When I was reading Ezekiel 28 today, I read this verse which made me pause.

You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

Ezekiel 28:13 (NIV)

Ezekiel 28 starts out as a prophecy against the king of Tyre. When we get to Ezekiel 28:13, the warning has been spoken. Now we’re in a lament over the king of Tyre. What caused me to pause in verse 13 is the statement: “You were in Eden, the garden of God.” My first temptation is to ask, “Who is Ezekiel talking about?” However, this isn’t Ezekiel speaking in verse 13; it’s the Lord. Verse 12 gives us this intelligence. 

“Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘ You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

Ezekiel 28:12 (NIV)

Therefore, a better question might be, “Who is the Lord talking about in verse 13? Who is the Lord addressing?” 

Before I go further into this, I think it’s important to understand something about the king of Tyre and how he saw himself. Fortunately, Ezekiel 28:2 gives us keen insight into the mind of this king.

“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘ In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god (emphasis added).

Ezekiel 28:2 (NIV)

The king of Tyre was so prideful that he considered himself a god. This is what verses 2-10 deal with. Pride gives us an unrealistic view of life. How much more for a king to hold himself in high regard? 

To understand who the Lord is addressing in Ezekiel 28:13, we need to read all of the verses directly referring to the “You.”

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.

All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.”

Ezekiel 28:13-19 (NIV)

We know that the king of Tyre wasn’t in Eden, anointed as a guardian cherub, on the mount of God, or blameless in his ways. Since the king wasn’t on the mountain of God nor a cherub, he couldn’t have been the person God threw to the earth.

In Revelation 12, we read about someone thrown down to the earth.

The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Revelation 12:9 (NIV)

Satan was also in the Garden of Eden, and many of the descriptors we have in Ezekiel 28:13-19 could be applied to Satan. Therefore, the being referred to in verses 13-19 could be Satan. While I think the “You” in these verses could be referring to Satan, I also sense that the sum of these verses also laments the sin of pride and how it destroys. After all, it was pride that brought about Satan’s fall, and the pride in the king of Tyre’s heart brought about his fall. In fact, can’t we lay the root of all sin at the feet of pride? 

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