 |  |
That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children.
Having made us accepted in the Beloved.
"That we should be holy." How easy to write, how easy to read, but what worlds of
thought these few words contain. The very conception of holiness is of a thing apart. We
meet men in the ordinary walk of life who would not hesitate to claim that they are as
"good" as the next man. The very Apostle who wrote Ephesians could write concerning
himself "touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless", but the claim to
"holiness" is never heard in the ordinary walks of life. Every day in the conduct of daily
business, the word "just", "good", "true" will be used by thousands in the course of
business correspondence, but one could search the files of a year's mail, and be fairly
sure that the word "holy" would never be found therein.
"Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty."
"Every precious stone was thy covering."
"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth."
"Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God."
"Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."
"Thou wast perfect in thy ways."
In contrast with this list of excellencies let us tabulate his defection.
"By 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."
"Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness."
"Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries . . . . . by the iniquity of thy traffic."
However far from ordinary experience the above account may be, it is very clear that
this King of Tyre had to do with holy things. The anointing, the covering, the holy
mountain, the stones of fire, the sanctuary all alike speak of holy things.
So also the fall. The "merchandise" was not the ordinary trading of an ordinary
merchant, this "traffic" "defiled" sanctuaries.
We have seen that Ezek. 28: speaks of the fall of a being, in terms not suitable if
that "anointed cherub" was but a descendant of fallen Adam. We have seen sufficient to
believe that there is contained in this symbolism a reference back to "before the
overthrow of the world" and to "the heavenly places" which were the realm of this great
one, set forth as the King of Tyre.
If the church of the mystery was chosen to occupy the place and position forfeited by
Satan and the principalities and powers that fell with him, then, we shall find by
examination a further link between Ezek. 28: and Eph. 1: 4 and its insistence upon
"holiness".