Satan in Ezekiel 28?

A BC2AD Participant writes:

I am curious to know how you interpret Ezekiel 28:12-19.

Last fall my Bible study group was doing Job by Kay Arthur and now I am doing a seeker study by John Cross with my neighbor. Both Arthur and Cross point to Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 as being a description of the character of Satan and how/why he lost his place in Heaven. But I'm just not buying it. Aside from the fact the passages are direct prophecies of the king of Babylon and Tyre - why would Moses not have told us about Satan in his books?

What great questions! Let's tackle Ezek 28 first. The prophecy is for the king of Tyre, but it's not about him. Literally, God says in Ezek 28.12, "Take up a dirge on behalf of the King of Tyre..." Ezek 28.12-19 is a funeral song about the "anointed covering cherub" (v. 14) that was cast out of "the mount of God," i.e., God's dwelling place (v. 16). The intent of the dirge is that the king of Tyre would take a hint from what befell the "anointed covering cherub" and repent!

Who was this "anointed guardian cherub" who was "in Eden, the garden of God"? In the final analysis we cannot prove his identity from the sparse scriptural data. That he was Satan is probably our best guess because Satan was in Eden and Satan is cast down from God's dwelling place (Rev 12.9). But ultimately the cherub's identity is not crucial; what's most important is that the king of Tyre, and all who read this prophecy, take heed of the consequences of pride and arrogance toward God (Ezek 28.17)!