EZEKIEL 27-28 TOO BIG TO FAIL2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 27-28 Too Big To Fail

And

and focusing on the nation of Tyre. We talked about the nation and the city of Tyre last week as we looked at chapter 26, and this continues now. The prophet is speaking on behalf of God in regards to this nation that was just north of Israel. It was right there on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Lord is with you.

into the known world at that time as we'll see as we read through chapter 27 today. And so there was a, you know, there's a great city there, a great nation, but God had some serious problems with the nation of Tyre. And so we'll see that this evening here as we look at chapter 27 and 28. We start out though in chapter 27 looking at verse 1 and 2. It says,

The word of the Lord came again to me saying, Now son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre. And so what we have here in chapter 27 in regards to the nation of Tyre is a lamentation. It was a funeral song. It was a lamentation because Tyre is going to be thrown down and destroyed and will be no more.

Now as we have been studying through Ezekiel, we've been talking a lot about the judgment against the nation of Judah, which was God's people. And chapters 4 through 24 really dealt just with that, with the fall of Jerusalem and the judgment that God was bringing upon them for their rebellion.

Here we are though in chapter 27, we've moved on into a new section of the book where God is dealing not primarily with His people, but with the surrounding nations, the surrounding areas, because they also were in rebellion against God. And the issue that was happening here in Tyre was they were full of pride. They were puffed up with pride. And God hates pride.

And so God is giving Ezekiel this lamentation in regards to Tyre because of what is about to happen and the judgment that will come upon the nation of Tyre as a result of their pride. God is opposed to pride because really what pride is, is its opposition against God.

Pride is us telling God that we don't need Him. Pride is us relying upon ourselves instead of God. It's replacing God as our God and putting ourselves as God. And the nation of Tyre was doing just that. They were so wealthy.

They were so prosperous, they were so successful that they were of the opinion that they did not need God and that really nothing bad could happen to them. And so they thought, we've got it under control. I kind of liken it to, if you remember back in the news not very long ago,

There was the bailout that was happening and talking about all of these companies that the government was going to come in and rescue. And the phrase that they kept using over and over again was that they were too big to fail. And because these companies that were failing were too big to fail, the government then stepped in and said, we're going to save these companies that are too big to fail. It would be too devastating if these companies were to fail.

Well, if you take that idea and apply that to the nation of Tyre, it fits very nicely. That the city of Tyre, the nation of Tyre, would be what the world considered at that time, too big to fail. They considered themselves too big to fail.

Even though Nebuchadnezzar has risen up, even though there's the threat of Babylon, they were not worried. They were not scared about that. They were too big to fail. They were too prosperous. They were too secure. They were too steady. They could not be shaken. They were trusting in themselves, in their success, in their prosperity.

And what we learn about the nation of Tyre tonight is that they were not too big to fail. In fact, they do fail and they will be wiped out completely, really never to be rebuilt again.

And so here in chapter 27 is this lamentation and God is speaking of the nation of Tyre as if it's a big ship that is about to sink. And so that's the imagery that he's using as we look at chapter 27 here. And so we continue on in verse 3. He says, And say to Tyre,

You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God. O Tyre, you have said, I am perfect in beauty. Your borders are in the midst of the seas, your builders have perfected your beauty.

They made all your planks of fir trees from Sinir. They took cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast. Of oaks from Bashan, they made your oars. The company of Asherites have inlaid your planks with ivory from the coast of Cyprus. Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sale. Blue and purple from the coast of Elisha was what covered you.

And so here in verses 3 through 7, we have this imagery of a ship that's put together with all of these different components from all over the world. And God begins by saying, look, here's what you have said of yourself. And here we get an insight into the heart of the people of Tyre. What did they think of themselves? What was their opinion of themselves? Tyre said, I am perfect in beauty.

They were convinced that they were perfect in beauty. They were convinced that

that they had it all figured out, that they had it all worked out. And because of their great prosperity, they were living in luxury. It was kind of like easy street, you know, that the things that they wanted, they could have. They could get whatever they wanted. And that's demonstrated by all the materials that God describes on this ship that is representing the nation of Tyre.

That their planks are from here, their mast is from there. And the idea is that you can get the best from each place and it's all coming to them. They're getting the best goods from around the world.

