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SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR THIS SERMON:
Ezekiel 28:1-17 Isaiah 14:3-17
28:1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Your heart is proud and you 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 a god,
though you think you are godlike.
3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you.
4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;
you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
5 By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth,
and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
6 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you think you are godlike,
7 I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom,
and they will defile your splendor.
8 They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you –
though you are a man and not a god –
when you are in the power of those who wound you?
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
11 The Lord’s message came to me: 12 “Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘You were the sealer of perfection,
full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God.
Every precious stone was your covering,
the ruby, topaz, and emerald,
the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl;
your settings and mounts were made of gold.
On the day you were created they were prepared.
14 I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub;
you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked about amidst fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created,
until sin was discovered in you.
16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned;
so I defiled you and banished you from the mountain of God –
the guardian cherub expelled you from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.
I threw you down to the ground;
I placed you before kings, that they might see you.
14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words:“Look how the oppressor has met his end!
Hostility has ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
6 It furiously struck down nations
with unceasing blows.
It angrily ruled over nations,
oppressing them without restraint.
7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;
they break into song.
8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise,
as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing,
‘Since you fell asleep,
no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’
9 Sheol below is stirred up about you,
ready to meet you when you arrive.
It rouses the spirits of the dead for you,
all the former leaders of the earth;
it makes all the former kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
10 All of them respond to you, saying:
‘You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
11 Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments.
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you.
12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror of the nations!
13 You said to yourself,
“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon.
14 I will climb up to the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!”
15 But you were brought down to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the Pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking:
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
17 Is this the one who made the world like a wilderness,
who ruined its cities,
and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?”’