From Exalted to Cast Down
Larry R Evans
Class Teaching Notes
April 2-9, 2011
It has been said that “A bit of carbon in iron makes powerful metal; a bit of truth in a lie makes powerful deceit.” It could also be said that a bit of self-exaltation mixed with bestowed wisdom and beauty can lead to self-destruction. Such is one insight from this week’s lesson. But let’s not stop there! What happens when a convicted sinner yields his or her heart in faith to the grace of a loving Savior? Can a leopard change his spots? Of course not, but the miracle comes when the sinner puts self aside and allows Christ to live inside. This inner controversy is the very same one that raged in Heaven leading to the expulsion of Lucifer. What he failed to learn in Heaven redeemed sinners are learning in a world raging with the expressed inner turmoil of a fallen angel:
Rom 7:21-25
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! (NIV)
Reflective Quiz
1. Being perfect allows for the possibility of sinning. (Ezek. 28:15) True or False?
2. Sin entered when the gift was valued over the Giver. (Ezek 28:17; Deut. 8:11-14) True or False?
3. Forgetfulness is a sin problem. (Deut. 8:11-18) True or False?
4. The privilege of serving God is always a humbling experience. (Ezek. 28:14,17) True or False?
5. If God designed us to be in His image it is only natural for us to see ourselves as gods. (Isa. 14:12-14) True or False?
Introduction to Ezekiel 28
The first 24 chapters contain a desperate, urgent message to the people of Israel who were about to face the stern judgment of God. Here Ezekiel explains why such judgment came upon God’s people. The next 8 chapters are prophecies of judgment regarding foreign nations warning them not to boast because of Israel’s demise. The same God who judged Israel for it failure will also judge these nations. The last 16 chapters begin with the overthrow of Jerusalem but move on to a message of hope to those who have survived a disaster that took them from their homeland, killed many of those they loved and destroyed their temple and capital city. Our study this week focuses on Ezekiel 28 – that section which focuses on foreign nations warning them not boast at the fall of Jerusalem – if they do their day would be coming too. A city in one of those countries, Tyre of Phoenicia, was apparently boasting. The first part of the chapter speaks of the king who apparently thought of himself as a god. However, the second part of the chapter is a digression the real power behind the boastful, arrogant and cruel actions of these nations. Here we find the attributes of the defiant Lucifer (the shining one who became Satan, the adversary) With this as a brief overview let’s begin with our first question:
1. Being perfect allows for the possibility of sinning. (Ezek. 28:15) True
Ezek 28:15
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you. (NIV)
Ellen White begins her five volumes we refer to as “Conflict of The Ages” series with these words, “God is love.” 1 John 4:16 (Patriarch and Prophets, p.33) With this concept she lays down the history of God’s perfect creation and the ensuing fall caused by sin. This raises the question: If God could create a perfect physical world why could he create a perfect “moral” world. Or did He? Was the world a perfect moral world? If so was it really perfect? Does God’s perfection allow for imperfection?
So long as all created beings acknowledged the allegiance of love, there was perfect harmony throughout the universe of God. It was the joy of the heavenly host to fulfill the purpose of their Creator. They delighted in reflecting His glory and showing forth His praise. And while love to God was supreme, love for one another was confiding and unselfish. There was no note of discord to mar the celestial harmonies. But a change came over this happy state. There was one who perverted the freedom that God had granted to His creatures. Sin originated with him who, next to Christ, had been most honored of God and was highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Lucifer, "son of the morning," was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. He stood in the presence of the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God rested upon him. (Patriarchs and Prophets, p.35)
2. Sin entered when the gift was valued over the Giver. (Ezek 28:17; Deut. 8:11-14) True
Ezek 28:17
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor. (NIV)
This “beauty” is described in v.13
Ezek 28:13-14
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
ruby, topaz and emerald,
chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 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. (NIV)
The beauty of Lucifer was directly related to the gift God had given him but instead of praising the Giver he couldn’t get his eyes off what had been given. Pride grew because he valued the gift more than the Giver. How common is that today – at your work place, your home, your school, out society?
