Ezekiel 28:1-26, Win with Humility
Ezekiel 28:1-26, Win with Humility
When we become arrogant, we lose spiritual power. Worldly success or power is good, but it causes us to lose or weaken spiritual power. When Saul first became king, he was humble. However, power made him increasingly arrogant. He became spiritually weaker. He disobeyed God and exercised his priestly authority. In the end, he had to step down from his position as king. He died a miserable death on the battlefield. Worldly success, power, and wealth are nothing in faith. Saints should never become arrogant. Arrogance goes before destruction and is a precursor to falling. Prov.16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” 18:12, “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, but before honor is humility.” Let us listen to the word of God given through today’s text.
The text tells us that Tyre was destroyed because of the arrogance of the king of Tyre. Chapters 26-28 are a judgment on Tyre. Chapter 26 deals with the complete destruction of Tyre. Chapter 27 is a lament over the destruction of Tyre. Today, Chapter 28 shows us that the cause of Tyre’s destruction was the king’s arro gance.
1. The king of Tyre was arrogant and said, “I am a god” (1-10).
It tells us about the arrogance of the king of Tyre and God’s judgment. Tyre, which controlled the trade of the Mediterranean Sea, took over a great deal of the wealth of the world. He was arrogant and said that he was a god. Verse 2, “Son of man, tell the king of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is arrogant and you say, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of God, in the heart of the seas,’ you are a man and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God.” Verse 6, “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is set as the heart of God.”
The king of Tyre considered himself equal to God and boasted of his wisdom and wealth (property). He boasted of his wisdom. Verses 3-5, “3.You are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that you cannot understand.” 4.By your wisdom and understanding you have acquired wealth; you have stored up gold and silver in your treasuries. 5.By your great wisdom and by your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud because of your wealth.” And he boasted of his wealth and property. He boasted that he had stored up silver and gold in his treasuries. Verses 4-5, By his wisdom and understanding he acquired wealth and stored up silver and gold in his treasuries. By his great wisdom and trade he has increased his wealth. Because of his wealth, his heart has become proud. So he claimed, “I am not a human being, but a god.”
2. God strikes the proud (7-10).
7.Therefore I will bring against you the nations, the violent ones of the nations; they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your glory. 8.They will bring you down into a pit and you will die the death of those who are slain in the sea. 9.Will you say, “I am god,” before those who kill you? You will be a man, not god, before those who kill you. 10.You will die the death of the uncircumcised, by the hand of strangers, for I have spoken,” declares the Lord God.
The proud king of Tyre is judged by God. God causes him to be conquered by a foreigner, the mighty Babylon. He is killed by the sword and his glory is defilement. He is thrown into a pit and dies in the sea. In the end, his pride is broken. Verses 9-10, He cannot say, “I am a god,” before those who kill him. In front of the one who strikes, you realize that you are only a human and not a god. You will die miserably like an animal, like the uncircumcised by the foreign Babylonians, and you will become food for fish.
3. The proud king of Tyre fell and became corrupt (11-19).
At first, the king was a perfect and beautiful being. Verse 12, “You were a perfect seal, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” However, he fell because of pride and injustice. He was proud to think that he was like a god and to sit in the place of God. He boasted that he had a throne in the middle of the sea. This is also found in our lives today. When we succeed or do well, don’t we mistake it for our own ability rather than God’s grace? We are God’s children and God’s people who worship and serve God and Jesus who are on the throne in heaven. We must live boasting only about God and Jesus.
The king of Tyre had external wealth and internal corruption. Although Tyre was very wealthy economically, it was seriously corrupt spiritually. This is the same as the nature of Satan(the devil). Satan was the most beautiful, wise, and noble angel, but he fell into Hades because he was not humble. If our lives are not humble and are arrogant, we may look good on the outside, but our hearts can turn away from God. God judged the arrogant king of Tyre with fire and revealed his sins. “Through your wisdom you have gained wealth... and your heart was proud, so you said, ‘I am a god.’”(4–6) He boasted that he was the wisest and had a lot of wealth. He claimed to be a god. The serpent in the Garden of Eden tempted Eve. “If you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will be wise and like God.” The devil tells us not to be humble before God because we can become like God. This verse symbolically shows how arrogance leads to corruption. I pray that we all wake up and pray, do not give in to the devil’s temptations, and live a life that humbly serves God and the church and pleases the Lord. *The king of Tyre boasted of his wisdom and intelligence, his wealth (property), his silver and gold, and that he was a perfect seal and completely beautiful. He was so proud that he said he was a god. He was full of violence and committed sins, and his injustice defiled the sanctuary. Then he received God's judgment and was completely destroyed. Shouldn't we believe in the words that humility precedes honor and strive to live humbly like Jesus in any situation?
4. Judgment on Sidon (20–23)
Sidon was an older city than Tyre and was the capital of Phoenicia for a long time. As Tyre prospered, Sidon also prospered. God declares judgment not only on Tyre but also on Sidon in the north(22). This shows that God’s justice is not limited to a specific nation. “They will know that I am the Lord, when I execute judgment on them and show myself holy among them”(22). God’s judgment is a means of revealing His holiness and justice(39:13, Ex14:14, Lev10:3). God’s righteousness is proclaimed by judging injustice.
5. Promise of Israel’s restoration (24–26)
The destruction of Israel’s enemies brings hope to Israel. The destruction of enemy nations removes the thorn that has been troubling Israel. The “thorns” refer to the Canaanites (Num.33:55, Luke 23:13). Through the judgment, God says, “You will know that I am the Lord God”(6:7, etc.). After God destroys the enemies, He prophesies that the captives of Jacob(Israel) who were scattered throughout the nations will return and live in the promised land of Canaan. In the future, Israel will be restored, and they will build houses in their homeland, cultivate vineyards, and live comfortably, and those who see it will know that God Jehovah has done this and will fear Him.
In fact, the only way for Jerusalem(Judah, Israel) to succeed is through the Word of God. It is the way for a wonderful recovery to occur through the Word of God and become world-famous. It is not about making a lot of money with worldly wisdom like the King of Tyre and becoming famous as a rich person. Of course, God makes us rich and successful in the world. However, what the saints should boast about is not worldly success, but the spiritual change and growth and maturity that God gives. So God rebuked King Hezekiah of Judah for showing the treasure house to the Babylonian envoys after he recovered from a fatal illness. He said that all of those treasures would be taken away by Babylon. Because Jerusalem should not boast of its treasures, but of the power of prayer that killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, the power of God. It should boast of the sundial of Ahaz that cured him of a fatal illness, and the history of God.
*Prayer: God, please illuminate the deep pride in my heart and help me live with a humble attitude, words, and actions, fearing only You.
Believers, be victorious with humility. Jesus is humble(Mt.11:28-29). Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.”(Jn16:33) Jesus helps the humble to be victorious. May we all be filled with the Holy Spirit, follow the humble Jesus, be victorious with humility, and live by relying on God’s promises. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