And so they're convinced, we're perfect in beauty. Look, we've got the best ivory, we've got the best wood, we've got the best planks, we've got the best linens, we've got the best of everything. We are incredibly successful, we're perfect in beauty. Look how beautiful we can make things, look how beautiful we are. That was their attitude and that was their mentality. Again, their issue was pride. They were full of themselves.

I like to refer to the pun, you know, it's the nation of Tyre and they were inflated. They were full of themselves and became an inflated Tyre. And so...

That's an issue. God is opposed to the proud. In Isaiah chapter 26 verse 5, it tells us that He brings down those who dwell on high in the lofty city. He lays it low. He lays it low to the ground. He brings it down to the dust.

So the lofty city that's built up high, God brings it down to the dust. And if you remember, that's what we talked about last week. That is actually what happens to the nation of Tyre. Not only is the city conquered, but the materials that the city was built out of are scraped off of the ground and thrown into the sea so that all that's left is just dust. Right?

Because that is the way that God deals with pride. And that's why pride is so dangerous for us. And as we look at the nation of Tyre this evening, I think that it's appropriate that we challenge ourselves and we consider what is our level of inflation? Are we full of ourselves? Are we prideful? And is this an area that we need to repent of so that we don't experience

the similar fate that the nation of Tyre experienced. As we go on in verse 8, it says, "...inhabitants of Sidon and Arved were your oarsmen. Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you. They became your pilots. Elders of Jebal and its wise men were in you to caulk your seams. All the ships of the sea and their oarsmen were in you to market your merchandise. Those from Persia, Lydia, and Libya."

Verse 2.

As he goes on in verses 8 through 11, now he talks about the people from around the world. We just saw they had the best goods from around the world, but now they have the best people from around the world, the best men, the strong sea merchants, the expert craftsmen, the strong army from around the world. They were gathered together. And so the nation of Tyre, the city of Tyre was united.

not just one particular nationality, but there were people from all over, kind of like the gathering together of the best of the best in order to serve in their military, in order to build their ships, in order to sail their ships, in order to do the things that they were doing. And again, it speaks of their wealth that they were able to bring in the best. You know, when

when you're not that wealthy, when you can't just afford whatever you want, you do the best with what you have. But when you have an abundance of resources, well, then you begin to bring in from all these other places, these different goods and these different services, these different men in order to do those things for you. So when you're living kind of a normal life and you don't have much means and resources,

then you mow your own lawn. But when you get a little bit better off, then you're able to have someone else come and mow your lawn, right? That's a silly little example. But that's the same type of thing here. And so they're bringing these men together

to serve in their ranks, to build their ships, to work their crafts because they're just abounding in luxury and in resources. And these guys are part of that. And so they're part of the perfection of beauty that they think they have attained. Verse 12. Verse 12.

Now we're going to read verses 12 through 26. It's kind of a longer portion. But here he's talking about all of the different merchants. And so take special note of all the places and the names that are used in here because this is describing the extent and the reach of their trading. And you can see it was a very long range that they were reaching as they were out there making merchandise of all of these things. Verse 12.

Verse 1.

Verse 2.

"Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minoth, millet, honey, oil, and balm. Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items with the wine of Helbon and with white wool.

Dan and Havan paid your wares. Traversing back and forth, Rodiron, Cassia and Cain were among your merchandise.

Deedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares, the choices, spices, all kinds of precious stones and gold. Haran, Cana, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmed were your merchants.

These were your merchants in choice items, in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords which were in your marketplace. Verse 25. The ships of Tarshish were your carriers of your merchandise. You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas. Your oarsmen brought you into many waters, but the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas. Verse 26.

So here as we look at verses 12 through 26, we have kind of this elaborate description of all of the different places that they were involved in trading with and get an idea of the different types of goods that each one was trading. And so they pretty much had whatever you wanted. If you went to the city of Tyre, you could get...

Anything from around the world. They had it all. It was all coming back to Tyre. And so they were trading with all of these different regions. And it was this very incredibly wealthy commercial center. It was kind of the base. And then from there, all of the traders would go out. And so he's listing all of their merchants, all of those who were in business with them.

