Lamentation Against the King of Tyre
July 9, 2019
Commentary
Ezekiel’s third message against Tyre was directed specifically to the ruler of Tyre (vv. 1-5) (1 Sam. 9:16; 10:1; 13:14; 2 Sam. 7:8). Ezekiel had prophesied against the whole city; he was now singling out the city’s leader for a special word from God. This ruler then was Ethbaal III, who ruled from 591-572 b.c. The underlying sin of Tyre’s king was his pride, which prompted him to view himself as a god (vv. 6, 9). Evidently in Ezekiel’s day the kings of Tyre believed they were divine.
The king’s claims to deity were false. God said, You are a man and not a god. Ethbaal III was only a mortal. Evidently he felt he had wisdom that only a god could possess. In a statement dripping with irony Ezekiel asked the king, Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you? The “Daniel” in view was probably the Prophet Daniel (Ezekiel 14:14, 20). He had already achieved a reputation for his wisdom in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 1:19-20; 2:46-49). The irony was that Ethbaal III felt his wisdom exceeded that of even Daniel who served the country that would ultimately defeat Tyre. Daniel, who attributed all his wisdom to God (Dan. 2:27-28), was much wiser than Ethbaal III, who claimed to be a god.
Ethbaal III had been able to use his wisdom and skill to acquire material possessions. His lucrative trade had produced great wealth, including gold and silver, but it also increased his pride. God would not let the pride (vv. 2, 5) of Tyre’s ruler go unchallenged. The foreigners whom God would bring against Tyre had already been identified as the Babylonians (vv. 6-10).
Application
If I am truly wise I will daily humble myself and seek to get closer to God and thus recognize my complete dependence on Him for guidance.
Ezekiel 28:1– 10 (NET)
1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”— yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.
3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you.
4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself; you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
5 By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
6 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are godlike,
7 I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most terrifying of nations. They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, and they will defile your splendor.
8 They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you— though you are a man and not a god— when you are in the power of those who wound you?
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Illustration: Book Entitled “Black Like Me”
John Howard Griffin was a white man who believed he could never understand the plight of African-Americans unless he became like one. In 1959, he darkened his skin with medication, sun lamps, and stains, then traveled throughout the South. His book, “Black Like Me,” helped whites better understand the humiliation and discrimination faced daily by people of color. Jesus Christ became like us; the Incarnation is evidence that God understands our plight. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” (Isa. 53:3). (Tom Moorhouse Christian Leadership Magazine).