The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel 28
Chapter XXVIII · Vol. III, pp. 1351–1353
1 God's judgment upon the prince of Tyrus for his impious pride. 11 A lamentation of his great glory corrupted and fallen by sin. 20 The judgment of Zidon. 24 The restoration of Israel.
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of 1Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD, aBecause thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, bI am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst2 of the seas; cyet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart3 as the heart of God:
1 Eth-baal.
a Hab.2.4. Pr.18.12; 16.18; 29.23. Job 40.11,12.
b Is.14.13,14. Ac.12.22. 2 Th.2.4. ver.3-6,17?; ch.27.14.
2 Heb. heart.
c Is.31.3. ver.9. Ps.82.7; 83.17,18; 9.20.
3 The object of every unrenewed man is to grasp the power of God, and to substitute his own will for the will of the Judge of all.—C.
3 Behold, thou art dwiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
d Zec.9.2,3. Da.2.48; 5.11,12. 1 Co.8.1,2.
4 Withe thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom,4 and by thy traffic, hast thou increased thy riches, and gthine heart is lifted up hbecause of thy riches:5
A.M. cir. 3416. B.C. cir. 588.
4 Heb. By the greatness of thy wisdom.
g Ps.62.10. De.8.12-14; 32.15. Is.2.11; 10.13,14. Da.4.30,37. Ho.13.6. Zec.11.5. ver.17. 2 Ch.25.19.
5 See note * below.
* How frequently does this occur in modern times. Success generates pride, and proves a curse instead of a blessing. The successful merchant, warrior, politician, author, or artist, is apt to forget the real source of his success. He is apt to attribute all to talent, enterprise, or genius alone. But he should remember that it is God who gives mental power, physical energy, and opportunity for effort, and he who gives can withhold or remove.—P.
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Because thou hast iset thine heart as the heart of God;
i ver.2. Is.14.13,14. Ac.12.22. 2 Th.2.4.
7 Behold, therefore, I will bring jstrangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy kbrightness.
j ch.26.7; 30.11; 31.12; 32.12. Je.25.9,22. Hab.1.6-10.
k ver.12-16.
8 Theyl shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
9 Wilt thou nyet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God?6 but thou shalt be a man, and no god, in the hand of him that slayeth7 thee.
10 Thou shalt die othe deaths of the uncircumcised by the phand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
o ch.31.18; 32.19,21,23,24,27,&c., with Le.26.41. Je.6.10; 9.26. Ep.2.12.
p See ver.7; ch.26.3,7; 29.18. Je.25.9,22.
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
12 Son of man, qtake up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD, Thou rsealest up8 the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.9
q ch.27.2. Je.9.17,18; 15.5; 16.10. ch.xix. xxxii.
r ch.27.3; ver.2-5,7, with Ge.1.26,27.
8 Sealest up, &c. 'Thou art a signet of curious engraving.'—Newcome.
9 Or, 'Thou art the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty;' the idea is that he, the prince of Tyre, could not be surpassed in wealth, glory, or power. He was the perfection, the model of greatness. Anything perfect is, in the language of the East, said to be 'sealed.'—P.
13 Thou hast been in sEden the garden of God;1 every tprecious stone was thy covering, the sardius,2 topaz, and the diamond, the beryl,3 the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald,4 and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanshipu of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
s Ge.2.8-15; 13.10. ch.31.8,9; 36.35.
1 Eden is not the name of a country or province then existing. Reference is made to the Eden of Adam, and the meaning of the passage is, Thou wast so happy, so bountifully supplied with all things necessary to secure happiness, that thou didst enjoy a state and a glory like that of Adam in Eden.—P.
t Ge.2.11,12. Ex.28.17-20. Re.21.19,20. ch.27.16,22. Mat.6.32.
2 Or, ruby.
3 Or, chrysolite.
4 Or, chrysoprase.
14 Thou art the vanointed cherub that covereth; and xI have set thee so: thou wast yupon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the zstones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till ainiquity was found in thee.
16 By the bmultitude 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 cmountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was dlifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast ecorrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:5 If will cast thee to the ground, I will glay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thouh hast defiled thy sanctuaries6 by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy itraffic; therefore will I bring forth ja fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee; and I will bring thee kto ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
h Is.1.11-15; 66.3. Mi.3.11. Zec.11.5. ver.16. Na.2.12. Hab.1.15,16. Pr.16.12.
6 Palaces.
i Mar.8.36.
j Am.1.10. ch.30.8; 5.4; 20.47.
k Job 30.8. ver.16,17.
19 Alll they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror,7 and never shalt thou be any more.
l ch.26.21; 27.35,36. Ps.76.12.
7 Heb. terrors. This was fulfilled about B.C. 570.
20 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
21 Son of man, set thy face against nZidon, and prophesy against it,
n Ge.10.15. Je.25.9,22; 27.3; 47.4. Is.23.4,12. Joel 3.4-8. Zec.9.2. ch.27.8; 32.30.
