“Bible songs: Every precious stone adorned you”
Ezekiel 28
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
No one knows for sure just why he did it. Some say it was for love. Others say it was for money. Whatever the reason, to this day, whenever you hear the word “traitor,” you can’t help but think of Benedict Arnold.
He was born in January of 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut, the second of six children. His great-grandfather was the governor of Rhode Island. His father was a businessman.
But as good as his life was, it soon took a turn for the worse. While he was away at school, two sisters and one brother died from Yellow Fever. That’s when his father starting drinking. His mother died when he was eighteen. He lost his father when he was twenty. And not knowing what else to do or where else to go, he set up an apothecary, a drug store, in New Haven, Connecticut. The only surviving member of his family, a sister, served as his assistant.
When he was twenty-six, he married a woman named Margaret Mansfield. Together they would have three sons.
But war was breaking out, and Benedict was eager to go. And just as soon as he joined the Connecticut Colony Militia, he was made a captain, then a colonel, and finally, a general. George Washington admired and respected him so much, he sent him to serve as commander of Philadelphia. British Secretary of State Lord Germaine called him, “the most enterprising and dangerous of all the American generals.”
But somewhere, sometime, something changed. You see, in May of 1779, he wrote a letter, a coded letter in invisible ink, to General Henry Clinton, about switching his allegiance to Britain. And in return for twenty thousand British pounds, he agreed to send reports on Continental troops and supplies. He even offered to hand over West Point.
But things didn’t go quite as well as he had planned. When his plot was discovered, Washington ordered that he be killed on sight. And after fighting against the Continental Army on American soil, he finally fled to England, where he died in 1801 at the age of 60. He was buried without military honors.
What caused him to betray his own country? Was it for love or was it money? We’ll never know for sure.
The book of Ezekiel tells of another traitor, the most heinous and diabolical traitors of all time. Please turn in your Bible to page 907 as I read the words of our text. Ezekiel chapter 28, starting at verse 12: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. 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. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”
“You were the signet of perfection,” it said, “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”
What does that tell us? It tells us that Satan was one of the most beautiful and powerful creatures that God had ever made. There were cherubim, the “winged ones,” and there were seraphim, the “fiery ones.” There was even an archangel, Michael, who ruled over all the rest. But none of them was anything like Satan.
Listen as I read the same words from another translation. It says: “You were once the best and brightest of all of creation, perfect in every way--incredibly wise and remarkably handsome! You lived in Eden, God’s garden, and wore gems of every kind: red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx black-as-the-night, jasper green, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald--all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. Then I ordained you and anointed you and set you apart as the mighty angelic guardian. You were on God’s holy mountain and walked among gems that dazzled like fire. You were perfect, faultless, blameless. Nothing was as beautiful as you.”
But somewhere, sometime, something changed. As it says in verse 17: “Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I cast you to the ground.”
The world has never been the same since.
Back in 1989, a college, pre-med, student named Mark Kilroy went with his friends to South Padre Island, Texas for Spring Break. And along with thousands of others, he crossed over into Mexico to spend a night partying in Matamoros. But he never came back to the United States.
When his friends reported him missing, police on both sides of the border began an intensive manhunt. For two months, there were no leads at all.
Until finally, one night, a drug smuggler named Serafin Hernandez, drove through a police roadblock, then was chased and arrested. When questioned about why he didn’t stop, he told them the horrifying story.
You see, he and his friends not only smuggled drugs, they were Satan worshippers. They cast spells and performed blood rituals. And they believed that one of their most powerful spells of all--to have supernatural powers and to become invisible to their enemies--required a human sacrifice. And Mark Kilroy was that sacrifice.
When the Mexican police raided their rural hideout, what they called, “The Devil’s Ranch,” they found the remains of fifteen men, women, and children, plus evidence that they had killed sixty more.
Imagine you’re walking through an alley at midnight, in downtown Detroit. It’s cold and dark. There’s no one else around.
When all of a sudden, without warning, a man jumps out in front of you. There’s an assault rifle in his hands, ammunition belts over his shoulders, and a crazed look of insanity in his eyes.
Then picture another man. He’s gentle, kind, well-dressed, and respectful. You’ve known him all your life. There’s nothing at all to arouse suspicion. But little do you know that he’s been secretly plotting to kill you.
For, in his pocket, there’s a vial of arsenic with which he’s been secretly poisoning your food and water, a little at a time, for weeks.
Which of the two men is more frightening? Obviously, the first one. But which is more dangerous? Without question, the second.
The first man frightens you, because he appears so suddenly with the obvious intent to do you harm. And when he appears, you immediately defend yourself.
But the second man doesn’t scare you at all. You think he’s a friend, even a frequent guest in your home. Still he’s gradually and subtly killing you, even though you’re totally unaware. And that makes him far more dangerous.
As Ezekiel wrote: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty...every precious stone was your covering...yet your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I cast you to the ground.”
Back in 1964, radio personality Paul Harvey published an article he called, “If I were the devil.” This is what he said: “If I were the devil, if I were the Prince of Darkness, I would want to engulf the whole world in darkness. I’d have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree. Thee. I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve, ‘Do as you please.’ To the young, I would whisper, ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that ‘man created God,’ instead of the other way around. I would confide that ‘what is bad is good and what is good is square.’ I’d caution them to not be ‘extreme’ in religion, in patriotism, in moral conduct. And the old I would teach to pray, ‘Our father which are in Washington.’
“Then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors on how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies, and vice-versa. I’d infiltrate unions and urge more loafing, less work. Idle hands usually work for me.
“I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could, alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction, and tranquilize the rest with pills. I’d encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions; let those run wild.
“I’d designate an atheist to front for me before the highest courts and I’d get preachers to say, ‘She’s right.’ Thus I would evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, then from the Houses of Congress. Then in churches, I’d substitute psychology for religion and deify science.
“If I were Satan, I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.
“If I were the Devil, I’d take from those who have and give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. Then my police state would force everybody back to work.
“In other words, if I were Satan, I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.”
Satan might promise the best, but he’ll pay with the worst. He’ll promise honor, but pay with disgrace. He’ll promise pleasure, but pay with pain. He’ll promise profit, but pay with loss. He’ll promise life, but pay with death.
One more thing--you know Napoleon, all five foot, seven inches of him, is thought to be one of the greatest commanders in history. All around the world, military schools study his wars and campaigns to this day.
But as he sent his soldiers further and further beyond their borders, there was one force that stood in his way.
So one day, he gathered his top military commanders around a large table. And laid out on that table was a map of Europe with a big, red spot on it. And that spot was England.
And pounding his fist on the table, he shouted: “If it weren’t for that red spot, I could have it all!”
Picture it if you can--Satan and his demonic lieutenants standing around a large table in hell, looking at a map of the world, with a big, red spot on it. And that spot marks a hill, just outside the city of Jerusalem. And on that hill stands a cross, stained with the blood of Jesus.
And it is because of that big, red spot, that one unconquerable spot, even we are privileged to say: “Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us, we tremble not, we fear no ill; they shall not overpow’r us. This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done; one little word can fell him.”
We thank Jesus, for Your grace, Your mercy, and Your unending protection. Keep us and shelter us beneath Your cross, for Your sake. Amen