Ezekiel 28 · NIVAC

Original Meaning

The Third Panel (28:1–19)

CONTINUING THE THEMES found in the first two panels of Ezekiel’s prophecy against Tyre (chs. 26–27), the third panel combines both straightforward prophecy and lament, this time directed at the ruler of Tyre, who in his person and fate acts as a kind of personification of the city.1 He is accused of overweening pride, of saying in his heart, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas” (28:2). He claims to exercise the divine authority that comes from sitting on the throne of the gods.2

The evidence on which the king of Tyre rests his claim to the status of a divine being is twofold: his wisdom and his wealth. In the first place, he claims to be as wise as a god, wiser than the ancient hero Danel (28:3). As we pointed out with reference to Ezekiel 14, it is disputed whether this is a reference to the famous biblical character Daniel, or to a person known from the Ugaritic Aqhat epic. The mythical Danel is a character of proverbial wisdom,3 but so also is the biblical figure, and he better fits the description as the one “from whom no secrets are hid,” to borrow the language of the Book of Common Prayer (Ezek. 28:3; cf. Dan. 2:21–23, 47; 4:6, 18; 5:12).4 The king of Tyre apparently thinks of himself as surpassing this all-time great in the wisdom “Hall of Fame” and achieving levels of wisdom and knowledge that are reserved to the gods. This enormous wisdom, in his estimation, is what has brought him his great wealth. That his treasuries are full of gold and silver is attributed to his skill in trading (Ezek. 28:4–5); thus, along with his wealth his pride has grown enormously (28:5).

The Sovereign Lord will quickly put the king of Tyre in his place. His vaunted wisdom and claimed divine status will not help him when the true God brings the nations against him; they will draw their swords against his wisdom and beauty and quickly cut him down to size (28:6–8). The most objective demonstration of his human status will be his helplessness in the hands of those who capture him as they put him to death (28:8–10). What kind of god is he if he can be so easily slain? Far from being a god, he will go down to “the pit,” dying the death of the slain in the chaotic heart of the seas (28:8). Here there is a clear echo of the fate of the city of Tyre itself in Ezekiel 26:19–20.

The king’s destiny is underlined in the command to the prophet to raise a lament for the king of Tyre (28:12). A lament presupposes the death of the person concerned, thus emphasizing from the outset his humanity. Yet the lament (with perhaps more than a hint of sarcasm?) in its eulogy appears at the outset to take his claims of divinity seriously. It describes him as a “model of perfection” or, as the Hebrew translates literally, the “very seal of proportion.” This phrase seems to identify the king of Tyre as the very epitome of perfection, full of wisdom and consummate in beauty (28:12).

In keeping with his claims of semidivine status, as one who sits on the seat of the gods (Ezek. 28:2), the king of Tyre is described as having been present at the beginning of the world in Eden, the garden of God, adorned with every precious stone (28:13).5 He was even anointed as a “guardian cherub” (28:14), one of the heavenly beings described as the Lord’s throne-bearers in Ezekiel 1 and 10 and known from the account in Genesis 3 as the guardians of the sacred garden. He had access to the center of the divine presence, being “on the holy mount of God”6 and walking about among the stones of fire (Ezek. 28:14).7 These numerous, if sometimes oblique, references to the creation narrative set up the picture of the king of Tyre as the first (and therefore foremost) of all men, an Urmensch become Übermensch (original man become superman). Greater even than Adam, he has not been made “a little lower than angels”; he claims to rank right up there among the divine beings.

But his greatness and privilege as the protological man simply serves to underline the greatness of his fall from grace. This possibility is inherently present in the Edenic imagery. Just as the image of the heavily laden merchant ship in Ezekiel 27 lends itself naturally to the image of the sinking ship, so the image of the Man in Paradise leads almost inevitably to the picture of Paradise Lost. The abundance of his trade brought with it not merely riches but also violence and pride; his “wisdom” became corrupt and led him into wickedness (28:16–17).

This wickedness, and the judgment it subsequently incurred, exposed the pretension of his pride. Far from being a self-sufficient divinity, his humanity and derivative status were laid bare when at the command of the one true God he was banished from the garden and from the presence of God (28:16). Far from being a god, who by a theophany might sanctify a piece of ground as a suitable site for a sanctuary, his very presence had the opposite effect, defiling sanctuaries (28:18). Cast down to the ground, he was made a public spectacle before the kings of the earth and consumed by fire from within (28:18).

