The King Who Thought He Was God (And the Cherub Who Actually Was)
What’s Ezekiel 28 about?
Ezekiel 28 starts with a human king’s massive ego problem but quickly shifts into something far more cosmic – a lament over a fallen cherub that reads like the backstory to evil itself. It’s where earthly pride meets heavenly rebellion, and the lines between human arrogance and spiritual warfare blur in ways that have kept scholars debating for centuries.
The Full Context
Ezekiel 28 comes during the prophet’s oracle collection against foreign nations (chapters 25-32), written around 587-586 BCE while he was exiled in Babylon. The chapter targets Tyre, the wealthy Phoenician city-state that had become drunk on its own commercial success and political power. Tyre’s king had apparently declared himself divine – a common practice among ancient Near Eastern rulers, but one that particularly irked the God of Israel. Ezekiel, speaking as Yahweh’s mouthpiece, delivers this prophecy to show that no earthly power can rival the Creator, no matter how successful or seemingly untouchable.
But here’s where it gets fascinating: the chapter contains two distinct oracles. The first (verses 1-10) addresses the “prince of Tyre” in clearly human terms – he’ll die like any mortal when enemies pierce him with swords. The second oracle (verses 11-19) shifts dramatically, addressing the “king of Tyre” with language so otherworldly that it seems to transcend any human ruler. This “king” was in Eden, adorned with precious stones, described as a guardian cherub who walked among fiery stones and was “blameless” until wickedness was found in him. The literary genius here is how Ezekiel layers earthly and cosmic realities, using the human king’s pride as a window into something much larger – the mystery of how evil entered God’s good creation.
What the Ancient Words Tell Us
The Hebrew vocabulary in this chapter is absolutely loaded with cosmic significance. When Ezekiel describes the king of Tyre as being in ’eden ’elohim (Eden of God), he’s not just talking about a nice garden. The word ’eden means “delight” or “pleasure,” and when paired with ’elohim, it signals the very dwelling place of deity.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. The text calls this figure a kerub mimshach – an “anointed cherub.” That word mimshach is the same root used for “messiah,” meaning “anointed one.” So we have an anointed cherub who was created perfect, placed in God’s holy mountain, and given access to divine fire. The description reads like a job description for the highest-ranking angel in heaven’s hierarchy.
Grammar Geeks
The phrase “you were the seal of perfection” uses the Hebrew chotam taknit, which literally means “signet ring of the pattern.” In ancient times, a signet ring was used to mark official documents with the owner’s authority. This cherub wasn’t just perfect – he was the very standard by which perfection was measured, like God’s own signature stamp on creation.
The imagery of precious stones is equally loaded. The Hebrew lists nine gemstones that adorned this being, and they’re not random – they correspond to stones on the high priest’s breastplate. This cherub seems to have held a priestly role in heaven’s temple, mediating between God and creation.
What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
To Ezekiel’s original audience – Jewish exiles watching Babylon’s rise while Jerusalem lay in ruins – this oracle would have been both comforting and terrifying. They lived in a world where kings regularly claimed divinity, where earthly powers seemed to mock their covenant God. Tyre’s wealth and apparent invincibility would have felt like evidence that maybe their God wasn’t so powerful after all.
But Ezekiel’s message cuts deeper than politics. His audience knew the stories – they’d heard about the serpent in Eden, about beings who rebelled against their Creator. When they heard this lament over the king of Tyre, with its otherworldly language and cosmic scope, they would have recognized echoes of those ancient stories. The prophet wasn’t just predicting Tyre’s fall; he was connecting their contemporary struggles to the fundamental conflict between good and evil that began before human history even started.
Did You Know?
Archaeological evidence from Tyre shows that its kings did indeed practice divine kingship, with inscriptions claiming godlike status. One inscription from this period calls the king “holy” and “divine son,” language that would have been deeply offensive to monotheistic Jews who reserved such titles for Yahweh alone.
The original hearers would also have caught the irony. Here was a being who had everything – beauty, wisdom, access to God’s presence – yet still fell through pride. It’s the ultimate cautionary tale about the danger of thinking you can be like God, a theme that resonates from the Garden of Eden through the Tower of Babel and into their own exile experience.
Wrestling with the Text
This chapter raises questions that have kept theologians busy for millennia. Is Ezekiel really talking about Satan here, or just using hyperbolic language about a human king? The text seems to operate on multiple levels simultaneously – it’s clearly addressing Tyre’s historical situation, but the cosmic language suggests something more.
The most natural reading sees this as what scholars call “apocalyptic telescoping” – where the prophet starts with an earthly situation but the language expands to encompass spiritual realities behind it. It’s like looking through a telescope that starts focused on a nearby object but suddenly reveals vast cosmic distances behind it.
Wait, That’s Strange…
Why does the text switch from calling this figure the “prince” of Tyre to the “king” of Tyre between the two oracles? The Hebrew uses different words – nagid (prince/ruler) versus melek (king). Some scholars think this reflects two different beings – the human ruler and the spiritual power behind him.
The fall narrative here is particularly intriguing. Unlike human pride that develops over time, this cherub was created perfect and remained blameless until ’awlah (unrighteousness/injustice) was “found” in him. The Hebrew suggests this wasn’t gradual corruption but a decisive moment when perfection shattered. What exactly happened in that cosmic moment? The text doesn’t say, leaving us with the mystery of how evil could emerge from perfection.
How This Changes Everything
Understanding Ezekiel 28 reshapes how we read the entire biblical narrative. It suggests that the conflict between good and evil isn’t just about human choices – there’s a deeper cosmic drama playing out, with spiritual powers influencing earthly events. When we see injustice, oppression, or the apparent triumph of evil, we’re not just witnessing human fallenness but participating in an ancient conflict that began in heaven itself.
“Pride didn’t just destroy a human king – it shattered the very archetype of perfection, sending ripples through all creation.”
This passage also illuminates why earthly powers so often seem to transcend mere human ambition. Behind the Tyres and Babylons of history, there may be spiritual forces that explain their seemingly supernatural arrogance and apparent invincibility. It’s not that human responsibility disappears, but that human evil often connects to something larger and darker.
For believers wrestling with the problem of evil, Ezekiel 28 offers both comfort and challenge. Comfort, because it suggests that God is ultimately sovereign over both earthly and heavenly powers. Challenge, because it reveals that the struggle against evil is more complex and cosmic than we often realize.
Key Takeaway
Pride doesn’t just hurt us – it puts us in league with the very first rebel who thought he could be like God. But even the most beautiful, wise, and powerful created being couldn’t usurp the Creator’s throne, and neither can we.
Further Reading
Internal Links:
External Scholarly Resources:
- The Message of Ezekiel by Christopher J.H. Wright
- Ezekiel 21-48 by Daniel Block (NICOT)
- The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser
Tags
Ezekiel 28:2, Ezekiel 28:12, Ezekiel 28:14, Pride, Satan, Cherub, Eden, Divine judgment, Spiritual warfare, Tyre, Cosmic rebellion, Fall of Satan, Prophecy against nations
