Split Personalities Series

Ezekiel 28: 1 – 26

Split Personalities

“1 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘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 3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you! 4 With your wisdom and your understanding you have gained riches for yourself, and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; 5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches,” 6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “ Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god, 7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their sword against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor. 8 They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas. 9 “ 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. 10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of aliens; For I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.’” 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “ You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 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. 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 fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. 16 “ 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. 17 “ 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. 18 “ 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. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.” 20 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, 22 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 hallowed in her. 23 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. 24 “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” 25 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26 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 their God.”’”

Our Holy Judge Is also the best prosecutor. When He brings charges against someone, He also has sound verifiable evidence against the one He indicts. In chapter 26 the nation of Tyre was guilty of greed. They were the number one seaport trade establishment in the known world. When Jerusalem, which was the leading land trade route center, was destroyed, Tyre licked her lips as to a possible increase in her commercial trade. In chapter 27 the sin of self-proclamation was listed as a charge. Tyre was an island and relied on the fact that no one could attack her from land. She felt that she was invincible. She bragged on being so beautiful and wealthy that she was not subjected to anyone but herself. In chapter 28 the king of Tyre added the ultimate sin by claiming he was a god.