Judgmental hope part 1

INTRO

If you have your Bible this morning your can turn to Ezekiel 28, which we will eventually get to.

We are in the hardest part of Ezekiel. If you have made it this far, most people give up around this part because Ezekiel starts having prophetic, poetic messages towards the nations. And since most of us are not constantly studying the middle east around the time of Babylon, I thought I would help us out a little bit with WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING in these chapters. So, this first part of the message is going to feel a little academic, but you need to trust me that these verses are rich with good application for our faith walk. Okay? Do you trust me? If not, that’s understandable but just stick with me before you zone out in a theological, geographical coma.

So, since we are heading into the thicket, I thought I would zoom out first to help you see where we are in Ezekiel.

-Picture of outline of the Book of Ezekiel. This is where we have been, this is where we are going and these are prophecies against other nations, which makes you ask the question, why?? The nations don’t care what this crazy prophet in Babylon has to say. They won’t hear his messages. But God’s people in Exile will hear these messages and actually find hope in their judgment.

HOPE IN JUDGEMENT?

God is still in control- Put yourself in the position of an exiled jew. The world is changing rapidly before your eyes. Babylon is becoming this superpower. You nation is destroyed. What about these other nations and their disgusting ways? Does God see those? Is he is just being really mean to them? No, God sees all and he knows what nation is acting justly and what nation is rising in pride.

God does still care about Israel- the nations are mocking Israel and their defeat. God says, no no you can’t do that. My people have messed up but you don’t get to rejoice in their suffering and their downfall. The God who is disciplining Israel is not happy about it and still cares about how the enemies of Israel treat them. God is actually protecting Israel from some terrible nations even while they are in some intense disobedience.

So what nations are being called out?

Picture of Ezekiel prophecy Outline

So these are the nations that are being addressed, and what is interesting but we don’t have enough time to talk about today is that some of these nations are related to Israel. Moabites were descendants of lot, Abraham’s nephew. The Edomites were descendants of Esau who was Jacob’s brother. So the family drama is still happening. But where are these places since most of us are not experts in knowing where these nations are. Let’s look at a map.

Map of nations

Map of tyre

-Ezekiel goes in order. And then he focuses in on Tyre for two chapters talking to them about how their riches have made them proud. The gifts that God gave them have become their ruin because they did not see that they were gifts from God. Let’s zoom in on Tyre because even though it is little, it is a very important place.

So Tyre is small but it was important economically not only for Israel but the whole world. They were a superpower of economic forces and could have actually hurt Babylon if they stopped trading with them. But God has a word for them, and I would encourage you to read through 26-27 on your own time to see the poetic genius of Ezekiel but also the reasons why God was against them. They might surprise you. But after God pronounces judgment on Tyre he actually focuses in on the king of Tyre which is what we will be reading today. You guys still with me? I know this is a lot but I’m believing this is God’s word, he has something for each person here today even in the strange judgmental prophecies.

BODY

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “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—

3  you are indeed wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you;

4  by your wisdom and your understanding

you have made wealth for yourself,

and have gathered gold and silver

into your treasuries;

5  by your great wisdom in your trade

you have increased your wealth,

and your heart has become proud in your wealth—

So pride has crept into this successful king and instead of being grateful for it, thinks himself as a god, or one with God. He is the messiah. The anointed one. And God tells him how he was successful, because of his wisdom. He is wiser than Daniel, the Daniel who could interpret dreams and help run the Babylon, he is smarter than that! But Daniel was filled with humility and know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So what is God going to do then?

6  therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

Because you make your heart

like the heart of a god,

7  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.

8  They shall thrust you down into the pit,

and you shall die the death of the slain

in the heart of the seas.

9  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?

10  You shall die the death of the uncircumcised

by the hand of foreigners;

for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.”

God tells him to try saying that he is a God while he is being taken over by the Babylonians. How is that going to go for you king of Tyre? God is humbling this king to see that he is not God, his pride has lead to his fall. And then God does something strange, there is a lamenting over the fall of this king. Let’s read and talk about it.

A Lament over the King of Tyre

11 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me: 12 “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.

13  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.

So let’s stop because there is a lot being said here that is important and also can be confusing. Maybe some of you have been pointed here for understanding the fall of Satan. To that I say, sure. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that because of some of the connections, but lets not miss what Ezekiel is really communicating here. God is lamenting the king of Tyre’s downfall as an image bearer. A a priest. These stones were the same stones that the high priest would wear in the temple at Jerusalem.

