Ezekiel 28:16-17
In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
The 1920’s could be called the Good Old Days. There was relative peace after The War to End All Wars ended in 1918. There was fantastic wealth and industry. It was The Great Gatsby decade. That is, until there were 64 days left in the decade. On October 29th, 1929, Black Tuesday, the stock market tanked. The abundance of their trade which was their wealth, their stones of fire which were their gemstones, and their movie star good looks amounted to nothing. Their pride fell and it fell hard. Their pride affected their decisions and corrupted their wisdom.
The above is true whether we are rich or poor. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil, Paul says, not money itself. All the things in these verses are good and given by God. Trade helps people make a living wage. Diamonds and sapphires are beautiful stones that come from God’s creation and can be enjoyed by all. Even physical beauty is a gift from God and is used by God to find our soulmate. It is the abuse and corruption of such things that is of Satan. He too will suffer the defeat when it all crashes down.
O Heavenly Father, you have given us such good gifts and we make them into idols that destroy us. Thank you for Jesus and his riches. In Jesus’ name. Amen.