“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: 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 from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the 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: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Ezekiel 28:11-17)
In Ezekiel 28 we see a detailed description of Lucifer’s fall, as well as a picture of his beauty before his fall. In the description of Lucifer’s beauty, we find that in addition to built-in musical instruments, there also were 9 different gemstones. Because of Lucifer’s previous status before the throne of God, when Yahweh’s radiant glory would shine forth, these stones would reflect that light in a brilliant hue of colors.
Now, look with me at another passage of Scripture that also describes these gemstones, this time in Exodus 28:
“And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.” (Exodus 28:15, 17-21, 29)
It is very interesting to see here the comparison of the stones that were in Lucifer to the stones that were built into the breastplate of the high priest. All of the stones that were in Lucifer are in the breastplate. But not all of the stones that are in the breastplate are in Lucifer. The third row of stones in the high priest breastplate are additional to what Lucifer had. Whereas there was a time when Lucifer could go before the presence of Yahweh with his nine stones, now God gave the high priest a twelve-stone breastplate so that he could come in once per year before the throne of God in the Holy of Holies. In essence, God was saying, “Lucifer, you used to come before Me, but you blew it. Now I have created a replacement for you!”
Now, remember, in Exodus 28 the twelve stones that were in the high priest’s breastplate represented the twelve tribes of Israel. Allow me to show you what each of the gemstones represented, as well as which tribe in represented:
1st Row:
Sardius - Reuben (unstable as water)
Topaz - Simeon (instrument of cruelty)
Carbuncle - Levi (instrument of cruelty)
2nd Row:
Emerald - Judah (old lion)
Sapphire - Dan (serpent)
Diamond - Naphtali (one who knows how to use words for gain)
3rd Row:
Ligure - Gad
Agate - Asher
Amethyst - Issachar
4th Row:
Beryl - Zebulon (trader)
Onyx - Joseph (bow shooting arrows)
Jasper - Benjamin (wolf)
It is extremely interesting that all nine of the gemstones shown above, with tribe definitions beside them, were the nine stones that were in Lucifer. And, all nine of them describe his characteristics! Think about it for just a moment. Let it sink into your spirit. Let it be food for thought–deep thought. Unstable, instrument of cruelty, lion, serpent, one who knows how to use words for gain, trader, bow shooting arrows(darts), and a wolf. Each of these are characteristics that Lucifer had/has! That’s mind blowing! (Note: If you are wondering where the definition of each of these tribes comes from, read Genesis 49.)
If you paid attention to the list above, you will notice that the 3rd Row didn’t have any definitions beside them. This is because this row, the third one, was the one row of gemstones that Lucifer did NOT have in him. Why? Because when God created Lucifer’s replacement to be able to come into the Holy of Holies, he added three stones from three of the tribes that did not represent Lucifer, but were symbolic of the ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ! With that in mind, let us look again at the third row so that we may gain a better understanding of these stones.
3rd Row:
Ligure - Gad (“an overcomer.” Lucifer can never be an overcomer because his future has already been determined. Jesus, however, was the ultimate overcomer! He said, “I have overcome the world.”)
Agate - Asher (“one who yields royal dainties.” This refers to the bountiful prosperity of this tribe. Lucifer can never be prosperous. He can never yield royal dainties. But Jesus, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, through His death, burial, and resurrection has now given “good gifts unto men.”)
Amethyst - Issachar (“a strong ass crouching down between two burdens.” Lucifer can never be the burden bearer. Only Jesus is the burden bearer. For, it was He that said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NLT)
Lucifer may have been in the presence of Yahweh previously, and the high priest may have gone previously into the Holy of Holies once a year, but when Jesus cried out, “It is finished!,” the veil of the temple was torn in half providing access into the presence of Yahweh’s glory for us! Now, we are the temple of God. Now we have been made priests unto God ourselves. And now, we have been provided the breastplate of righteousness!