Rev. Don Campbell
Ezekiel 28-31
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, September 5, 2019
“POWER CORRUPTS”
In giving instructions for the appointing of elders, Paul warned, “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6). The condemnation is not by the devil, but the same condemnation the devil suffered. In Chapter 28, Ezekiel prophesied against the prince of Tyre. As I read this denunciation of the prince’s pride, I thought of Paul’s warning and the words of Lord Acton: “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
As it turns out, that’s not quite true. Christopher Shea, writing in Smithsonian Magazine (10/12/12) reported on a study of the validity of this statement: “In sum, the study found, power doesn’t corrupt; it heightens pre-existing ethical tendencies. Which brings to mind another maxim, from Abraham Lincoln: ’Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.’”
As you read the prophecy against the prince of Tyre, note that much of it is divine sarcasm. The New Living Translation shows this better than other translation, so I have chosen it for this quotation:
“In your great pride you claim, ‘I am a god!
I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.’
But you are only a man and not a god,
though you boast that you are a god.
You regard yourself as wiser than Daniel
and think no secret is hidden from you.
With your wisdom and understanding you have amassed great wealth—
gold and silver for your treasuries.
Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich,
and your riches have made you very proud.
“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
Because you think you are as wise as a god,
I will now bring against you a foreign army,
the terror of the nations.
They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom
and defile your splendor!
They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die in the heart of the sea,
pierced with many wounds.
Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’
to those who kill you?
To them you will be no god
but merely a man!
You will die like an outcast
at the hands of foreigners.
I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”
About six centuries later, we find an interesting event involving Tyre and Sidon in Acts 12:21-23. Herod was angry with them—we know not why unless the events recounted suggest they had not given him the honor he felt he was due. Whatever the reasons, he granted them an audience and here’s what occurred: “When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.”
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?
CONNECTIONS
1. Someone said, “We aren’t what we think we are, but what we think we are.” Paul said, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3). If our minds are set on earthly things, what will be the outcome?
2. If you will allow me a little sarcasm, answer this for me. If God were to strike every boastful politician in our nation, consuming them with worms for all their self-centered narcissism, how many special elections would have to be held—assuming we could find someone willing to run—to replace the fallen?
