EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 28:1-26
Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”
God’s Plans for *Israel and the Nations
Ezekiel Chapter s 25 to 39
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 28
Against the ruler of Tyre – Ezekiel 28:1-10
v1 The *LORD spoke to me again. v2 ‘*Son of man, speak to the ruler of Tyre. “This is what the *LORD the King says to you. You are proud. You say, ‘I am a god. I sit in the seat of gods in the middle of the seas.’ But you are a man and not a god. You think that you are as wise as a god. v3 You think that you are wiser than Daniel. You think you can find out all secrets. v4 By wisdom and by what you understand you have made yourself rich. You have gained gold and silver. And you have stored it for yourself. v5 You have traded with great skill. You have increased your wealth. Because of your valuable possessions, you have become proud.
v6 Therefore, the *LORD the King says this to you. You think that you are wise like a god. v7 So, I will bring foreign people against you. They will be cruel enemies to you. They will pull out their swords against you. They will destroy all that your wisdom has achieved. They will ruin all your beautiful things. v8 They will kill you. You will die a terrible death. You will die like those who drown in the sea. v9 You will not say then, ‘I am a god.’ You will be only a man, not a god, when they murder you. v10 You will die the death of a person who is not holy to me. Foreigners will kill you. I have declared it, says the *LORD the King.” ’
Verses 1-5 The ruler of Tyre was a man called Ethbaal II or Ithobal II. People thought of him as a wise man. With great skill, he gained enormous wealth. But with his success, he became proud. The kings of Tyre believed that their *ancestors were the gods. But this man was especially proud. He thought that he was a god. Tyre was called the seat or *throne of the gods. Ithobal sat on that seat as the god king. He thought that his wisdom was the wisdom of a god. The *Lord reminds King Ithobal that he (the king) is just a man and not a god.
Daniel was an *exile from Jerusalem. He had become a leader in Babylon as he served King Nebuchadnezzar. He was the author of the Book of Daniel. He was a wise man. Ezekiel could mean this man when he writes about Daniel. There was another man called Daniel or Danel who lived before 1400 *BC. He was a ruler who became famous because of his wisdom. We know almost nothing about him. Ezekiel may have meant this Daniel rather than the other one.
Verses 6-10 The *Lord would punish this ruler and the people in Tyre because they were proud. Ithobal thought that he was a god but he would die as a mere man. The *Lord would bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to destroy the city. He would ruin all that Ithobal had achieved. The *Babylonians would be cruel and Ithobal would die a terrible death.
The *Babylonians surrounded Tyre for 12 years. They arrived there in the year 585 *BC. Then, in 573 *BC, they destroyed the city.
A funeral song for the king of Tyre – Ezekiel 28:11-19
v11 The *LORD spoke to me again. v12 ‘*Son of man, sing a funeral song for the king of Tyre. Say this to him. “The *LORD the King says. You were the perfect model. You were full of wisdom and you were perfect in beauty. v13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. You wore every type of precious stone. These were the stones called ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, *sapphire, *turquoise and *beryl. Gold was the base of all your precious things. I prepared them on the day that I created you. v14 I especially chose you and I appointed you to be a *cherub. I put you on God’s holy mountain. You walked among the stones of fire. v15 At first, when I had created you, you were perfect. For a time your life was without blame. But then you did what was evil. v16 You were too busy. You bought and sold things. This caused you to become cruel and you *sinned. So, I threw you down from God’s mountain. Because of your *sin, you, the special *cherub, were not fit to be there. I forced you to leave the stones of fire. v17 You were too proud because of your beauty. You ruined your wisdom because of your greatness. I threw you down to the earth. I will put you in front of kings, so that they may see you. v18 You have done many evil things. You cheated when you traded with the merchants. You have ruined your holy places. Therefore, I made a fire come out from you. That fire burned and it destroyed you. I made you into ashes on the ground. All who watched saw you. v19 All the nations who knew you saw this event. And what they saw caused them shock. Your end was awful. And you will not exist again.” ’
Verses 11-14 This is a hard passage to understand. It seems to be a funeral song for Ithobal. But several of the phrases are too grand to describe any man, even a great king. It seems that the king of Tyre is a model of someone else. That other person had been perfect in wisdom and beauty. No man could be perfect in this way. The meaning of this passage must be at two levels. In other words, there are actually two meanings. The main person in verses 12 to 17 is Satan (the devil). In verses 18 and 19, the main person is Ithobal, the king of Tyre.
