Page 108 - Foundations

Yahweh God, “Because your heart is lifted up and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods,
in the heart of the seas’; Yet you are a man and not God, although you make your heart like the heart
of God - Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; There is no secret that is a match for you. By your
wisdom and understanding you have acquired riches for yourself, and have acquired gold and silver
for your treasuries. By your great wisdom, by your trade you have increased your riches, and your
heart is lifted up because of your riches - Therefore, thus says Yahweh God, ‘Because you have made
your heart like the heart of God, therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you, the most ruthless
of the nations. And they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your
splendor. They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die the death of those who are slain in the
heart of the seas. Will you still say, “I am a god,” in the presence of your slayer, although you are a
man and not God, in the hands of those who wound you? You will die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of strangers, for I have spoken!’ declares Yahweh God!”’”
Again the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of
Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh God, “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and
perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The
ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise,
and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day
that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you
there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You
were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.
By the abundance of your trade (or slander) you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned;
Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O
covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before
kings, that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade
(or slander), you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It
has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. All who
know you among the peoples are appalled at you; You have become terrified, and you will be no
more.”’”

In this prophecy of Ezekiel there is a line of demarcation that occurs at the phrase “Again the word
of Yahweh came to me saying.” That which precedes this line is obviously written of a human ruler,
while that which follows this line is written of an angelic ruler. There are portions of both passages
that could apply to man and angel, for the character of these rulers was the same. Nevertheless, we
see that the first portion of the prophecy identifies a man.

“you are a man and not God... Will you still say, “I am a god,” in the presence of your slayer,
although you are a man and not God?”

In the latter portion of this passage we see that a heavenly being is the focus of the prophecy.

“You were the anointed cherub who covers... I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the
midst of the stones of fire.”

There are statements recorded in the latter passage that cause some to stumble, for there are things