FBC Morning Light (11/11/2023)

Good Saturday morning, people of faith. We're going to be in Ezekiel chapter 28, and I am going to read a passage from Ezekiel 28, and we're going to talk for a little bit, and then

I'm going to go a few other places as we continue our discussion this morning. Starting in verse 11, moreover, the word of the

Lord came to me, that's Ezekiel, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him,

Thus says the Lord God, You were 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 sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.

Now a couple of things here. This is a lamentation for the king of Tyre, but very quickly it goes beyond the king of Tyre, and is talking about one who was in the garden of Eden, who was covered in these stones as a covering, most likely as an outer garment, but much more than just the king of Tyre here.

Let me continue reading. In verse 14 it says, You were the anointed cherub who covers.

I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones.

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.

So who was this that was on the mountain of God? Who was the cherub who covers?

Who was perfect in his ways from the day he was created till iniquity was found in him?

And many Bible scholars and those who write commentaries would suggest to you that this is going beyond the king of Tyre now and talking about Satan or Lucifer.

And I would suggest the same thing to you. It is a good thing occasionally to make certain that we have a proper understanding of who

Satan is. First of all, and most importantly, he is a created being.

He is not God. He is not co -equal with God. He is not in any way, partially, completely, even remotely close to God.

So keep that in mind as you think of who Satan is.

Also understand that he is a fallen creature. Iniquity was found in him.

He has rebelled against God. He thought himself to be much more than he really was.

We learn a few things about him in Job. In Job chapter 1, it says, verse 6, it says,

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.

And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? And so Satan answered the

Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it.

So he has some ability to go between the earth and the presence of God, at least in the writing of, at the time of the writing of Job he did.

And notice the Lord said in verse 8 to Satan, Have you considered my servant

Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears

God and shuns evil. And so that starts the discussion about Job, and that's the opening, in the opening chapter of the book of Job.

Satan is subservient to God. He must answer to God.

And he is not a free, totally free and independent being who is able to do whatever he wishes.

He cannot. We learn more about how to deal with Satan in the book of Jude.

In the book of Jude, Jude, excuse me, it says,

I lost my spot, excuse me, says likewise in verse 8 of the book of Jude, remember

Jude is just one chapter. Also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries.

Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said,

The Lord rebuke you. All right, and I think there's an important lesson for us in that, that it's not our job to rebuke

Satan, but let the Lord rebuke Satan. I've known of many instances of many people claiming that, that Satan was set on this earth just to torment them individually.

And Satan does not have omniscience. He does not have omnipresence.

He's a very intelligent being, but he has none of those things. And so if you are claiming that Satan has hindered you in some regard,

I think you give Satan a position that he does not have. He is not omnipresent.

He is not omnipowerful. He is not omniscient. He is none of those things.

So how is it that we should respond? Well, let's look at first Peter chapter five and verse eight says, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

And the context of that is in the context of how you live your life, right?

You should be humble before the Lord, not one who is proud.

Think back of how this ties in with the king of Tyre, who was someone who lifted himself up much in the same way that Satan tried to lift himself up in his pride, right?

It should be that these things bring humility to us when we look at who

Satan was and how exalted of a position that he had, and yet he lost it all in his pride.

And we ought not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought as well.

Let's go ahead and pray. Heavenly Father, thank you this morning for the reminders of who you are and that you are more powerful than anyone or anything, or even the sum total of all other things.

Let us dwell on that this morning. It's in your son's name, Jesus, we pray. Amen. Have an excellent day, people of faith.