Thought from today’s Bible reading from Ezekiel 28-31.
In the following passage, Ezekiel prophesied against the arrogance of the king of Tyre:
“Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord 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” (Ezekiel 28:2).
The verses that follow describe the great wisdom and riches that the king of Tyre had obtained for himself (Ezekiel 28:3-5). What often happens when one obtains such wealth and wisdom is that he becomes arrogant and rebels against God. This is what happened with the king of Tyre. His “heart [was] lifted up” (Ezekiel 28:5); and he tried to make himself out to be equal with God (Ezekiel 28:2, 6). God described His attitude toward those who seek to portray themselves as being gods in the minds of the people.
“Therefore thus says the Lord 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, though 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 the Lord God!”‘” (Ezekiel 28:6-10).
The king of Tyre was just a mortal man. His great wealth and wisdom did not change this. He was still as susceptible to weakness, loss, and death, just as everyone else. After revealing his punishment, God mocked him: “Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of your slayer“? Mortal humans can only deceive others for so long. Eventually, it becomes blatantly apparent that civil rulers are not gods; they are weak, mortal human beings just like the rest of us. They are also accountable to God, just like the rest of us.
It seems that some of our rulers need to be reminded of this even today.
Tomorrow’s reading: Ezekiel 32-34
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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