And specifically, he mentions that the ships of Tarshish were their carriers. Now, the city of Tyre is located right there on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. And so it was a port city. And from there, they could send out ships all over.

all around the Mediterranean. And they were kind of at one end of the Mediterranean Sea. And then you see there Tarshish in verse 12. They're at the other end of the Mediterranean Sea. And so they were able to go and trade all throughout the whole Mediterranean Sea, all what we would consider to be

the Roman Empire of the day. They would go even as far north as what we would understand as Russia today. The extent was just in all directions. They went all over the place and had goods and valuables and things from everywhere around the world.

Again, it was just an incredibly successful and prosperous city. The trading was very good for them and for those that they were trading with. And so it was incredible. And again, it...

Conjures up in my mind anyways, that phrase, that idea, they're too big to fail. You would never think that they could fail. You would never think that the world would survive if they failed because of the amount of trading. And yet they are going to fail.

They don't believe it. They think, hey, we're too big. It can't happen to us. We're too successful, too prosperous. Look at all of these relationships that we have. Look at all of this business that we're doing. What could ever happen to us? But there, even though they have all of these relationships, even though they're trading near and far, there in verse 26, he says that the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas. There

There's an east wind that's going to come against. And you remember, God is painting them as a picture of a boat. And so as a boat, they're out on the waters and there's this east wind that comes and breaks them. This east wind is probably a reference to the nation of Babylon as Babylon comes against them from the east. And you

is able to conquer the city. Although he doesn't conquer the city that the people actually moved out onto the island, they conquered the coast city, the big port city that was there on the coast. And the island city was conquered a little bit later by Alexander the Great when he threw all the materials into the water.

And so, as they're so successful and so prosperous and so full of themselves, and they have all of these relationships, they think, we cannot fall. We will not lose. We will not fail. We're too big. We're too awesome. We're too incredible. They're full of pride. And you know, sometimes, a lot of times, more times than we probably would want to admit, that is our own opinion of ourselves.

That we are convinced that we are, well, we've accomplished too much. We have been very successful.

And it keeps us in a position of confidence where it should not be. I was looking at a study and you've probably seen it around, but there's a study that's going around right now that talks about, you know, kids and our level in education ranked around the world. And I think it's like we're 25th in the world when it comes to math and 21st in other education area. I forget which one. But...

around the world, you know, we're very low. We don't have a good, you know, level of education right now as compared to the rest of the world. But the thing that the study was pointing out was that we have the highest confidence though. It's like we've got much more confidence than everybody else, but we're much less educated than the rest of the world. And so we're confident, but, you know, we don't know what we're confident in. And

And that's kind of our state, unfortunately, as Christians sometimes. And I think God uses these kinds of things to help open our eyes and remind us, listen, you are not too big to fail. Listen, you can have your life destroyed. Your world can be turned upside down if you rebel against God, if you continue in sin, if you refuse to be obedient to God. You know, sometimes we think God wouldn't allow this to happen. You know, maybe this...

This type of thing would affect my family. And so, God's not going to let me get caught. Or God's not going to let this deal not go through. Or God's not going to... Whatever it is that we're thinking. And we're basing it upon... Well, because these things have to happen. Or because I've been really good. Or because it's just...

it's not going to happen to me. How many times do people say that? I know that happened to some people when they were involved in this and walking in that way, but it's not going to happen to me. Or we tell ourselves, well, I have it under control. You see, all of those things are the same symptom of pride that we are full of ourselves, that we think we can handle it, that we think we won't fall, that we think we can overcome whatever obstacles may come against us, and we think that we're above ourselves.

whatever trouble or tribulation might come. That's how the nation of Tyre was. They figured, hey, we are so successful, we're so beautiful, we will not falter. No matter what comes against us, we will not fail. And yet the reality is, because in their pride, they're in opposition against God, you cannot fight against God and win. You cannot...

Go and live contrary to His ways and His commands and succeed. It will not happen. As big as you might get, you're not bigger than God. As

As successful as you might be, you're not beyond God's reach because God is God and He will deal with pride at whatever level we might attain to. Whether it be an incredible nation, a big prosperous commercial city or whether it be us personally, very successful or very popular or very powerful, no matter where we reach,

in this earth and in this life, we are not out of God's reach. And if we are living full of ourselves in pride, in opposition to God, we will be brought low. God brings low those who are proud and lofty. He brings them down to the ground as Isaiah said in Isaiah 26:5. And so, the nation of Tyre, the city of Tyre, it was powerful, it was rich, it was wealthy, it was prosperous.

