From Eden to Ashes: The Biography of Pride
Introduction: The First Sinner
The book of Ezekiel is filled with prophecies against the nations surrounding Israel. These are not just geopolitical forecasts; they are theological indictments. God is the judge of all the earth, not just His covenant people. And in our text today, the prophetic lens zooms in with terrifying clarity on the city of Tyre. Tyre was the Manhattan of the ancient world, a center of commerce, wealth, and maritime power. It was built on an island fortress, seemingly impregnable. Her king was dripping with wealth and puffed up with pride. He thought himself a god, sitting on a throne of his own making.
But as the prophet delivers this lament, this funeral dirge for a king who is still very much alive, the language begins to swell. The imagery transcends any mere earthly monarch. We are given a glimpse behind the curtain of history into the primordial past. The Lord pulls back the veil, and for a few verses, we are not looking at a Phoenician shipping magnate. We are looking at the original pride, the first sin, the biography of Satan himself.
This is a crucial passage because it reveals the anatomy of sin. Sin did not begin with a piece of fruit in a garden. It began with a thought in the heart of the most glorious created being. It began with pride. And the spirit of the King of Tyre is the spirit of our age. It is the spirit that says, "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." It is the worship of the self. This passage is a warning that such worship does not end on a throne, but in ashes. It is the story of how the highest creature became the adversary, and how his fall is the template for every subsequent fall, including our own if we are not in Christ.
The Text
Again the word of Yahweh came to me saying, "Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, 'Thus says Lord Yahweh, "You had 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 ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lofty because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you. By the abundance of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought out fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you. All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become terrified, And you will cease to be forever." ' "
(Ezekiel 28:11-19 LSB)
Created Splendor (vv. 12-14)
The lament begins by describing the original state of this being, a state of unparalleled created glory.
"You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God..." (Ezekiel 28:12-13a)
This is not a description of a man. This is a creature who was the very pinnacle of God's creative work, the "seal of perfection." God made him, and in a sense, stamped him as the finished model. He possessed a wisdom and beauty that were flawless. And his address is given: Eden, the garden of God. This is not the earthly Eden of Adam, but its celestial counterpart, the very dwelling place of God. This being was at home in the immediate presence of God's glory.
His adornment was not earned; it was bestowed. The list of precious stones is reminiscent of the high priest's breastplate. This creature was arrayed in priestly splendor, created for worship in the heavenly sanctuary. The gold and the intricate craftsmanship of his being were prepared for him "on the day that you were created." This is a critical point. He did not make himself. He did not earn his glory. He was a creature, a recipient of divine artistry and generosity. Everything he was, everything he had, was a gift.
"You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire." (Ezekiel 28:14)
His job title is given: "the anointed cherub who covers." Cherubim are high-ranking angels, guardians of God's holiness. Think of the cherubim guarding the way back to Eden, or the figures overlaying the Ark of the Covenant. This was not just any cherub; he was "anointed," set apart for a special task of guarding or covering the very throne of God. And notice the divine sovereignty: "And I placed you there." His position was an appointment, not an accomplishment. He was on the "holy mountain of God," a metaphor for God's cosmic government, and he walked among the "stones of fire," a picture of the unveiled, incandescent holiness of God Himself. He was the highest of the high, the chief of staff in the heavenly court.
The Inward Turn (vv. 15-17)
The narrative now pivots from the glorious creation to the catastrophic fall. It all begins with a single, devastating word.
"You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you." (Ezekiel 28:15)
Here is the origin of evil. Evil is not an eternal principle co-equal with God. It is not a flaw in the original design. This creature was made "blameless." He was perfect. But unrighteousness was "found in" him. It was not injected from the outside; it was generated from within. It arose in the will of a free creature. This is the terrible mystery of iniquity. He had every reason to worship and no reason to rebel, and yet he rebelled.
What was the nature of this unrighteousness? The next verses explain. The metaphor returns to the king of Tyre to make the point.
"By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned... Your heart was lofty because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor." (Ezekiel 28:16a, 17a)
His "trade" represents the exercise of his great gifts. His wisdom, his beauty, his high position, these were the things he trafficked in. But instead of trading for the glory of God, he began trading for his own glory. This self-serving enterprise filled him with "violence," a spiritual rebellion against his Creator. The root cause is stated plainly: "Your heart was lofty because of your beauty." He looked at the magnificent creature in the mirror, and he fell in love. He began to worship the gift instead of the Giver. His God-given splendor, which was meant to be a window through which he saw God, became a mirror in which he saw only himself. And that self-worship corrupted his wisdom. He began to think that his station was his by right, that his glory was his own. This is the essence of pride. It is the creature attempting to usurp the place of the Creator.
The Divine Judgment (vv. 16b, 17b-19)
Pride cannot go unanswered in the presence of a holy God. The judgment is as swift and total as the sin was foundational.
"Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire." (Ezekiel 28:16b)
The consequence directly fits the crime. Because he profaned his holy position, God casts him out as a profane, or common, thing. The guardian of the throne is expelled from the throne room. The one who walked in the fire of God's presence is destroyed from it. This is not annihilation, but a complete and utter ruin of his original purpose and position. He is fired, demoted, and evicted.
The downward trajectory continues.
"I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you... I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you." (Ezekiel 28:17b, 18b)
He who exalted himself to the heavens is cast down to the earth. God makes a public spectacle of him. The one who was an object of heavenly awe becomes an object lesson for earthly kings. The judgment is poetically just. The fire of his own pride, the unrighteousness that came from "the midst of you," becomes the very fire that consumes him. God's judgment is not arbitrary; it is the sin itself coming to its full and terrible fruition. He is turned to ashes, a symbol of complete and humiliating defeat.
The lament concludes with his final state.
"All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become terrified, And you will cease to be forever." (Ezekiel 28:19)
His end is to be a horror. He who was the pinnacle of beauty becomes the embodiment of terror. His glorious career is over. He will "cease to be" the anointed cherub, the seal of perfection. He is now and forever the adversary, the father of lies, locked into his rebellion and its consequences for all eternity.
The Second Adam
This biography of Satan is a warning to us all, because his sin is our native tongue. We are all born with a heart that is "lofty," that wants to be the center of its own universe. We take the good gifts of God, health, intelligence, family, success, and we corrupt them by our splendor, using them to build our own little kingdoms.
The story of the King of Tyre is the story of every person outside of Christ. Your pride, your self-worship, will become the fire that consumes you. You will be cast down and made a spectacle of judgment.
But God, in His mercy, has written a different story. He has provided a true King to counter this false one. Where Satan, the highest creature, reached up in pride, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, reached down in humility. The Bible tells us that Jesus, "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7).
Satan was a creature who tried to become the Creator. Christ is the Creator who became a creature. Satan was cast from the mountain of God for his sin. Christ, who knew no sin, was cast out and crushed on the hill of Calvary for our sin. Satan's own fire consumed him. Christ willingly absorbed the fire of God's wrath that we deserved.
The choice before every one of us is this: which king will you follow? Will you follow the path of the anointed cherub, the path of self-love and pride that ends in ashes and horror? Or will you bow the knee to the true King, Jesus, who humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross? His path of humility is the only path to true exaltation. He took our ashes and gives us His beauty. He took our profane status and gives us His holiness. He invites us to abandon the doomed kingdom of self and enter the glorious kingdom of God. That is the only way to escape the lamentable fate of the King of Tyre.