The Holy Mountain.

Ezekiel 28:14 “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”

Upon the Holy Mountain; Zion, where the ark with its cherubim abode. The meaning is, thou wast exalted to the highest dignity.

So what was the Holy mountain of God?

Ezekiel 20:39-40 “³⁹As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye everyone his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. ⁴⁰For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.”

So here it is clear that God’s Holy Mountain is the house of Israel. It is simply a people and not a geographical point of reference.

 Again, we are told; “thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire”  

This is clearly the description given to God while covenanting with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. Look at Exodus 24:10&17; 

“¹⁰And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness… ¹⁷And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel”

Meaning, just like the ambition of the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14, Tyrus in his ambitious imagination, stood in the place of God, “under whose feet was, as it were, a pavement of sapphire,” while His glory was like “devouring fire” Same with the Cherubim in Ezekiel 1:13 were described “As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire”

Stones of Fire.

Thou was upon the holy mountain of God. The irony is still continued; and now he is compared to Moses, who has walked up and down among the stones of fire; that is, your floors have been paved with precious stones, that shone and sparkled like fire.

From the midst of the stones of fire.

Some, supposing that stones of fire mean the stars, have thought that the whole refers to the fall of Satan.  But for example, “Coals of fire” in (2 Samuel 22:9, 13; Psalms 18:8, 12, 13, etc.) is an expression used metaphorically for lightnings proceeding from God

“Heaping coals of fire on the head” symbolizes overcoming evil with good. The words of Paul (Romans 12:20) is equal to saying, “By charity and kindness you shall soften down your enemies as surely as heaping coals on the fire fuses the metal in the crucible.”

Figuratively, Precious Stones, denotes value, beauty, durability and fire is a symbol of Jehovah’s presence and the instrument of his power (Exodus 14:19; Numbers 11:1, 3; Judges 13:20).

In Deuteronomy 9:10, we are told “And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly”.

Fire also represents the Holiness of God which was two aspects, it purifies and destroys. The law has the same two aspects, though we are condemned by it, we can also renew our minds by the washing of the word.

The stones of fire in this sense refer literally to the tablets of the law and figuratively to the law itself. But above all,  of the stones that were worn by the high priest as a breast plate by which answer were sort as they flashes  when questions are given to be answered, they were also referred to as ‘ the jewels of gold” thought to have divine power as they were sacred gemstones fashioned by God himself. This is what Ezekiel alluded to in the prophecy.

The prophecy here is an example of the principle of “An eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth”.  As the rulers of Tyre rejoiced over the downfall of the beautiful sanctuary in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 26:2) so their beautiful sanctuary on Tyre will be destroyed.

Flames of fire. Ps.104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: (Heb.1:7) Spirits; or, winds; that is, God makes his ministering angels strong and mighty, like winds and lightning, to execute His will. Fire-So called for their irresistible force and agility, and fervency in the execution of God’s commands. God’s ministers or servants he makes to be as swift, potent, and terrible as fire, and on the other hand he makes fire, that devouring element, to be his minister flaming forth upon his errands

So, what do we mean “I have set thee” By implication, you did not set yourself as a king in the place of Dominion (Proverbs 8:16; Romans 13:1), upon the holy mountain of God–Zion, following up the imagery.  David called the realm of kindly dominion as a mountain. (“LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.” Psalms 30:7) 

So, when the word says, “thou wast upon the holy mountain of God” it simply it means you were advanced to kingly dignity, a sacred office, and of divine institution.

But unfortunately, as it was with Nebucahadnezzer, because of the pride of success, his down fall was predicted “By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore, I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire”. (Ezekiel 28: 16).

“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence “That is, they have filled the midst of the city; Tyrus as the head of the state being involved in the guilt of the state, which he did not check but compromised it. This then was the “UNTIL INIQUITY WAS FOUND IN THEE”.

Meaning ‘until the pride of your wealth and the glory that you are basking in came into your head, thinking that you have gained all things by your own power and struggles. That was Tyrus iniquity; the Fall of Adam is not reference here but King Tyrus.

“I will cast thee as profane” means ‘You shall be cast down from your eminence, you shall no longer be treated as sacred, but driven out of the place of sanctity (see Ezekiel 28:14) which thou hast occupied, out of thy kingly dignity’. (Compare Psalms 89:39).

Next will be; “Till Iniquity was found in thee”

To be continued…