Ezekiel 28 Devotional

Only a Man, Not a God

““Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.”Ezekiel 28:2 (BSB)

The ruler of Tyre has grown rich through wisdom and trade, and his proud heart has come to think of itself as divine (28:2-5). God's reply is blunt. When foreign swords come against him, he will find out that he is only mortal (28:7-9). A lament follows over the king of Tyre, pictured in splendor in Eden, the garden of God, and placed on God's holy mountain as a guardian cherub (28:12-14). He was blameless until wickedness was found in him. His vast trade filled him with violence, his heart grew proud of his beauty, and God cast him down (28:15-17).

Pride, in this chapter, is forgetting that we are creatures. Christ took the opposite path. Though he shared the very nature of God, he did not hold on to his rights but poured himself out, took a servant's place, and went as far as death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). Because the one who truly was God came down, you can lay down the exhausting work of being your own god.

To think about: In what area of your life are you acting as though you are in charge of everything, and how does Christ's humility invite you to rest?