3. Forgetfulness is a sin problem. (Deut. 8:11-18) True
Deut 8:10-14
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Deut 8:17-18
17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
What is the difference between the owner of the property and the manager who manages the property for the owner? What role was give to Adam and Eve in Eden? After sin?
Which of the following is a “curse” because of sin (See:
a. The snake crawling on its belly
b. The woman while giving birth
c. The man while toiling in the field
If we aren’t careful we will position God cursing not only Satan but also those created in His image. Here is a sequel to think about:
Gen. 1 establishes the basis for our trust and confidence in God – God is our Creator and before we even sense a need it has been supplied.
Gen. 2 introduces us to the Creator God as LORD or Yahweh. This is our introduction to our God of relationships. We sometimes refer to this as the God of covenants but more importantly it is the God who desires a unique relationship with His created! A genuine relationship is the very thing He wanted to establish in Heaven.
Gen.3 introduces us to the “Fall of Man” but that’s not all. The Creator God, the God of relationships, goes to those who have fallen not with the purpose of condemning but with the purpose of restoring. He asks the critical question, the question that He must have asked of Lucifer long before, “Where are you?” Are you with Me or against Me? And with this question it becomes obvious that sin had begun to do its ugly work. The last half of Gen.3 shows God intervening to restore the broken relationship experienced by His beloved creation. He does so by putting enmity between the rebel from Heaven and Adam and Eve. In this context the pain of child birth and the pain of toiling in the fields are not curses but part of the bigger plan to restore. Sin’s glamour is taken away. Rebellion is seen for what it does. The snake and the ground may be cursed but not Adam or Eve. They become the objects of God’s supreme acts of restoration. We must be careful that we don’t become the voice for the snake calling God’s love a curse. Pain can be a gift and if you don’t believe that then think again of the terrible effects when pain for the leper is no longer felt.
Gen. 4 like Gen. 3 continues the relationship that God desires us to have with others – in stark contrast to the kind of relationship Satan established with the third of the angels of Heaven. With the blood on Cain’s hand God asks what is meant to be a redemptive question: “Where is your brother?” Cain’s answer is evasive just as Satan’s must have been while leading the rebellion in Heaven: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” His answer is evasive. Five times the word brother is used and it is this relationship with others that God is addressing but Satan attempts to divert the attention and in so doing reveals his own motive – “keeper”. A keeper is a controller which is exactly what Satan had been doing. Cain failed because he had not been a brother but instead had been a “keeper” or “controller” of his own brother.
So here we see in the story of Adam and Eve and then in the experience of Cain and Able the play out of the dynamics of what had happened during the rebellion in Heaven! When Cain realizes the consequences of his own rebellion he shrieks out with what must have been the very thoughts of Lucifer: “Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;” The worst punishment possible is to be separated from God—the consequence of cherishing the gift over the Giver. Forgetfulness of God and all that He has done for us is both the root cause and the result of a diverted focus which is what sin ultimately does.
4. The privilege of serving God is always a humbling experience. (Ezek. 28:14,17) False
Not so with Lucifer!
Ezek 28:14-17
14 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.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 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, O guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor. (NIV)
True and False
It is not natural because we were not created to be self-centered. It is natural for the sinful heart to take the place of or be equal to Giver.
Isa 14:12-14
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High." (NIV)
“While Lucifer counted it a thing to be grasped to be equal with God, Christ, the Exalted One, "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 2:7, 8. Now the cross was just before Him; and His own disciples were so filled with self-seeking--the very principle of Satan’s kingdom--that they could not enter into sympathy with their Lord, or even understand Him as He spoke of His humiliation for them. “The Desire of Ages, p.436.
The theme for this quarter’s Sabbath School lessons is entitled “Garments of Grace”. This week we studied the pathway that leads from being exalted to being cast down. Lucifer had been covered by the hand that had created him. His beauty and wisdom were gifts from a God that loved and cherished him. Yet he became so infatuated with himself that he failed to distinguish between the Giver and the gift. Soon the Giver was perceived to be an obstacle to his getting even more. Pride, self-exaltation and absorption with self were the stepping stones which led and continue to lead away from the throne room of God. On the other we find both the journey and the destination of Jesus to be in stark contrast. Such is the choice facing each person:
Phil 2:3-11
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing,taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(NIV)
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