Ezekiel 28:14-15 (NASB) 14 “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. 15 “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.
There was a time when verse 14 above had a meaning quite different than I know it to be now. Originally, I assumed the Hebrew word translated “covers” referred to a protective type of covering, sort of like a mother might “cover” her child for warmth or protection. Then I looked deeper. “Cover” in the original language means to “overshadow, screen, cover . . .” as in Exodus 40:3, Lamentations 3:43-44 (see BDB Hebrew Lexicon). That is, the anointed cherub (satan) is the one who “covers,” who is veiled, in the sense that he masks or overshadows himself so that his presence is not known. We find this precise meaning in Matthew 16:22-23 where Jesus is the only one who is aware of satan’s presence. Satan has “covered” himself through the one disciple least possible to be duped: Simon Peter, the Rock. The verse reads:
Matthew 16:23 (NASB) But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Simon Peter has just proclaimed Jesus to be the “Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus affirms Simon’s knowledge as revealed by God and proclaims him as “petra,” the “rock” upon which Christ will build His church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:17-18). Seems like Simon would be the last disciple that satan would be able to deceive. How could Simon who has just recognized the voice of God not recognize the voice of satan speaking through his own mouth? Think about the “line” satan has drawn in the sand: Jesus has just stated the gates of hell will not prevail against His church; and satan immediately proceeds to speak through the very “rock” of the church!
If Simon Peter can be deceived, what about Aaron Alexis?
Does it make you wonder about the “voices” in the head of the Aaron Alexis?
Los Angeles Times, By Richard A. Serrano, September 17, 2013. WASHINGTON — Just five weeks before he killed 12 people at the Navy Yard in Washington, Aaron Alexis told police in Newport, R.I., that he was hearing voices in his head, that he feared three people were going to harm him and that the voices sometimes came through “the walls, floor and ceiling” of a Navy base in Rhode Island where he was working as a civilian contractor.
And then we find the following about Alexis from the Detroit News:
The profile began to emerge Monday of the man authorities identified as the gunman in a mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., that left 13 people dead, including the 34-year-old man. While some neighbors and acquaintances described him as “nice,” his father once told detectives in Seattle that his son had anger management problems related to post-traumatic stress brought on by the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Anger management problems? Voices in his head? Hmmmh? I wonder what that should tell us?
Ephesians 4:26-28 (NASB) 26BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and do not give the devil an opportunity.
“Opportunity” translates from the Greek, “topos,” meaning “place, position, region” (Gingrich Lexicon). The NIV translates topos as “foothold”; KJV translates it as “place.” The point? Aaron Alexis gave satan a place in his mind. Satan “got in his head,” he “pitched his tent” in Alexis’ anger. His anger became satan’s foothold, that place where satan establishes his residence in our minds and unless the light of God moves in to push back the darkness, the results, of late, have been death and destruction of the innocent.
Seems to me we have been here before:
The Dark Night Rises … and Rises
Yes, I know, in the coming weeks our experts will tell us how we need to spend more money on mental health, have better security for our institutions, and better interviews and security checkpoints. Spend, spend, spend more money on this and that, and certainly that will solve the problems of the “Aaron Alexis'” of our society. The problem is spiritual; and that is our problem. We won’t consider that as an option, in fact, we can’t even ask the question. I wonder how long it will be before my next post on this same issue?
As I said, we have been here before.
Jesus come quickly.
Blessings.
Jack
Jack
I’m sorry but I just don’t see that you could use the Hebrew word for covering outside of its normal meaning, in that it is used in the very same exact way of any leader over others including a husband who is his wife’s covering spiritually speaking.
And it seems inconsistent because it was God Himself who placed Satan there, upon the earth, and other planets too.
What else could the phrase about Satan physically “walking up and down amidst the stones of fire mean”, but that stones of fire was done on rocky orbs reflecting light, or planets in our solar system as a priestly leader of Worship? That’s the whole gist of the passage, that Satan was appointed of God in sacred service not just upon the earth but on other planets too.
It appears from the emphatically stated assertion of the text here, that Satan was doing a very good job of it too, until such time as his heart was lifted up and he fell from grace.
In the sense given in the Hebrew text, the covering was as any pastor would do in the sanctuary in the service of God to protect the pure and undefiled worship of Yahweh in sacred service to Him, during which the pure light and the Holy efficatious blood of Jesus covers the entire congregation.
I believe it also means the very same here in the text you sited: to protect what is Holy from being profained.
God bless
Servant