In Ezekiel 28 we see a very interesting picture of both the “prince” and “king” of Tyre. This is the culmination of God’s oracles against Tyre and is found within many decrees of judgment against a variety of nations.
What makes this passage interesting is that the king of Tyre finds himself, at the very least, likened to a creature from before the fall in Eden, the garden of God (28:12). Scholars debate how this passage should be interpreted. Is the king of Tyre likened to Adam before the fall or to Satan before the fall? Certainly, this passage must first be applied to the king of Tyre as an individual, even if the language is incredibly vivid and poetic. Yet, it seems that his fall follows in the footsteps of another’s example and thus the language comes forth as it does in terms that would surely surpass an ordinary king.
Regardless of how the passage is interpreted, the cause of the downfall is the same and that should be our focus. The Lord laments, “Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor” (28:17). Solomon once concluded, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Pro. 16:18). Even the fall in the Garden of Eden was preceded by a sense of pride. The serpent proposed that with the fruit, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). The serpent began by sowing doubt regarding God’s spoken word, and then after putting the Creator down, aimed to lift the creature up. Pride came before destruction.
Pride rears its ugly head in all sorts of places and in all sorts of people. We can be proud of who we are, of our achievements, of our possessions, or any number of things. But God’s Word says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:5; 1 Pet. 5:5b; see also Pro. 3:34). God’s desire is that our boast should be in Him.
The solution then is to see that as recipients of grace all good in us comes from Him. It’s by the grace of God that we are who we are (see 1 Cor. 15:10). It’s by grace that we have the abilities and gifts that we have. It’s by grace that we have all natural and spiritual blessings in this life. Truly every good and perfect gift is from Him (Jas. 1:17).
If we keep our worldview steeped in grace, knowing that we don’t deserve anything good, and knowing that all good in us comes from Him, then we can readily fight pride. Even the gifts I might have cultivated I was only able to do so because God first graced them to me. Ultimately all praise and credit are due to the One who is the source. If we find our boast in Him and His marvelous grace, then we’ll be able to fight the temptation towards pride that frequently comes in this life.
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