Among his many prophecies, Ezekiel shared a funeral lament concerning the king of Tyre. Interestingly, over the years many commentators understood this passage to refer to Satan. See if you see why in these words from the Lord:

You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God…You were anointed as a guardian cherub…You were on the holy mount of God; You walked among the fiery stones.

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Your heart became proud…you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor, so I threw you to the earth.

Sounds like Old Scratch, does it not?

But the passage also shares tons of detail that only apply to the king of Tyre, ruler of a fabulous wealthy nation, who turned his pride into a consuming passion. So we don’t really know for sure.

Either way, Ezekiel underscored the Lord’s hatred of pride. The oldest sin, rebellion in the heavens, coalesced around pride. The king of Tyre featured here is only one of a long line of arrogant and domineering monarchs found in scripture.

Pride—the Lord hates it. This point arises again and again in scripture, perhaps one of the strongest themes that emerges. I struggle with pride, and you struggle with pride. Pride leads us to dark places, and overweening pride evidences the darkness of our hearts.

Fortunately, the flip side exists: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Praying in the direction of humility, I’m more in line with the grace of God than the resistance of God. Which seems a better place to be.

Ezekiel 28 in week forty-four of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Norbert Buduczki