The end result of this judgment is that the king of Tyre, like his city, will come to a horrible end and will be no more (26:19). Like the second panel, then, the third panel paints a glorious, hyperbolic picture of Tyre’s present splendor. But that present glory merely serves to underline the depth of Tyre’s fall when it comes, a fall that will affect both Tyre and her king. When the great ship Tyre sinks, her captain will go down to the depths along with her.

Bridging Contexts

A HEAVENLY CONFLICT DEPICTED? This passage has suffered from imaginative exegesis at the hands of the early church fathers, whose ideas have been given renewed currency in some contemporary expositions. These writers interpreted the depiction of Ezekiel 28, along with a similar passage addressed to the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14, as describing literally a heavenly conflict between God and the forces of evil. This conflict resulted in the fall of “Lucifer” and his followers from a primary place in the heavenly realms to the earth.

Such an interpretation ignores the metaphorical context of both passages, however. The king of Tyre is no more literally the first creature, the cherub of the garden, than Tyre itself is literally a merchant ship in Ezekiel 27. These images exploit the possibilities that are inherent in the situation of Tyre as an island or the claims of the king of Tyre to be a divine being in order to show that each image has a dark side. Ships can sink; paradise can be lost. In each case, the perfection of the initial state is magnified to hyperbolic proportions in order to underscore the calamity when it comes.

This means that just as there was never a literal ship that fit the description of the ship Tyre that actually sank (though it is in the nature of ships to sink), so also there need not here be reference to an actual perfect creature exactly matching the description of the guardian cherub, who was cast down to the earth. It is enough that there is a general knowledge of the fact that paradise, the home of the perfect, can be lost, an idea expressed not only in the biblical account of Genesis but in ancient Near Eastern myths. To use a contemporary analogy, the proverb “Pride goes before a fall” depends not on any particular fall, but simply on the fact that it is the general nature of the world in which we live for hybris to bear bitter fruit.

Agents of Satan. Nevertheless, it is also true that the powers that exist in this world do not always act alone. In some cases, they may act as agents of Satan in concerted opposition to Christianity. Jesus speaks of Christians being persecuted and brought before kings and governors for the sake of his name (Luke 21:12). The modern state may arrogate to itself semidivine status, claiming and receiving the ultimate allegiance of all citizens, just as Herod received the worship of the people of Tyre and Sidon (!) in Acts 12:22.10 In so doing, it is nothing other than a mask for the assaults of Satan on God’s people.

But Christians will always own no other king than King Jesus, in the assurance that ultimately his is the name to which every knee will bow. Like the pretensions of the king of Tyre or King Herod, the pride that launches such totalitarian claims will inevitably ultimately be brought low by God. Such confidence in God’s ultimate triumph, which is legitimately founded on this passage, is far more important to Christian perseverance than obscure metaphysical speculations about the origins and early history of the evil one.

Contemporary Significance

THE SEDUCTIVE POWER of wisdom. We have already addressed in our discussion of Ezekiel 26–27 the seductive power of material prosperity. What this section adds is the seductive power of wisdom and of power itself. The king of Tyre prided himself on his godlike “wisdom” as being the source of all his material prosperity. We too, in the modern world, are often in awe of the wisdom of “experts.”

We live in a culture of specialization and increasing dependence on expertise.11 When we get sick, we no longer go just to a doctor but to a specialist family practitioner. If it is something serious, then we are immediately referred to a cardiologist or urologist or whichever specialist is appropriate. Even auto mechanics now specialize in particular makes of car or in oil changes or tune-ups. As a result, we have become dependent on the advice of “experts” in every sphere of life, from investments to child-rearing and marriage. We attend their seminars and rely on their expertise, often reassured by their impressive array of credentials.12

But the pursuit of wisdom on its own is not necessarily good. It was divine wisdom that the serpent promised our first parents in the garden: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). The offer of autonomous wisdom was a lie, and the result was Paradise Lost. Yet men and women still seek to establish their own wisdom apart from God, whether by listening to an internal voice or seeking the guidance of the experts. In the New Age movement, the trends are often combined as “experts” charge $500 or more for weekend seminars that promise inner enlightenment, an empowering knowledge of self and the world, through which health, wealth, and wholeness may be attained.

The wisdom of the world may offer a God-like ability to succeed in everything we attempt while living lives free of pain and sickness. It offers a seductively attractive path to those who are suffering physically or otherwise lacking in some area of their lives. The wisdom of the world, however, is foolishness to God (1 Cor. 1:20). For the Christian, wisdom consists neither in consulting the experts nor in seeking inner enlightenment, but in consulting God and in living according to his Word. This way makes no promises of present wealth, health, or ease. The way of God’s wisdom, however, is the only safe path back to Paradise Regained.

