At first glance, Rolf Klasson, a gray-haired Swede who hobbles around on his walker, looked like an easy target. At least that's what two would-be robbers thought as they threatened him at an ATM machine.
One of the thugs waved a knife while the other thug told Klasson to turn over his wallet. They didn't know that their victim was also the former European light-middleweight boxing champ.
Klasson warned them, “This isn't going to go well.” When the men scoffed at his warning, he knocked one of them to the floor with a sharp right hook before laying the other out with a left jab. A police officer later said, “They came after the wrong guy” (Jens, “Retired boxer puts thieves on the ropes,” IceNews, 3-6-11; www.PreachingToday.com).
God’s people look like easy targets especially when they’re down. But their enemies better beware, because when you mess with God’s people, He messes with you.
Do you feel defeated today? Have people tried to hit you when you’re down? Then God has a message for you just like the message He had for His ancient people in exile. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ezekiel 26, Ezekiel 26, where we have God’s message to defeated people.
Ezekiel 26:1-6 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. And she shall become plunder for the nations, and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD (ESV).
God will destroy those who gloat over your destruction. You see, when Babylon invaded Jerusalem, Tyre celebrated its rival’s downfall. With Judah out of the way, the lucrative overland trade routes between Mesopotamia and Egypt were open. Tyre hoped to control them as it controlled the sea trade routes (Tony Evans).
But God says, “[No way!] I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock” (verse 4). Do you know? That’s exactly what happened.
Three years after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, he besieged Tyre for 13 years. Then, before he destroyed the mainland city, the people of Tyre escaped to an island just off the coast. They thought they were safe, but 250 years later, Alexander the Great came down on Tyre—at this time on the island. In order to get to them, he scraped the old city of Tyre flat. He took its rocks and ruins and used them to build a causeway to the Island. His army then marched on the rubble-causeway into the island and destroyed it. He literally made Tyre like a bare rock, and now, fishermen use the site as a place to spread their nets.
When you mess with God’s people, God messes with you. For God’s enemies, this is a message of judgment, but for God’s people, this is a message of amazing grace.
Ezekiel had spent the first 24 chapters of his book announcing God’s anger towards Israel’s idolatry and oppression. That’s why they were in exile. But, beginning in chapter 25, Ezekiel announces God’s judgment on Israel’s enemies, especially the city of Tyre.
For God is still loyal to his people. Even in their disobedience, God has not forgotten them and has gone to battle against their enemies (The Spoken Gospel, Ezekiel 25-28). So, dear believer, even when you feel defeated, please…
HEAR GOD’S MESSAGE OF GRACE TO YOU.
Pay attention to His word of unconditional love, and know that even when He has to discipline you, He stands with you against your enemies.
They will tremble at God’s judgment against Tyre. Slip down to verse 15.
Ezekiel 26:15-16 “Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you (ESV).
Israel’s enemies will tremble when Tyre falls, but Israel will rejoice. For God stands with His people against their enemies, and God stands with you! Oh, what grace even when you don’t deserve it!
Years ago (1973), Ugandan bishop Festo Kivengere described the firing squad execution of three men from his diocese. He said:
“February 10 began as a sad day for us in Kabale. People were commanded to come to the stadium and witness the execution. Death permeated the atmosphere. A silent crowd of about three thousand was there to watch. I had permission from the authorities to speak to the men before they died, and two of my fellow ministers were with me.
“They brought the men in a truck and unloaded them. They were handcuffed and their feet were chained. The firing squad stood at attention. As we walked into the center of the stadium, I was wondering what to say. How do you give the gospel to doomed men who are probably seething with rage?
“We approached them from behind, and as they turned to look at us, what a sight! Their faces were all alight with an unmistakable glow and radiance.
“Before we could say anything, one of them burst out: “Bishop, thank you for coming! I wanted to tell you. The day I was arrested, in my prison cell, I asked the Lord Jesus to come into my heart. He came in and forgave me all my sins! Heaven is now open, and there is nothing between me and my God! Please tell my wife and children that I am going to be with Jesus. Ask them to accept him into their lives as I did.” The other two men told similar stories, excitedly raising their hands which rattled their handcuffs.
“I felt that what I needed to do was to talk to the soldiers, not to the condemned. So I translated what the men had said into a language the soldiers understood. The military men were standing there with guns cocked and bewilderment on their faces. They were so dumbfounded that they forgot to put the hoods over the men's faces! The three faced the firing squad standing close together. They looked toward the people and began to wave, handcuffs and all. The people waved back. Then shots were fired, and the three were with Jesus.
“We stood in front of them, our own hearts throbbing with joy, mingled with tears. It was a day never to be forgotten. Though dead, the men spoke loudly to all of Kigezi District and beyond, so that there was an upsurge of life in Christ, which challenges death and defeats it.
“The next Sunday,” Bishop Kivengere says, “I was preaching to a huge crowd in the hometown of one of the executed men. Again, the feel of death was over the congregation. But when I gave them the testimony of their man, and how he died, there erupted a great song of praise to Jesus! Many turned to the Lord there (Colin Chapman, The Case for Christianity; www.Preaching Today.com).