But like a ship that's going to be sunk out in the sea, they're broken by this east wind. They're going to go down into the depths. Verse 27. Verse 27.

Verse 2.

They will make their voice heard because of you. They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads. They will roll about in ashes. They will shave themselves completely bald because of you, gird themselves with sackcloth and weep for you with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. In their wailing for you, they will take up a lamentation and lament for you what city is like Tyre destroyed in the midst of the sea.

And so here we have this imagery of this ship now is being sunk. It's going down into the depths and all that they had on top of it or all they had on this boat, the riches, the wares, the merchandise, all of the things that they were holding on to that they thought made them so strong goes down under with them as this ship is sunk.

And so it gives now the picture of all the people, all those who are benefiting from the commercial trade, all of those who are benefiting from the success that was going on, they're standing on the shore, they're watching it sink, and they're weeping. Why are they weeping? Well, because it

It's affecting their pocketbook. It's affecting their wallet, their bank account. They're weeping because it was such a great nation. It was such a wealthy and prosperous city. They were able to gain from it. They were able to live off of

uh... that type of trading in that type of merchandising and without the nation of tire now they didn't have those luxuries that they once had they weren't able to live the ones the way that they once were their their style of life is going to you know have to change they're going to have to figure out new ways to survive in so they're weeping in their wailing uh... because that city was so wonderful that city was so great

And now their hopes are dashed to pieces. Now their trade and their dreams of being prosperous and successful and living a luxurious life without problems, those are now crashing to the ground, sinking into the depths.

It's very interesting as you consider this imagery. You can parallel it with Revelation chapter 18. And you don't have to turn there now, but if you want to check it out later, later on in the future, there is going to be a commercial Babylon that rises up and it's described in Revelation chapter 18. And commercial Babylon has a

very similar characteristics of the nation of Tyre. They were very prideful. They were very successful and prosperous and wealthy. And like the nation of Tyre, they're going to be judged by God. And so commercial Babylon is going to be judged

destroyed and demolished and the result is just like is described here the people who were part of the trade the people who are benefiting from the existence of this commercial center they weep and they wail and they mourn and they lament over the fall of this commercial Babylon that is described in Revelation chapter 18.

And so it's something that happened with the city of Tyre, but it also foreshadows some of the things that we'll be getting to as we go through the book of Revelation together, the end times events and the rise of commercial Babylon. People are lamenting, they're weeping, because the thing that they trusted in, that they hoped in, has now failed them.

That tire has been destroyed. That inflated tire has been popped. The air has been let out. And they've sunk. There's nothing left. The city of Tyre is destroyed. Verse 33 says,

Verse 1.

All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you. Their kings will be greatly afraid and their countenance will be troubled. The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you. You will become a whore and be no more forever.

And so God declares that this nation, not only is it sunk, not only is it destroyed, but that it will be no more forever. And the nation of Tyre, the city of Tyre, has not arisen since those days. There's a little village around the area where the city of Tyre once was. It's a little fishing village. It's not prosperous like the city of Tyre was. It's not a commercial mega center. It's...

really been fulfilled, that this place has not been rebuilt. It's not been restored. As everyone mourns, as everyone is freaked out and afraid because of their fall, it becomes...

It becomes something that they are bitter about. As you see in verse 26, the merchants among the peoples will hiss at you. They once trusted in Tyre so greatly, but now it's a source of bitterness so that they hiss at the nation or the city of Tyre. They hiss at the idea. If you can imagine, you know, someone who's, who's,

financial well-being or livelihood is bound up into the stock market and then it crashes and is just obliterated, that the thing that was once their livelihood, the ones that they trusted in, now becomes something, a subject of bitterness, that they hiss at the idea of that type of thing. And so it's the same thing that's happening here. It was their livelihood, they were

blessed by it, it was really kind of their idol that they were trusting in, the nation of Tyre, the city of Tyre. And when it failed them, then it became a source of bitterness. It became something that disgusted them. And that will always happen. When we trust in things that are not God, it will fail us. Those things will never succeed and prosper if they're not of God.