22 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, oI am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be pglorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
o ch.29.3,13. Ps.76.7,8. Na.1.6. Job 9.4,12. 1 Co.10.22.
p Ex.14.4,17; 15.11. Is.5.16; 26.9,11. Ps.9.16; 83.17,18. ver.25; ch.20.41; 38.23; 39.21. Re.19.1,2. Le.10.3.
23 Forq I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
q ch.5.12; 38.22. Je.15.2. Is.66.15,16.
24 And there shall be no more ra pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; sand they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.8
r Nu.33.55. Jos.23.13. Is.35.9; 55.13. Re.21.4. Je.12.14.
s ch.6.7. Ps.9.16; 58.10,11. Is.26.9,11.
8 Both Tyre and Sidon are here referred to. 'These cities, which had been a constant source of annoyance to their neighbours, and to none more than to the Jews, being rendered powerless, the people of God, restored from Babylon to their own land, should enjoy all their ancient privileges, and all around them be compelled to ascribe to Jehovah as their covenant God the glory due to his name.—P.
25 Thus saith the Lord GOD, When tI shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be usanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant vJacob.
t ch.11.17; 20.38,41; 34.13; 36.24; 37.12,14,21,25; 39.27. Is.11.12,13; 27.12,13; 65.9,10. Je.30.18; 32.41. Ho.3.5; 1.11. Ro.11.26.
u See ver.22; ch.36.23,28.
v Ge.28.13,14.
Notes
Ver. 1-19. You think yourself every way accomplished in body and mind, in dignity and wealth—as happy as ever Adam was in Paradise; having your crown studded, and your garments glittering with precious stones; and regaled, chiefly on your coronation day, with the finest music of instruments, contrived with exquisite art.—You think yourself a very angel, endowed with power to protect your people. You walk up and down as a god, or as the Jewish high-priest, all surrounded with precious stones glittering like fire. And till you discovered your violence, pride, fraud, and joy at the miseries of the Jews, you appeared endowed with all excellencies and prerogatives.—But now, for these thine iniquities, I will overturn thy dignity, eject thee from thy throne and grandeur, render thee a public example of my wrath, and an object of derision to the princes around: and a fire, kindled by thine own imprudence and injustice, shall occasion thy terrible ruin. 22-25. God is sanctified in Zidon, by manifesting his justice, holiness, and power in his judgments; but sanctified in the Jews, by manifestations of his mercy, and making them to own him for a holy and just God in their holy conversation.
Ver. 2. I am a god. Many of the ancient heathen kings affected to be the descendants of the gods. Alexander of Macedon would be held as the son of Jupiter, and murdered his friend because he would not worship him. The grand Lama of Tibet is worshipped as God. And, alas! the church of the meek and lowly Jesus still furnishes one 'who sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,' 2 Th. 2. 4, and who has not shut his ears to the voice of blasphemy calling him Numen in terris—'God upon the earth.' C.
Ver. 3. Wiser than Daniel—in thine own conceit. Daniel was now famed throughout Asia for his divine knowledge, political skill, and management of the empire. C.
Ver. 13. Thou hast been in Eden. Trafficking in the land of Eden, in which, according to Moses, Ge. 2. 12, was 'gold and the onyx-stone;' where natural objects still retained their original loveliness, and 'man alone was vile.' C.
Ver. 14. Anointed cherub. This is not, as some have imagined, an irony—a figure ill suited to a solemn rebuke, administered by the Spirit of God. The meaning is to be ascertained from ver. 2, and the words to be supplied are, 'Thou hast said,' I am the anointed cherub, appointed to guard the mercantile entrance of the land, as the cherub guarded the tree of life: that is, in modern language, to monopolize its trade; a scheme after which foolish nations are still more or less labouring, though good-will and justice declare it should never be attempted, and all experience proves it can never succeed.—Stones of fire. 'Glittering stars' (Tertullian). Perhaps the sparkling firelike gems on the breast-plate of the high-priest; intimating early education in the holy principles of the true religion, to which the Tyrians must have been introduced in the days of David and Solomon. C.
Ver. 15. Wast perfect. No irony, as some imagine, but a fact: intimating that the Tyrians had commenced their career of commercial prosperity in the fear of God, and had fallen from religion through the influence of pride, covetousness, and injustice. See ver. 16,17. A charge that, alas! still continues to be exemplified in the history of individuals, families, cities, and nations, whose worldly prosperity is too often found to correspond with their moral deterioration and forgetfulness of God. C.
Reflections.—It is necessary, and yet very hard, to make proud men know themselves to be but men— but poor, dependent, dying worms. And very rarely they who are intelligent, wealthy, and dignified are remarkably humble. Yea, seldom do men carry on very extensive trades without oppressing and injuring their neighbours. But they who pretend to be God's rivals, are at last forced to quit their claims, and find themselves but men, weak and sinful. God can easily cast the most sinful out of their dignified stations, and devour them with a fire kindled by their own iniquity. Let Britain think and tremble!—How the cup of his justice goes round from one nation to another! But the ruin of his people's enemies remarkably makes way for their restoration and happiness. Even when he corrects them, he takes the greatest care that they may not seem vile to those around; and is highly provoked with those that despise them, and help forward their affliction.