Satan (the devil) had been in Eden, the Garden of God. The first Chapter s of Genesis describe the Garden called Eden. It was not possible that a king of Tyre could have been there. In the garden, there were Adam, Eve, and the snake, which was Satan.
Ezekiel thought about the king of Tyre. In that man, there was an evil power. That power caused the king to be an enemy of God. Ezekiel saw the work of Satan (the devil) in the king. Because Satan was proud, God punished him. And God would punish the king of Tyre because he was proud, too.
Satan (the devil) had been perfect in wisdom and beauty. The precious stones show how important he was. God created him and God chose him to be special. God gave a position of honour to him. He walked among the stones of fire. God’s *glory was like the fire. Satan was close to God.
Verses 15-19 At first Satan (the devil) was perfect and without blame. But he wanted to be equal with God. He was so proud that he tried to take the authority of God.
Verse 16 seems to show the effect on the king of Tyre. He became cruel and he *sinned.
God punished Satan (the devil) and God forced him to leave heaven. Satan had to leave the high (superior) place that he had. He could not walk in the *glory of God. God threw him down to the earth. And God has an even worse punishment for Satan in the future. Satan will burn in a place where the fires are continuous (Revelation 20:10). His punishment will last always.
The king of Tyre also did evil things. So, God would punish him and his people. The city called Tyre would burn with fire. And, after its final punishment, nobody would ever rebuild it.
*Prophecy against Sidon – Ezekiel 28:20-24
v20 The *LORD spoke to me again. v21 ‘*Son of man, look toward the city called Sidon and *prophesy against it. v22 “The *LORD the King says this: I am against you, Sidon. I will show my *glory in you. I will punish Sidon. And then people will know that I am the *LORD. By this punishment, I will show, in Sidon, that I am holy. v23 I will send diseases to Sidon and blood will flow in its streets. Many people will fall down dead in that city. People with swords will attack it from every side. Then they will know that I am the *LORD.
v24 The *Israelites have cruel neighbours. They are like sharp points. Such points cut into the skin and they make it sore and painful. I will *destroy all of the neighbours who hate *Israel. And they will know that I am the *LORD their King.” ’
Verses 20-24 Sidon was a city on the coast about 25 miles north of Tyre. It was not as important as Tyre. God would punish Sidon as well as Tyre. The people would die of disease and by the sword (that is, by war).
The ‘neighbours’ mean the nations that were near *Israel. Those nations constantly caused trouble for the *Israelites. So, God said that they were like sharp points. Such points cut into the skin and they are difficult to remove. But God would deal with those nations.
All of these nations had been against *Israel. God will punish all nations that hate *Israel. Then *Israel and the nations will know that the *Lord is God.
The *Israelites will come back – Ezekiel 28:25-26
v25 ‘The *LORD your King says, I will gather the *Israelites. I will bring them back from the nations where I scattered them. I will show that I am holy among them. The nations will see this. The *Israelites will live in their own country. I gave that country to my servant Jacob. v26 The people will live there in safety. They will build houses and they will plant *vines. I will punish the nations who hate them. Then the *Israelites will live in safety. And they will know that I am the *LORD their God.’
Verses 25-26 Ezekiel reminds the *exiles about the *Lord’s promise. The *Lord had scattered the *Israelites among the nations. But the *Lord will bring them back to their own country. The nations will see this happen. They will know that the *Lord has done it. They will know that the *Lord is the holy God. God gave the country to Jacob and it will belong to the *Jews again. The *Lord will cause his people to live there in safety. Then they will know that the *Lord is their God.
Punishment of Egypt – Ezekiel 29:1-32
Ezekiel’s next *prophecy was against Egypt. Judah trusted Egypt to provide protection against the *Babylonian army. But Egypt had disappointed Judah. God would punish Egypt. But the punishment would not be permanent. However, it would last for 40 years.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
sapphire ~ a precious stone.
turquoise ~ a precious stone.
beryl ~ a precious stone.
cherub ~ a special angel who was in the most holy place in the temple.
angel ~ God’s special servants in heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
prophesy ~ to speak a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
destroy ~ to carry out the most severe punishment possible; to cause someone to suffer; to kill everyone in a nation.
vine ~ a plant on which grapes grow.
grapes ~ fruit of a vine (a climbing plant). You can make grapes into wine.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.