And then the result is we'll become bitter at those things that we once worshipped and trusted in and made our livelihood from.

And so, God is calling us, as we look at the example here of the nation of Tyre, God is calling us to humble ourselves and trust in Him. And not to trust in this life, and not to trust in prosperity, or wealth, or beauty, or the things that we can accomplish, and the riches that we can make, because all of those things will fail us and make us bitter.

But if we trust in the Lord, if we hope in the Lord, then our feet will be set upon the rock and we will not be moved. We will not be shaken. What we see here is the people are shaken. They're shaken to the core. The people are devastated. Their lives are ruined now that Tyre has been destroyed. But God says, look, if you build your house upon the rock, not trusting in those things that will fail, but trusting in Me, then you will be shaken.

then you will not be moved and you will not be shaken. Well, as we go on into chapter 28, we're still talking about the nation of Tyre, but God is specifically speaking to the rulers. He speaks to the prince of Tyre and to the king of Tyre. And there's some interesting things that we can parallel that with as we go through. But let's start out in chapter 28, verse 1. It says,

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, because, sorry, thus says the Lord God, because your heart is lifted up, and you say, I am a God. I sit in the seat of gods, in the midst of the seas, yet you are a man and not a God, though you set your heart as the heart of a God.

And so again, we get to see the pride that is taking place within the nation of Tyre. As the prince, that is a ruler, maybe the son of the king, it's not exactly specific on who it's referring to, but it's the prince of Tyre. And he has set his heart in such a way, he said in his heart, I am a god. He thinks he is a god. This is God.

Well, this is what he thinks of himself. And again, this is not just the prince of Tyre that was experiencing this, but the nation itself was trusting in itself, thinking, we're too big to fail. We're not going to fall. We're not going to falter. And here the prince is demonstrating that attitude, saying of himself, I am a god. Exalting himself.

This is a very clear teaching of Scripture. When you exalt yourself, the result is destruction. If you humble yourself, the result is exaltation. You see, God wants us to be exalted. He wants us to be at that level that we think that we need to be. He wants us to be exalted, but it's very important how we get there. If we exalt ourselves...

He will destroy us and bring us low and leave us with nothing. But if we humble ourselves, you see, if we take ourselves low, if we surrender ourselves to Him and rely upon Him, then He will exalt us. That's why Jesus said, look, if you want to save your life, you have to lose your life.

How does that make sense? Well, it's this idea of exaltation and destruction. If you exalt yourself, God will bring you down. But if you bring yourself down, then God will lift you up. God wants to work in our lives. He wants to bless us. Not...

Speaking, you know, only physically or monetarily or that type of thing, but spiritually and eternally. He wants to bless us. He wants to give us an incredible place in the kingdom that He has prepared for the rest of eternity. He's reserved for us. Remember Jesus said, I'm going to prepare many mansions for you.

In my father's house are many mansions, rather, and I'm going to prepare a place for you. He wants to give you this incredible place of honor and privilege. But if we exalt ourselves and say, look how wonderful I am and how worthy I am of all of those things, well, exalting ourself will result in our destruction.

Because what we're saying is, I can do it myself. I only need myself. I have what I need and I don't need God. That is the big offense of pride. It's us looking to God and saying, I don't need you. It's an offense to Him. It's an issue that's been around for a really long time. The nation of Tyre experienced it, but they weren't the first. It's been around for even longer than that.

What God desires, what God requires is for us to recognize who He truly is and how much we need Him. But the prince of Tyre was convinced, I'm a God. I don't need to worship God. I am a God. I've got everything I need. I'm self-sufficient. I don't need God. That was the heart of this prince. Verse 3.

It says, And so here we have a little bit of insight into the heart of the Prince of Tyre. Here's what he thinks of himself. I'm wiser than Daniel.