Ezekiel is using priestly imagery to express that the king of Tyre had everything he needed being made in the image of God. Remember what he though he was? He thought he was god, but God was like, no, I made you in my image and that was perfect. I made you fearfully and wonderfully made. The image of a priest here is the ideal humanity. A perfect image of a creator God and in communion with him in the garden. Let’s continue on.

14  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.

15  You were blameless in your ways

from the day you were created,

till unrighteousness was found in you.

When Adam and Eve fell, if you don’t know the story, a Cherub, or a living creature that takes a shape of an animal with wings and is bright was put in front of the garden. These are the same things that Ezekiel say in chapter 1 that were carrying the chariot of God. God is saying here, you were raised up into a position of leadership king of tyre. You were one of my right hand men to help govern this world that I created. That’s what government leadership is, it is made to create, protect, and rule the world that God created in a just and righteous way. But something happened when he was raised up, he got greedy and in order to get more money

16  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.

17  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.

18  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.

19  All who know you among the peoples

are appalled at you;

you have come to a dreadful end

and shall be no more forever.”

So if you did not see the connection again to Eden, the king is acting just like Adam, Eve, and the serpent, the snake. Believing that they knew better than God and questioning God’s ways. And from that iniquity, violence, and sin infected it all. This is the fall of his pride and it was great because he was a great king, but his gift of wisdom became an idol rather than a thing to rule and reign with for the good of others.

God gives one more judgment against Sidon and then this powerful, hopeful text almost in the very center of Ezekiel is given in verse 25

English Standard Version Chapter 28

25 “Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.”

God gives this promise that he will bring about these judgments on the nations, their enemies who thought that Israel was done. And God will bring them back to their land and he will show his glory. All while they are in this dark and hard place of exile, this is his promise. And while there is a lot we could talk about I think the interesting thing here is that God will bring resurrection despite the incredible chaos that is happening in and around Israel right now.

So, is everyone still with me? If I lost ya, you can wake up and hear how this all applies to us today because it is really important. This text has some really strong meat to it and I won’t spend too much time on it… Lord willing.

APPLICATIONS

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE JUDGMENTAL PROPHECIES TO THE NATIONS

God has the whole world in His hands.

sing it. If you have anxiety about the world today, the politics, the enemies, the wars, you need to be reminded that he sees it.

Let your feelings be real but don’t let it steal from the light that you are called to shine. God sees what is going on, and he will bring his justice.

God is not partial

Yes, he chose Israel to be his instrument of showing the world who he was, but he also is not going to let other nations slide. He will hold every person accountable to their actions, just like the nations thought they could get away with mocking Israel in their downfall, he hears the person who is gossiping about you. He knows and he will take care of it. You and I are not God so we don’t have to control everything, praise!

Pride goes before the fall

God sees the prideful heart and will bring judgment to it. This can be a comfort for some of you because you know a prideful person that seems to keep succeeding or being prosperous. But know that everything that they have, any gift or talent is from the Lord and he will take care of that. For some of you, if we can be real here today, this is for you. You realize that you have not said it but you are thinking in your heart that you are one with god because of your riches, your success, and yet you forget that everything is from him. Pride will never exist with gratitude. So if there is more boasting, gloating and showing off then there is gratitude in your life for the things that God gave you, consider yourself warned today from His word that pride will not stand forever.

Everyday we are standing in the garden with a choice to trust or believe we know better than God. It is the trust that builds gratitude and to walk as an image bearer rather than being deceived into thinking that we are God.

God will destroy our enemies.

Sidon was in partnership with Israel and then turned its back on them and celebrated Israel’s downfall. Your enemy is still satan, it is not your spouse, your job, or your neigbor, The enemy is still the one who wants to steal, kill and destroy you. He is the one that will forever keep trying to tempt you to take the fruit rather than to trust. He will try to decieve you to think that God is holding out on you. He is the one who will lie to you over and over about who you really are either to push you down into a palce of darkness or decieve you into a place of pride. So if you are realizing that the enemy of your soul has been winning in your life I have good news for you today. Good news of great joy. God will destroy him, God has destroyed him, and God is destroying him today through the blood of His son.

Summary

Through Jesus we can trust God holds the world, that he is not partial and wants all people to follow him, that he was the picture of humilty and we should follow him and above all, he has destoryed the enemy of our soul, sin and satan so that we can walk as image bearers. In our true identity so that we can honor him and live in the hope of resurrection.

Communion time.