The Strand Study Bible

EZEKIEL 28:15

EZEKIEL 28:23

1290

15 1 THOU wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. The promise of Satan’s eternal punishment (Fulfilled - Rev 20:10) 16 By the 2 multitude of thy merchan- dise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast 3 THEE as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. P 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wis- dom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast 3 THEE to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. P 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy 4 traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of 3 THEE , it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee

to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. P 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt 3 THOU be any more. P The promise of Zidon’s fall to Babylon (Fulfilled - 572 BC) 20 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21 Son of man, set thy face against 5 Zidon, and prophesy against it, 22 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, 6 when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. P 23 6 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her street; and the wound- ed shall be judged in the midst of her by

1. or, “Satan” 2. or, “prosperity of thy trading” 3. Fulfilled - Rev 20:10 (Satan’s Punishment) 4. or, “politicking”

5. Jere 47:4 6. Fulfilled - 572 BC (Fall of Zidon)

28:15 The statement “ Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee ” explains the origin of sin. Thus, sin did not begin with man ( Gen 2:9,17a ), but with one of God’s previously free-willed perfect creatures, called Lucifer (Isa 14:12). Satan and a third of the angels (Rev 12:3-4) sinned long before his encounter with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (II Pet 2:4, Jude 6 and Isa 14:12-15), which means evil was already present when man was created. 28:16 Like the king of Tyre who prospered greatly ( multitude ) through trading ( of thy merchandise ) and became arrogant by way of his achievements, Satan’s heart was lifted up due to his success ( beauty – vs 17), thus filling his heart with violence. A preoccupation with prosperity always produces pride. 28:17 According to this verse, Lucifer fell due to his “pride,” that is, Satan’s position went to his head. Is it no wonder Paul warns young Christians (called “ novices ” - I Tim 3:6) not to accept pastoral positions until they are “seasoned?” 28:18 This word ( traffick ) is a Hebrew word meaning “ to go up and down as a talebearer or secret agitator .” The same word is used in Leviticus 19:16, Proverbs 20:19 and Jeremiah 6:28. The word literally means, “ to campaign ; to lobby; to politic .” What God accused Lucifer here of was “ politicking ;” of saying whatever he had to say among the angels in order to be followed. Sadly, according to Revelation 12:4 , Satan eventually influenced one-third of the entire angelic community to follow him in his “trafficking” (politicking). Politics are and always will be of the devil. Where do you think political correctness and tolerance came from? Like politics, political correctness and tolerance will never correct anything. Why? Because it cannot change us (it can only pressure us to tolerate one another for awhile), it cannot correct us. There is only one thing that can change and correct a human being –God’s Word/The Gospel (I Sam 19:19-24 and Acts 9:1-6). Sadly, due to politics, America has gotten rid of the only thing that can change and correct her. Dennis Prager, American syndicated columnist, author, and public speaker, once noted: If we continue to teach about tolerance and intolerance instead of good and evil, we will end up with the tolerance of evil. In other words, what Prager was saying was, “If we continue to focus our attention on likeable and unlikable things people happen to say… instead of lessons in life to be learned ( Prov 28:23 ), we will end up ignoring that which will keep us from evil.” Hutton Gibson, father of Mel Gibson, agrees. He noted: Tolerance is the last virtue of a depraved society. When an immoral society has blatantly and proudly violated all the commandments, it insists upon one last virtue, tolerance for its immorality. It will not tolerate condemnation of its perversions. It creates a whole new world in which only the intolerant critic of intolerable evil is evil. 1 NOTE – When Israel started out as a nation, God begged her not to become like other nations, where a man (dictator) and/or men (democracy) ran the show ( I Sam 8 :1- 5-18 & 22:7 ). Sound like America? 28:21 Zidon, the more ancient city from which Tyre had sprung, had been peculiarly the source of corrupting idolatrous influences upon Israel (Judg 10:6 and I Ki 11:33 & 16:31). It was Zidon who introduced Israel to Baal worship.

1 Huttongibson.com. Response blog: “Enough?” (Sat. Aug 7, 2010)