August 25th~Good and Evil

Ezekiel 26:15-28:26

2 Kings 25:3-7

Jeremiah 52:6-11

Jeremiah 39:2-10

We advanced the story of the fall of Judah a little further. The Babylonian siege of Jerusalem was working; the famine in the city was severe. The last of the food was gone. At that time, King Zedekiah, his family, his staff, and his army snuck out of the city at night and made a run for it. However, Zedekiah, his sons, and some of his officials were captured. The King was judged and sentenced to prison in Babylon. However, Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah’s sons and staff and, then, removed Zedekiah’s eyes.

The majority of our passage today was consumed with Ezekiel’s messages to the King and city of Tyre, a world-famous port, known for its wealth, splendor, and dominance of the sea. God would destroy it because of the immorality of its people and the worship of their king. “In his pride he proclaimed, ‘I am a god! I sit on the divine throne of the heart of the sea’” (28:2).

God was not impressed. “You are only a man and not a god...,” He said. “Yes, your wisdom has made you rich, but your riches have made you very proud... Therefore, because you think you are as wise as a god, I will bring against you an enemy army. Will you then boast, ‘I am a god’ to those who will kill you? To them you will not be a god but merely a man” (28:5-9).

Since the days of Nimrod, the earth’s first king (Genesis 10:8-10), Satan has used human leaders to defy God’s authority and enslave millions of people under his control. The King of Tyre was no different. Thus, it is no surprise that he would proclaim himself to be a god. Didn’t Pharaoh do the same thing in Egypt? Didn’t Nebuchadnezzar do the same in Babylon? This is not a new phenomenon.

However, what is interesting is how God’s message briefly turned its attention from the King of Tyre to Satan himself. Though the message was to the city and its wicked monarch, the words seemed to fit our fallen foe. “You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the Garden of God. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God... You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you... You sinned, so I banished you from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor, so I threw you to the earth...” (28:11-19).

Daily Reflection

Consider this, if everything was entirely good at creation, then how was evil found in Satan or Lucifer? The same question could be applied to the Garden of Eden. If everything was entirely good at creation, then why was there a tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Adam and Eve would not have known the meaning of evil if all were good, right?

One definition of evil is “any deviation that a moral agent — angel or human — makes from the rules prescribed to him by God” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary). The Lord created angels and humans entirely good, free from sin. However, He also gave them the freedom of choice, thus the purpose of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In their liberty, Lucifer, Adam, and Eve chose to defy God’s authority and rebel against Him. Their defiance is the nature of evil, and their evil decisions had consequences — sin, sorrow, distress, injury, loss, calamity, etc.

Are you capable of evil, of deviating from God’s will? Yes, we all are. In that we reflect the sin of our predecessors. Unfortunately, we too must live with the consequences of our choices.

BiAY.org | Day 237 — 128 Days to Go