ruling thrugh him That s Satan s M.O. in every situatin: Eph. 6:11 Put n the full armr f Gd, s that yu will be able t stand firm against the schemes f the devil. Eph. 6:12 Fr ur struggle is nt against flesh and bld, but against the rulers, against the pwers, against the wrld frces f this darkness, against the spiritual frces f wickedness in the heavenly places. The devil, Paul says, is ur true adversary In fact, the wrd Satan cmes frm the Hebrew wrd spelled the same meaning adversary S ur spiritual struggles and ften ur earthly struggles are against him, nt against the human agents he is wrking thrugh Thse human agents are pawns And shuld Gd s rescues them ut f Satan s hands, they wuld becme ur brthers and sisters S the king f Tyre was the pwer behind the scenes in the city, and therefre he is als the true enemy f Israel 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 16! f! 23 In fact, he is the pwer behind every evil thing we face n earth and the father f lies And in this passage we re reading abut nw nly his prmised dwnfall and judgment fr Israel s sake, but fr all humanity But what s even mre fascinating abut this accunt is its recrd f Satan s backstry including his fall int sin That stry begins in v.13 where we re tld Satan was Eden, the Garden f Gd Nw at first, that sunds like smething we knw well, the Garden f Eden, humanity s first hme But ntice this garden is called the Eden, the Garden f Gd That may seem like a minr difference, but it s ur first clue that Scripture is referring t a different place Secndly, ntice Satan s wn appearance later in that verse He was cvered by every precius stne in Gd s creatin Altgether, there are nine precius jewels cvering Satan, like a garment made f sparking sequins And the setting fr these jewels in his cvering were gld Satan must have sparked like disc ball We remember elsewhere in Scripture as Paul describes Satan as an angel f light Paul was referring t the way Satan disguises himself as truth and enlightenment thugh the ppsite is true Well nw we knw that Paul s descriptin is als literally true Satan glitters and shines reflecting light frm his many jeweled appearance N ne he dazzles any wh see him Truly, Satan was the mst beautiful thing Gd created, and beynd this Gd assigned Satan a mst-privileged psitin In v.14 we re tld that Satan s jb was t be the aninted cherub wh cvers 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 17! f! 23 That language immediately takes us back t the Law Gd gave t Israel Ex. 25:17 Yu shall make a mercy seat f pure gld, tw and a half cubits lng and ne and a half cubits wide. Ex. 25:18 Yu shall make tw cherubim f gld, make them f hammered wrk at the tw ends f the mercy seat. Ex. 25:19 Make ne cherub at ne end and ne cherub at the ther end; yu shall make the cherubim f ne piece with the mercy seat at its tw ends. Ex. 25:20 The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, cvering the mercy seat with their wings and facing ne anther; the faces f the cherubim are t be turned tward the mercy seat. Ex. 25:21 Yu shall put the mercy seat n tp f the ark, and in the ark yu shall put the testimny which I will give t yu. Ex. 25:22 There I will meet with yu; and frm abve the mercy seat, frm between the tw cherubim which are upn the ark f the testimny, I will speak t yu abut all that I will give yu in cmmandment fr the sns f Israel. The ark Gd cmmanded Mses t build had a lid called a mercy seat This glden lid had tw statues mlded int its tp These statues were cherubim, angelic beings we studied earlier in this bk Thse cherubim guarded the glry f Gd As the Lrd tell Mses, His glry wuld appear in the space abve the mercy seat underneath the guarding wings f the cherubim Nw we re tld that Satan s jb was as the cvering cherub Obviusly, the gld cherubim n the mercy seat f the ark were nt real angels they were gld statues But the bk f Hebrews tells us that the design Gd gave Mses fr the tabernacle and all its furnishing was a pattern Heb. 8:4 Nw if He were n earth, He wuld nt be a priest at all, since there are thse wh ffer the gifts accrding t the Law; Heb. 8:5 wh serve a cpy and shadw f the heavenly things, just as Mses was warned by Gd when he was abut t erect the tabernacle; fr, SEE, He says, THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 18! f! 23 Every element f the design f the tabernacle was a cpy, a shadw, f smething in heaven, the writer says S in Heaven stands the actual temple f Gd And the