The seductive power of power. Nor is it enough to avoid being seduced by the wisdom of the world. Christians are also frequently seduced by the power of the world. The powers that be, whether political, intellectual, or economic, frequently oppose the truth of the Scriptures. In many conflicts, the gods of this age seem able to put more battalions onto the field than the God of the Bible. The temptation that faces the church in such situations is to attempt to fight power with power. In response to pagan political agendas, it is easy to get sucked into believing that the only correct response is a Christian political agenda.13 In response to the power of a consumer culture, many are persuaded that the answer is better marketing for the church.

The love of power can also infiltrate the church. Church leaders or denominational structures can easily be elevated six feet above contradiction. I was once told by a church leader with whom I disagreed over whether a practice was right, “The denomination has decided. What gives you the right to disagree?” The answer to his question (though unfortunately I did not have it on my lips at the time) is that Jesus is our king, not the church, and his wisdom is expressed in the Scriptures. If the Bible says so, I must believe it, no matter what the experts or the powers say. If the Bible denies it, then I may not think so, though all the world agrees. As Martin Luther put it in his famous declaration to the Diet of Worms: “Here I stand. My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I can do no other.”

Jesus as the power and wisdom of God. The assurance of Ezekiel 28 is that it is those who take their stand on the Word of God and the wisdom of God who will ultimately stand, not those who kowtow to the wisdom and the powers of this world. Their strength is but a show, no matter how impressive it appears. It contains within itself the seeds of its own demise. But those who trust in Jesus have built their house on the solid Rock, who is more solid than even the contemporary rock of ages, Tyre.

That fact is true because Jesus Christ is both the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24). The message of the cross may be despised by those who are perishing, because it seems the way of weakness, but in reality it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18). The way of weakness that the crucified Christ represents is stronger by far than any human strength. He is the true model of perfection, who was with the Father in the beginning, the exact image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). He was the one who was actually present in Eden, yet without sin. The king of Tyre might make great boasts of his divine status, but Jesus Christ really is one with the Father (John 10:30). He is the reality to which the king of Tyre blasphemously aspired.

But there was one key similarity between Jesus and the king of Tyre: Both died in humiliation, under the judgment of God. Yet even in this similarity is a crucial difference: Although Jesus was banished from the Father’s presence on the cross, in his case the cause was not his pride but ours. Mine was the transgression that deserved the fate of the uncircumcised, under God’s curse. His was the payment of the penalty that my desire to “be like God” incurred.

The ultimate destiny of Jesus and the king of Tyre are also radically divergent. The king of Tyre will fall to the underworld, never to return. Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father in glory. There he is crowned with many crowns and exalted above all names. What is more, he is united forever to his people, whom he won for himself through his death and resurrection. Therein lies our assurance and our hope. If we are exalted by the world like the king of Tyre, there are no guarantees of our remaining at the top. Those who reject the way of Christ in favor of the wisdom of the world are destined for the pit. But if instead we follow the way of suffering and affliction in company with Jesus, we will also be exalted with him and be with him for all eternity.

Jesus, the second Adam, the eschatological God-man, has paid for our original and actual sin once and for all on the cross. Through his death, he has regained Paradise on our behalf. As a result, we are assured of immortality in him (1 Cor. 15:45–54). Here and now we may only experience a foretaste, but some day we will experience the fullness of rest and blessing when the Lord reveals himself in the sight of the nations as “the LORD [our] God” (Ezek. 28:26).

Original Meaning

Oracle Against Sidon (28:20–23)

AFTER THE THREE-PANEL depiction of Tyre’s judgment comes a brief oracle against Tyre’s neighbor, Sidon (Ezek. 28:20–23). There is no particular charge leveled against her; presumably she is included in the general charges of rejoicing in Jerusalem’s downfall and profiting from it. But her rejoicing will be short-lived, for she, like the other nations, will find that Judah’s God is not to be trifled with. The Lord will gain glory for himself by executing judgments on Sidon—plague, bloodshed, and the sword on every side (28:22–23). As in the Exodus, he will gain glory from his execution of judgment on his people’s foes (Ex. 14:4, 17–18).8 Then indeed the nations will experience personally the Lord’s holiness and power.

This is, in fact, a significant aspect of the judgment on the nations. The power of the Lord’s holiness has already been demonstrated in his execution of judgment on his own people. But his faithful love for his people requires him to demonstrate that Jerusalem is not finally cast off. The promise to Abraham that “whoever curses you I will curse” (Gen. 12:3) is still in force.