Now, Daniel the prophet was alive at the same time as Ezekiel. And Ezekiel was with the captives from the nation of Judah, and he was ministering to them. At the same time, Daniel was really in the royal palace of Babylon. And you can read about that. We'll get to it in a few months, to the book of Daniel and the things that were going on there and how

And so you remember when he interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar's dream about the statue. And he said,

And King Nebuchadnezzar makes a decree that everybody is to worship the God that Daniel worships and serves and those types of things. And so the world had heard of Daniel and the wisdom of Daniel and how he was able to interpret the dream. But here the Prince of Tyre says,

"Oh yeah, that Daniel guy, he's got nothing on me. I'm wiser than Daniel." Why? Well, look at all I've done. Look at what I've accomplished. I understand everything. And look how I've gained riches for myself. And look how I've gathered gold and silver and all the things I've accomplished. And I've increased my riches by my wisdom. I've increased my riches. I've increased myself. Look how wonderful I am doing.

You see the pride and the arrogance here in the prince of Tyre. Now, this is his own opinion of himself that he is wiser than Daniel, but the reality is that he's not. Because Proverbs 9, verse 10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

And so he doesn't even come close. He hasn't even started down wisdom's path because he does not fear the Lord. And for you and I, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If we want to be wise, it's not about how much we get or how much we can obtain or how much we can accomplish. It's about fearing God.

trusting Him, humbling ourselves before Him, surrendering ourselves before Him, and allowing Him to do the work in us that He desires to do. Well, it goes on in verse 6, Therefore, thus says the Lord God, Because you have set your heart as the heart of a God, behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor.

They shall throw you down into the pit and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas. I like verse 9. It says, Will you still say before him who slays you, I am a God, but you shall be a man and not a God in the hand of him who slays you. You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of aliens, for I have spoken, says the Lord God. So God says, because you're

Proud because you say of yourself that you are a God because you think you're self-sufficient and you don't need me. You don't need anyone else. You've accomplished everything because you're so wonderful. He says, I'm going to bring against you an army and they are going to defeat you. They're going to throw you down. You exalted yourself. Now you are going to be brought down to the dust and you're going to be slain in the midst of the seas.

I just love the picture that is conjured up in my mind when he says, hey, are you going to tell the person who slays you, I'm a god? You know, like someone standing over you with a sword, you can't kill me, I'm a god. You know, like, but then, you know, there you go, you're dead. You know, it's like, it's utter foolishness. But that's what happens with pride.

When we are puffed up with pride, when we exalt ourselves, what it brings upon us and what it leads to is self-deception. You exalt yourself and then you deceive yourself. Because you've exalted yourself and you think so highly of yourself, now you're deceived. And now you become incapable of understanding the reality of the dangers and the threats that are there before you.

And so you look at the dangers, you look at the threats and you think, I'm a god. It's okay. I'm too big to fail. It won't hurt me. I can handle it. When we exalt ourselves, when we rely upon ourselves, we deceive ourselves. We begin to think, I am a god. Self-exaltation leads to self-deception, which leads to self-destruction. We self-destruct when we rely upon ourselves.

When we trust in ourselves, when we think so highly of ourselves, we need to humble ourselves before the Lord. He will lift us up. He has some incredible things in store for us. But we attain the will of God and we obtain the blessings of God in our lives, not by exalting ourself, but by humbling ourself before Him, submitting to Him and being obedient to Him.

Well, as we go on in verse 11 and following, now we're looking at the king of Tyre.

And as we look at the king of Tyre, God is speaking to the king there of that nation, but there's some parallels that you will see as we go through, that he's speaking to the king, but he's also speaking beyond the king to really the source of the king and the things that are going on. He's speaking about and to Satan himself. He's speaking of the devil. Verse 11 says,

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying,

You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.

Verse 14, you were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. You were perfect in your own, I'm sorry, in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you.

And so here as he's speaking in regards to the king of Tyre, there's some powerful parallels here to Satan himself. Because the king of Tyre was puffed up in pride and that is the sin of Satan. The sin of Satan was pride. And so there's this parallel that exists as God is speaking and bringing judgment upon the kingdom of Tyre and the king of Tyre.

The enemy also has those same traits and will experience the same destruction as we will see. Well, he speaks of the king of Tyre and says, you were the seal of perfection. We think of Satan and we kind of picture...

you know the the typical images since halloween's coming up you know next month uh you know a lot of people are going to be dressed up as devils right and they'll probably be red they'll have horns maybe a tail uh that type of thing a pitchfork that's kind of the the typical image that we see uh something that's ugly something that's that's disgusting um

that's repulsive, you know, that type of picture. But the reality that is described here, as God is referring to Satan, to Lucifer, he's describing something that, well, is beautiful. He says, look, you were full of wisdom and perfect in beauty there in verse 12.

