Wednesday Bible Study: Lying to myself

 

I want next to do a study on lies and lying.  It may sound a bit like Solomon's study of madness and folly, but it all revolves around wanting to expose the lies I tell myself, so Satan can come in and lead me to sin.  I want these lies to wilt in the light of day; hence I am going down this path.

To understand lies, one must understand the source- Satan.  Jesus said of him,

(to the Pharisees) Joh 8:44  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 

He speaks out of his own character.  What does that mean?  That is one way to get to where I'm going.  How I got there, though, was a little more around the barn.  I was looking for examples of lying, and first up was Satan (the Dragon) lying to Eve.  And I asked, "Why does Satan hate us so?"  And as it turns, that was the key question.  And that, as the lawyers say, goes to character.  And thus, we have to ask what was- and is- his character?

For that, we turn to Ezekiel:

Eze 28:12  “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 

Eze 28:13  You have been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the turquoise, and the emerald, and gold. The workmanship of your tambourines and of your flutes was prepared in you in the day that you were created. 

Eze 28:14  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. 

Eze 28:15  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. 

Most of this chapter, though God calls him, as a comparison to a contemporary, "the King of Tyre", is about Lucifer, he who became Satan. He was, at the start, the greatest, most perfect being God had created. He was every gem that man would imagine.  He was a living musical instrument- see the end of v13 above.  The word "anointed" in v14 is often translated "covering", which confused the bedazzles out of the commentators, but it's really very simple:  He was heaven's worship leader, standing between God and the angels as no one else could (in the midst of the stones of fire);  He literally covered their eyes from the full force of seeing God.  Thus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John all talk about Cherubim that cover their eyes with one set of wings, because Lucifer no longer does it for them.

What could make such a being turn so drastically?  Ezekiel explains the trajectory in verses 5 and 17.

-He used his wisdom to gain riches;

-those riches lifted his heart in pride;

- and that pride spoiled his wisdom.  How very much like Solomon's case.  In a way, God gave Solomon the chance to be a human Lucifer; and for a time at least, he, too, became a Satan.

In Isaiah 14, that prophet also gives a detailing of Satan; but before I go there, I was astonished by how it fit a list I found of Five reasons Satan hates us- see how this all ties together?

Those five reasons, shuffled to match what we will see in Isaiah:

1- We are a threat to him.  We keep him from destroying mankind by our faith.  And one day we will meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17), and join the army that destroys his minions (Revelation 19).

2- God gives us authority over him: Jas 4:7  Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Not only can we resist him, but we will judge him: 1Co 6:2  Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3  Do you not know that we shall judge angels, not to mention the things of this life? 

3- You will be taking his old job, the worship leaders of heaven: Rev 7:9  After these things I looked, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palms in their hands. 10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb. 

4- Because God loves you.  Pro 8:30  even I was a workman at His side; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; 31  rejoicing in the world, His earth; and my delight was with the sons of men. 

5- We look like God: Gen 1:26  And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness...

Now, let's see how that meshes up with Lucifer's own claims in Isaiah 14:

 Isa 14:12  How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 

1-  For you have said in your heart, I will go up to the heavens... (v13) Instead, he's cast down, and we will be lifted up.

2- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;  (v13)- instead, he will end up lower than us...

3- I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. (v13) He has LOST his spot before the congregation...

4- I will go up above the heights of the clouds; (v14) Instead, the God who died for us will bring us there...

5- I will be like the Most High. But God never made angels in His image; He made US in His image.

This is why he hates us; he can never be what God made us to be.  But he still believes in these five acts of pride; thus, his entire character is built on the lie.  Much like many people who are too caught up in politics: His whole self-esteem is tied up in his agenda.  He has but 2 choices now; believe the lie, or destroy himself. 

In a way, that fits me.  There are certain parts of my self-image that need not be there, and the Lord has relieved me of the most of them.  But there are the ruts they leave, that I fall into; and more, there are ones yet to be exposed.  But see, Christ gives us a third choice, which the angels do not get; the choice of salvation.  And I hope with salvation to root them out as we go along for this ride.