The Gospel According to Ezekiel, Chapters 27-28

The Lament Over Tyre: A Funeral Song for Pride

God instructs Ezekiel to take up a lamentation over Tyre. This is a funeral song, a dirge grieving over someone who has passed away. Ezekiel is to grieve over Tyre—not just its destruction, but the reason for it: Tyre's pride. Pride is utterly grieving.

Ezekiel 27:3 – Say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord God: “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’”

Tyre is personified as a magnificent merchant ship, built from the finest materials supplied by nations worldwide. Planks of fir from Senir, cedar masts from Lebanon, oaks from Bashan for oars, pines from Cyprus for decks inlaid with ivory. Sails of embroidered linen from Egypt, awnings of blue and purple from Elishah. Rowers from Sidon and Arvad, pilots from Tyre, caulkers from Gebal. Persians, Ludites, and Libyans in its army. Shields from Arvad and Gamad hung on its walls, enhancing its splendor.

Traders from Tarshish bring silver, iron, tin, and lead. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech exchange slaves and bronze. Beth-togarmah offers horses and mules. Rhodes provides ivory and ebony. Syria trades emeralds, purple, and jewels. Judah and Israel exchange wheat, honey, oil, and balm.

Damascus trades wine and wool. Dedan offers saddlecloths, Kedar lambs and goats. Sheba and Raamah bring spices, stones, and gold. Haran, Canneh, Eden, Asshur, and Chilmad supply fine garments and carpets. Ships of Tarshish carry its merchandise, filling it to overflowing in the heart of the seas.

Yet the east wind wrecks it. Riches, wares, mariners, pilots, warriors—all sink in the day of its fall. Coastlands shake, pilots cry bitterly, casting dust on their heads, wallowing in ashes, making themselves bald, wearing sackcloth. They lament:

Ezekiel 27:32 – “Who is like Tyre, like one destroyed in the midst of the sea? ... Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew ... have sunk with you.”

Inhabitants of coastlands are appalled, kings' hair bristles with horror, faces convulse. Merchants hiss: you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.

This detailed catalog shows Tyre at its peak—a hub of trade, wealth, and satisfaction, enriching kings and peoples. Yet from this height, its fall evokes horror, hissing, and grief. Pride turns a center of satisfaction into a center of destruction.

The Pride of Tyre's King: Replacing God with Self

Tyre's economic power is not the problem—its pride is. Pride replaces God with self as the source of all good. God is the ultimate source of Tyre's bliss, yet Tyre and its king take credit, claiming divinity.

Ezekiel 28:2 – “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a God, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god...”

By wisdom and trade, the king amassed wealth, and his heart became proud in it. This wisdom is economic prowess—wiser than Daniel in accumulating riches, yet focused on the wrong thing. Daniel's wisdom followed God; this exalts self.

Ezekiel 28:6-7 – “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations...”

They will thrust him down to the pit, slain in the heart of the seas. Will he still say, “I am a God,” when killed by mere men, the uncircumcised? God brings low those who exalt themselves.

The Spiritual Reality: A King Like Adam in Paradise Lost

Now a lament over the king of Tyre (Ithobaal II), portrayed in Edenic terms:

Ezekiel 28:12-15 – “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God... You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.”

This is not primarily about Satan's fall but the king as a type of Adam. God placed him in paradise (Eden), adorning him with splendor. Like Adam, he bit the Edenic lie: pursue what God forbids to be like God. Dissatisfaction with God's goodness led to pride—exalting self as god.

God exalted Tyre to paradise, yet the king became dissatisfied, claiming God's place. Pride is this root sin, bitten by Adam, the king, and echoed in Satan's fall.

Judgment on Sidon and Israel's Restoration: The Hope of the True King

Sidon, Tyre's lackey, is judged in passing. Then, restoration for Israel:

Ezekiel 28:25-26 – “Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered... then they shall dwell securely in it... when I execute judgments on all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”

Adam failed as ruler, bringing paradise lost. Ithobaal, a second Adam, corrupted his prosperous city through pride, judging followers like Sidon. Yet God promises a secure city for Israel, given to Jacob.

This points to Christ, the true Second Adam (Romans 5), ruling the ultimate city (Revelation) with righteousness. In His city, judgment is impossible—He bore it. Tyre's fall warns against pride; Israel's hope exalts Christ, the worthy King. ```