Satan, when he was originally created, was created in perfection, with great wisdom, with perfect beauty. Not only that, but it says that he was in Eden, the garden of God.

Going back to the very beginning, the Garden of Eden, He was there in that, in a part of that. These precious stones that He mentions in verse 13, He says, you were covered in these. And so you picture this and you understand that...

That there is this brilliance, this beauty, this color that was a part of him, that's part of his nature as God created him. And not only that, but there was music that was a part of his being as well. The timbrels and the pipes that were prepared for you on the day of your creation. And so...

Satan was a beautiful creature. He was created by God and he was a work of art. In verse 14, he calls him the anointed cherub who covers. And so he was an anointed cherub, a cherub as an angelic being. We talked about the cherubim.

in chapter 1 of Ezekiel, in chapter 10 of Ezekiel. If you remember in the book of Revelation, in chapter 4, there's the four living creatures. Those are the cherubim that's described in chapter 1 and chapter 10 here of Ezekiel. And so, these angelic beings that are right there in the presence of God.

And so Satan at one time when he was created had incredible access to God. It even says he was on the holy mountain of God and walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. If you remember, right there in the midst of the four living creatures or the cherubim, they were able to take the coals out from among their midst.

And God sent the scribe throughout the city in chapter 10 with some of those coals. You remember Isaiah in chapter 6 of Isaiah had one of those coals taken and it touched his lips. And God says, I've cleansed your sin. I've taken care of your sin. And so it's describing the very midst of the throne of God, the presence of God. And that's where Satan was. That's where he dwelt.

He says in verse 15, Now notice two times here, God says that he was created.

And that's an important aspect as we consider the person or the angel or whatever you want to call him, the devil that Satan is, that he is not the opposite of God. He is a created being. He does not come close. Although, you know, here it's talked about his perfection, his power, his position of prominence.

He's still a created being. He does not compare to God. He's not anything like God. He doesn't have a chance in his fight against God. He is a created being. He's got more power and wisdom than you and I for the moment, but he still is a created being. And he says, you were perfect until iniquity was found in you. And so iniquity was found in him, and at that time, of course, he's not perfect anymore anymore.

What iniquity was that? Well, here's where we find this parallel. In Isaiah chapter 14, God gives us insight into the iniquity of Satan and what caused him to fall. And the issue that he had there in Isaiah chapter 14, you can read it later on, verses 12 through 17, it describes his pride. Where he says...

I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the cloud. I will be like the most high. He's I will, I will, I will. He became full of himself, full of pride, and it brought about his destruction. Verse 16 says,

By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within, and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you.

You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading. Therefore, I brought fire from your midst, it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you. You have become a horror and shall be no more forever.

And so here, again, he's speaking specifically and directly to the king of Tyre, but there's this shadow that casts beyond the king of Tyre, and you see behind him, as God is dealing with Satan, this created being, this being who one time had the place of privilege, and was perfect in every way, and yet...

fell because of pride and turned against God because of pride. His heart was lifted up because of his own beauty. He began to be full of himself. Like Tyre, he was inflated. And so God says, I'm going to bring destruction. I'm going to cast you down. At one time, he was wise and beautiful right there in the presence of God. And

But now he is going to be cast down. Again, you exalt yourself, you will be cast down. That's no matter who you are. That's no matter what kind of job you have. That's no matter what kind of good deeds you do or how religious you are or even if you are an angelic being. If you exalt yourself, you will be cast down. But if you humble yourself, he will lift you up.

Listen, I think this is important for us to consider. Not so much that we understand the origin of Satan. That's good to understand. We understand he's a created being. Okay, got that done. Out of the way. Great. Now, let's spend some more time considering what would God speak to us personally for our own selves through this passage. I think God would challenge us with this. If it could happen to Satan, it could happen to you.

Because he started off way better than you and I ever started off. And he was puffed up with pride and full of himself and met with destruction. You and I, we must not think of ourselves in such a way that, well, it won't happen to us. It won't happen to me. This doesn't apply to me. This isn't important to me. This isn't something God's speaking to me. That we can't think of ourselves as above these things.