Even in death, God’s people experience victory. We can’t lose, because God stands with us against our enemies. Oh, dear defeated, discouraged believer, please hear God’s message of grace to you. Then…
HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE HIM.
Don’t boast about your accomplishments. Instead, recognize your need for God and surrender to Him. Tyre’s downfall is a warning to all, who in their pride, boast about their accomplishments.
Ezekiel 27:1-9 The word of the LORD came to me: “Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre, and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD: “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders made perfect your beauty. They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. Of oaks of Bashan they made your oars; they made your deck of pines from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory. Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your banner; blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was your awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you; they were your pilots. The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you, caulking your seams; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to barter for your wares (ESV).
Tyre got rich through its seafaring trade, so God describes the city like a great merchant ship. She was built with the finest materials from all over the world and sailed under the guidance of the finest sailors. As a result, she traded with many nations (verses 10-25) and became even more perfect in her beauty. However, the very thing she boasted about led to her fall. Skip down to verse 26.
Ezekiel 27:26-27 “Your rowers have brought you out into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas. Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, with all your crew that is in your midst, sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall (ESV).
Once commentator said, “The source of Tyre’s strength, the sea, becomes the source of her ruin. What once brought her fame now brings her infamy. The sea, once her source of power and pride, is now an instrument of the judgment of God” (Hamilton, Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, Baker Book House, 1995).
It's like the Bible says: “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
During a 1923 training exercise, a naval destroyer called the USS Delphy led a flotilla of seven vessels down the California coast. Lieutenant Commander Donald T. Hunter was its captain. He was an experienced navigator and instructor at the Naval Academy. Without warning, about halfway on their training mission, a thick blanket of fog like “pea soup” descended on the ships. It made navigation impossible, but that didn't stop Hunter from plowing ahead. He had a reputation for his self-confident decisiveness and what others called his “magic infallibility” to guide his ship.
So, traveling at 20 knots, the USS Delphy suddenly smashed broadside into the rocky Point Arguello shoreline. The force of the massive collision of welded steel and jagged rock split the hull of the USS Delphy in half. One by one, the other destroyers followed the Delphy's lead and smashed into the rocks. Twenty-two sailors died. The accident resulted in the loss of all seven ships. It still stands as one of the worst peacetime naval disasters in history (Robert McKenna, The Dictionary of Nautical Literacy, McGraw Hill, 2003, p. 97; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s a picture of what happened to the city of Tyre and what will happen to all those who boast about their accomplishments. So humble yourself before the Lord, and give Him all the glory for anything you have accomplished, because without Him, you cannot even take your next breath.
God condemned the people of Tyre for their pride, and God condemns Tyre’s ruler for his pride, as well.
Ezekiel 28:1-10 The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god— you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth— therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you? You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD” (ESV).
This “prince” or ruler, literally in the Hebrew “the man at the top,” was Ethbaal III, who ruled from 591 to 572 B.C. He viewed himself as a god like many of the kings in the ancient world. He also thought he was smarter than the prophet Daniel, who had already achieved a reputation for his wisdom in the Babylonian court of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:19-20).
So, irony of ironies, Ethbaal III, who thought he was smarter than Daniel in Babylon ended up falling to Babylon. As it turned out, Daniel, who attributed all his wisdom to God (Daniel 2:27-28), was much wiser than Ethbaal III, who claimed to be a god (Charles Dyer, Bible Knowledge Commentary, Victor Books, 1985).
It’s like the Bible says: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
So, before pride brings you down, give God all the glory for anything you have accomplished, and submit to His rule in your life. For He, and He alone, is “the man at the top.”
China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is famous for his terracotta warriors, thousands of statues that display the magnificent power he achieved. He is also famous for uniting China but is less well known for his quest for immortality. He sent his subjects out to discover the secret to immortality and tried many magical potions and substances. In his quest to cheat death, he consumed mercury, thinking it would give him eternal life. Ironically, the mercury killed him at around 50 years of age. He suddenly fell ill and died on one of his numerous tours of the empire (David F. Lloyd, “The Man Who Would Cheat Death and Rule the Universe,” Vision, Summer, 2008; www.PreachingToday.com).
Like the King of Tyre, he thought he was a god, but God showed him that he was a mere man, putting him in an early grave. Don’t you make the same mistake. Humble yourself before the only God in the universe, and let Him have His way with you.
When you feel defeated, 1st, hear God’s message of grace to you; 2nd, humble yourself before Him; and 3rd…
HOPE IN YOUR ULTIMATE VICTORY over your greatest enemy, the devil himself.
Look forward to Satan’s final defeat at the hand of Jesus Himself. Anticipate your adversary’s absolute demise in the Lake of Fire forever.
Ezekiel 28:11-12 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (ESV).
At first glance, this lament seems to be for Tyre’s earthly ruler, but this is no mere human ruler. In fact, Ezekiel uses a different term here. In verse 1, he calls Tyre’s ruler a “prince.” Here, he calls Tyre’s ruler a “king.” In other words, this lament is for the real power behind Tyre’s human ruler—a “king” with more than human attributes.