tabernacle n earth is patterned after that heavenly structure S if there are gld cherubim guarding Gd s glry ver the ark n earth, then it means there is an actual mercy seat in the heavenly tabernacle And that heavenly tabernacle als had guardians fr Gd s glry Thse guardians weren t glden cherubim but actual cherubim Remember, the nes n earth made f gld were patterned after real things in heaven And nw we re learning that Satan s jb in Heaven was t be the cvering cherub, the angelic being guarding the glry f Gd And then we get anther clue cncerning where this is taking place In v.14 we re tld he s serving n the hly muntain f Gd Walking in the midst f the stnes f fire These tw details pint t the heavenly thrne rm f Gd The thrne f Gd is ften called the muntain f Gd r Mt. Zin in scripture And descriptins f Gd s thrne by Ezekiel and thers include descriptins f stnes f burning fire arund the thrne Putting that tgether with the earlier reference t the Garden f Gd, and we begin t understand that we re talking abut anther pattern again Just as the tabernacle was cnstructed accrding t a pattern f smething fund in Heaven, s was Eden Eden n earth was patterned after the Garden f Gd in Heaven He served in the heaven tabernacle n the heavenly mercy seat But befre lng, Satan disqualifies himself frm the psitin 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 19! f! 23 In v.15 the Lrd says that Satan served in his rle perfectly withut a flaw frm the day he was created Until a day came when unrighteusness was fund in Satan The sentence cnstructin makes clear that the rigin f sin was within Satan, nt frm an utside surce This is why Jesus says Satan is the father f lies he gave birth t all that ppses truth What cause sin t manifest in Satan? In v.16 we see the chain f events First, the abundance f Satan s trade filled him internally with vilence leading t sin We have t read between the lines a little t decde this cryptic sentence First, Satan s trade was cvering the glry f Gd in the heavenly tabernacle In a sense, we can say that Satan was the clsest created being t the glry f Gd Of the three branches f angelic beings angels, seraphim and cherubim cherubim served clsest t Gd s glry And f all cherubim, Satan served the clsest f all That s what the Scripture means when it says Satan s trade (r ccupatin) was abundant Secndly, this supreme privilege became cause fr him t be filled internally with vilence That means inside Satan came the desire t act in malice against Gd We dn t knw exactly what actin Satan tk (r was intending t take) But we knw what Satan is seen trying t d thrughut Scripture Frm the beginning, Satan has tried t replace Gd s authrity with his wn He began by deceiving wman in the Garden 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 20! f! 23 He cntinues t seek t encurage mankind t wrship him instead f Gd He tried t tempt Jesus t d the same during the wilderness temptatins And perhaps mst telling, Daniel tells us that after Satan indwells the antichrist during the Tribulatin he will declare himself t be Gd Dan. 11:36 Then the king will d as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself abve every gd and will speak mnstrus things against the Gd f gds; and he will prsper until the indignatin is finished, fr that which is decreed will be dne. I believe Satan s gals have always been the same Therefre, I prpse that his act f vilence was attempting t assume in Gd s place Satan stared at Gd s glry in the mercy seat and thught t himself he culd sit in Gd s place and rule Furthermre, remember he was called the aninted cherub The wrd aninted in Hebrew is messiah S Satan was the messiah d cherub, which certainly must suggested t him that he culd be a replacement fr Jesus That act f vilence was sin, and it intrduced rebellin int Gd s creatin And thugh Satan s sin was much greater than that f the prince f Tyre, we shuld take a mment t lk at hw similar they are The prince f Tyre, the human leader, was judged fr pride als His pride was the result f the abundance f his earthly trade He had s much pwer and wealth that he let it g t his head, and he began t think himself a gd Pride was s pwerful in the man s heart, that it caused him t think crazy thughts and believe them And as he acted accrding t thse thughts, he ffended the Gd wh granted him thse privileges in the first place And as a result, the Lrd cast him dwn 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 21! f! 23 