We can't think of ourselves as we're too big to fail. We can't think of ourselves and be puffed up and thinking that there's not a problem. This isn't a problem for me. It happened to Tyre. It happened to the Prince of Tyre. It happened to the King of Tyre. It even happened to Lucifer who is there in the presence of God. We need to be careful about the issue of pride. God hates it and it brings destruction because God will not stand for anyone who

who is puffed up and full of themselves, trusting in themselves, relying upon themselves instead of relying upon God. Going on in verse 20, now God...

speaks to the city of Tyre, I'm sorry, the city of Sidon, which is about 15 miles away from the city of Tyre. It says, Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, set your face towards Sidon and prophesy against her and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Sidon. I will be glorified in your midst and they shall know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in her and am hollowed in her.

For I will send pestilence upon her and blood in her streets. The wounded shall be judged in her midst by the sword against her on every side. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Here God also, as he's dealing with the city of Tyre now, he also speaks against the city of Sidon, which was like the sister city of Tyre. Tyre and Sidon are often referred to or mentioned together. They were like neighbors. Maybe we would say Corona and Norco, that type of thing. It was their neighbor city. They had a lot in common. And yet God was going to deal with the nation of...

and cast them down and judge them and they weren't going to rise again. Sidon, on the other hand, he doesn't give them a permanent judgment. He doesn't proclaim that they will never rise again. And in fact, to this day, Sidon is a powerful city, a port city, a wealthy city.

while the city of Tyre still lays in ruins. And so the judgment that God promises does take place, but it's not a final and forever judgment like you had proclaimed against the nation of Tyre. Verse 24 says,

Verse 1.

Then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses and plant vineyards. Yes, they will dwell securely when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. So,

So God ends this prophecy with a foreshadow or a look at the future of what will happen with the nation of Israel. This part of the prophecy has not taken place yet. This part has not yet been fulfilled. And you can see that very easily just by looking again at verse 24. He says, There shall no longer be a pricking briar or painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them. Now if you think about all the...

People in the nations that are around Israel, is there any thorns in their side or pricking briars? Oh yeah, there's quite a bit. They're facing trouble on every side. This has not been fulfilled yet. But in the millennial kingdom, when Jesus establishes his kingdom, then verses 24 through 26 will be fulfilled when the nation as a whole will know that he is the Lord and will experience the peace that comes from submitting to him and having him be their Lord.

And so as we consider chapter 27 and 28 this evening, it's really dealing with and centering around God wants to speak to us in regards to our pride, our self-reliance, our trusting in ourselves, our looking at ourselves for our own resources, our own supplies, what we can offer, what we can accomplish, and what we have done. If we exalt ourselves...

We will be humbled. We will be cast down. But if we will humble ourselves, he will lift us up. When Israel recognizes that he is the Lord and humbles themselves before the Lord, then he will lift them up and establish his kingdom here on the earth for a thousand years and they will experience the blessing of God. And you and I, we're faced with that same choice. If we will humble ourselves, God's going to work. He's going to take care of us.

both temporarily here in this life, but far more important, eternally. But we cannot exalt ourselves and expect God to take care of us. If we exalt ourselves, it's in opposition to God. We're fighting against God when we exalt ourselves, when we're full of ourselves. But it's when we humble ourselves that we're working with God, that He's working with us, and that He will be accomplishing His purposes in our lives.

and so let's consider that let's meditate on that and let's humble ourselves before the lord the worship team's going to come up and lead us in a song and as they do i would ask i would encourage you humble yourself before the lord let him lift you up let him provide for you trust in him the resources that you need it's not going to come by your own wisdom by your own figuring out by your own credit cards

Let it be God who meets your need and supplies you. The decisions that you need to make, don't let it be from your own resources, your own understanding, your own knowledge. Let God give you the wisdom that you need. Let God give you the direction that you need to go. Don't exalt yourself in trusting in yourself and relying upon what you have or what you've done. Instead, let's turn to God and rely completely upon Him, humbling ourselves before Him.

Trusting that He will take care of us and He will lift us up in due time. Let's worship the Lord together.