Ezekiel 28:13-15 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you (ESV).
God created this “guardian cherub,” one of God’s highest angels who had closest access to His throne. He was surrounded by heaven’s precious gems. Then he walked in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Eve.
As God says here: he “was perfect in beauty.” Even today, he “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
At an early screening of The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson explained why he used a veiled female figure to portray Satan.
Gibson said, “Evil takes on the form of beauty. It is almost beautiful. It is the great aper of God. But the mask is askew; there is always something wrong. Evil masquerades, but if your antennae are up, you'll detect it” (David Neff, “The Passion of Mel Gibson,” Christianity Today, March 2004; www.PreachingToday.com).
Satan looks beautiful, because God made him that way. So be careful. He can make evil look so good, you’re trapped in it before you know what hit you. For example, he disguises the celebration of sexual perversion as loving tolerance for an alternative lifestyle. Or he disguises antisemitism as caring for Israel’s enemies. Or he disguises the mutilation of children as acceptance of their transgender confusion.
Please, don’t let Satan fool you especially in a culture full of people “who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). Satan distorts godly values and makes them seem beautiful. Please, don’t fall for his schemes, for God created him beautiful.
He was blameless until unrighteousness was found in him (vs.15). His pride led him to rebel against God.
Isaiah 14 describes his downfall: How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star (or Lucifer), son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Satan was not content to be God’s highest archangel. He wanted to be God himself, so God cast him out of heaven after which he wreaked havoc on the earth.
Ezekiel 28:16-17 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you (ESV).
God cast Satan out of heaven, and God will ultimately destroy Satan in the Lake of Fire.
Ezekiel 28:18-19 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever (ESV).
The fire that will consume Satan and bring him to a dreadful end is the Lake of Fire described in Revelation 20.
There, the Bible says, after the millennial reign of Christ, “Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:7-10).
Halleluia! God will defeat your greatest enemy, putting him in the Lake of Fire, where he will be “tormented day and night forever!” Jesus has already disarmed him on the cross (Colossians 2:15), but one day, Jesus will destroy him forever!
My dear friends, despite your disobedience and defeat, God is still fighting for you. He loved you so much that He came into your world to fight Satan and free you from his power. He humiliated Satan on the cross, rendering him powerless. And one day, He will cast Satan in the Lake of Fire forever!
No matter how far from God, you think you might be, Jesus has not forgotten you. Rather, He has fought and died for you. Please, trust Christ with your life and experience the freedom for which He fought and died. Surrender control of your life to Him and be set free from Satan, sin, and death forever.
Carolyn Arends talks about her days as a kid, when she loved Mission Sundays. That’s when missionaries on furlough brought special reports in place of a sermon… There is one visit she never forgot. The missionaries were a married couple stationed in what appeared to be a particularly steamy jungle. She didn’t remember much of what they said except a story they shared about a snake.
One day, an enormous snake—much longer than a man—slithered its way right through their front door and into the kitchen of their simple home. Terrified, they ran outside and searched frantically for a local who might know what to do. A machete-wielding neighbor came to the rescue, calmly marching into their house and decapitating the snake with one clean chop.
The neighbor reemerged triumphant and assured the missionaries that the reptile had been defeated. But there was a catch, he warned: It was going to take a while for the snake to realize it was dead.
A snake's neurology and blood flow are such that it can take considerable time for it to stop moving even after decapitation. For the next several hours, the missionaries were forced to wait outside while the snake thrashed about, smashing furniture and flailing against walls and windows, wreaking havoc until its body finally understood that it no longer had a head.
Sweating in the heat, they had felt frustrated and a little sickened but also grateful that the snake's rampage wouldn't last forever. And at some point in their waiting, they had a mutual epiphany.
“Do you see it?” asked the husband. “Satan is a lot like that big old snake. He's already been defeated. He just doesn't know it yet. In the meantime, he's going to do some damage. But never forget that he's a goner” (Carolyn Arends, “Satan's a Goner: A lesson from a Headless Snake,” Christianity Today, February, 2011; www.PreachingToday.com).
My dear friends, your greatest enemy is a goner! Please, let that encourage you, especially in the middle of all the chaos.
When you feel defeated, hear God’s message of grace to you, humble yourself before Him, and hope in your ultimate victory.
Chuck Colson, who founded Prison Fellowship, put it this way years ago: The great paradox [of my life] is that every time I walk into a prison and see the faces of men or women who have been transformed by the power of the living God, I realize that the thing God has chosen to use in my life… is none of the successes, achievements, degrees, awards, honors, or cases I won before the Supreme Court. That's not what God's using in my life. What God is using in my life to touch the lives of literally thousands of other people is the fact that I was a convict and went to prison. That was my great defeat, the only thing in my life I didn't succeed in (Chuck Colson, The Gravy Train Gospel, www.PreachingToday. com).
Yet God turned that great defeat into his greatest victory. Please, trust God to do it for you.
