“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.” (Ezekiel 28:2 ESV).
The Lord gave the prophet Ezekiel words of judgment against the ruler of Tyre, a wealthy and powerful city whose prosperity had produced extraordinary pride. Its ruler had become so confident in his wisdom, wealth, and security that he considered himself divine. Yet God reminded him that he was merely a man, not God.
Later in the chapter, the Lord gave Ezekiel a lamentation, or funeral dirge, for the king of Tyre. Strikingly, its description seemed to reach beyond an earthly king, speaking of someone who had been in Eden, an anointed guardian cherub, perfect until unrighteousness was found in him (Ezek. 28:12–15). Many commentators have therefore understood the king of Tyre as a type of Satan, whose pride led to his downfall. Others have seen a foreshadowing of Antichrist. In every interpretation, pride was the common denominator: the creature had sought to take the Creator’s place.
This same temptation began in Eden when the serpent promised Adam and Eve that they could “be like God” (Gen. 3:5). Sin remains rooted in that rebellious desire for self-rule.
Yet consider the glorious contrast in Jesus Christ! Whereas Adam grasped for equality with God, Christ, who truly was God, did not regard His equality with God as something to exploit for His own advantage. Instead, He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient unto death on a cross (Phil. 2:5–8).
Sin is man’s attempt to take God’s place. Salvation is God’s gracious act of taking man’s place in Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Dear Father, forgive us for our pride and desire to rule our own lives. Give us the mind of Christ, who humbled Himself to save us. In Jesus’ name, amen.