Nw we se that this man s sin was fllwing a pattern in heaven als Satan was the heavenly mdel, and he blazed the path that all sin fllws tday It begins with blessing frm Gd, which endws us with certain things we take fr granted and begin t take credit fr That generates pride, and that pride causes us t act ut against the Gd Wh gave us what we have S abundance leads t self-satisfactin And self-satisfactin leads t pride And pride leads t malice tward Gd, which manifests in many ways, but in all cases is sin Satan pineered the pattern, and we wh share in Satan s nature fllw his pattern It s interesting that nt nly g gd things in heaven serve as patterns fr things n earth (like the tabernacle f Israel) But ur sin is als pattern n the riginal sin f Satan Satan s crruptin f the heavenly tabernacle and ur fllwing in sin after his pattern cme tgether in anther way als Bth were recnciled in Heaven by Jesus bld When Jesus was resurrected, He traveled t the thrne rm f Gd t make atnement fr sin with His bld He tk His bld and applied it t the mercy seat that Satan used t guard And by that applicatin, Jesus cleansed the heavenly tabernacle Heb. 9:22 And accrding t the Law, ne may almst say, all things are cleansed with bld, and withut shedding f bld there is n frgiveness. Heb. 9:23 Therefre it was necessary fr the cpies f the things in the heavens t be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Heb. 9:24 Fr Christ did nt enter a hly place made with hands, a mere cpy f the true ne, but int heaven itself, nw t appear in the presence f Gd fr us; Heb. 9:25 nr was it that He wuld ffer Himself ften, as the high priest enters the hly place year by year with bld that is nt his wn Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 22! f! 23 Yu may remember that after Jesus resurrected, there was a shrt time when He wuldn t allw anyne t tuch His bdy Jhn 20:16 Jesus said t her, Mary! She turned and said t Him in Hebrew, Rabbni! (which means, Teacher). Jhn 20:17 Jesus said t her, Stp clinging t Me, fr I have nt yet ascended t the Father; but g t My brethren and say t them, I ascend t My Father and yur Father, and My Gd and yur Gd. Jesus culdn t becme unclean by the stain f sin nw that He was purified in His resurrected state His bld needed t be pure fr the purpse f atnement in the Heavenly thrne where He was t ascend And Hebrews said that His bld was applied t heavenly things t cleanse them The article being cleansed in heaven was the mercy seat, because f Satan s sin S g back t the time when Satan was serving Gd n the mercy seat and imagine the scene Gd has created the mst beautiful and wise creature in all existence, Lucifer His assignment is t guard the mercy seat and cver the glry f Gd At this pint there is n sin anywhere in Gd s creatin, since nt even Satan himself has fallen yet But what is a mercy seat fr? What is mercy fr? A mercy seat is the place where sin is cleansed by the applicatin f bld atnement Lev. 16:15 Then he shall slaughter the gat f the sin ffering which is fr the peple, and bring its bld inside the veil and d with its bld as he did with the bld f the bull, and sprinkle it n the mercy seat and in frnt f the mercy seat. Lev. 16:16 He shall make atnement fr the hly place, because f the impurities f the sns f Israel and because f their transgressins in regard t all their sins; and thus he shall d fr the tent f meeting which abides with them in the midst f their impurities Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

23 23! f! 23 A mercy seat is nly necessary because sin exists and must be atned fr thrugh bld sacrifice Yet as we established, at the time that Satan was serving in this capacity, there was n sin S there was n need fr a mercy seat yet S I wnder if Satan ever pndered the purpse in his jb guarding a mercy seat? Did he ask Gd why d I guard this mercy seat? Wh is the mercy fr? T which Gd may have answered, just wait a little lnger yu ll find ut And befre Lng, Satan s fall made the mercy seat necessary Yet it was Satan s jb guarding that seat which brught abut sin in the first place S if Gd hadn t made a mercy seat, wuld sin have ever cme int existence? The paradxical nature f this situatin suggests that Gd nt nly knew sin was cming but made a way fr it t arrive And therefre, the entire plan f redemptin was planned befre anything even existed Next time we return t study the Lrd s judgment against Satan 2019 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.