seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 28:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘In the pride of your heart
you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
though you think you are as wise as a god.
3 Are you wiser than Daniel[a]?
Is no secret hidden from you?
4 By your wisdom and understanding
you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
in your treasuries.
5 By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.
you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
though you think you are as wise as a god.
3 Are you wiser than Daniel[a]?
Is no secret hidden from you?
4 By your wisdom and understanding
you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
in your treasuries.
5 By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.
6 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Because you think you are wise,
as wise as a god,
7 I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
and pierce your shining splendor.
8 They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you then say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
in the hands of those who slay you.
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.
as wise as a god,
7 I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
and pierce your shining splendor.
8 They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you then say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
in the hands of those who slay you.
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.
I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.[b]
Your settings and mountings[c] were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’”
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.[b]
Your settings and mountings[c] were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’”
20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face against Sidon; prophesy against her 22 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I am against you, Sidon,
and among you I will display my glory.
You will know that I am the Lord,
when I inflict punishment on you
and within you am proved to be holy.
23 I will send a plague upon you
and make blood flow in your streets.
The slain will fall within you,
with the sword against you on every side.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
and among you I will display my glory.
You will know that I am the Lord,
when I inflict punishment on you
and within you am proved to be holy.
23 I will send a plague upon you
and make blood flow in your streets.
The slain will fall within you,
with the sword against you on every side.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
24 “‘No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.
25 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”
a. Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature
b. Ezekiel 28:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
c. Ezekiel 28:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain
This is from the "got questions" site.
However, some of the descriptions in Ezekiel 28:11–19 go beyond any mere human king. In no sense could an earthly king claim to be “in Eden” or to be “the anointed cherub who covers” or to be “on the holy mountain of God.” Therefore, most Bible interpreters believe that Ezekiel 28:11–19 is a dual prophecy, comparing the pride of the king of Tyre to the pride of Satan. Some propose that the king of Tyre was actually possessed by Satan, making the link between the two even more powerful and applicable.
This is from the easy English site.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.
The Babylonians surrounded Tyre for 12 years. They arrived there in the year 585 BC. Then, in 573 BC, they destroyed the city.
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 chapters 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.
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.
And this is from Bibletrack.org.This chapter is a continuation of a prophecy against the City of Tyre that began in Ezekiel 26 (see notes). There was a real city called Tyre just north of Israel with a real King fighting off the Babylonians like everyone else in the area. Tyre was a much-coveted target of Babylon in that region. It was a magnificent city built in two distinct sections, part on an island one-half mile off the mainland in the Mediterranean Sea and the other part on the mainland. Portions of the wall surrounding the city were as high as 150 feet. According to Josephus, the siege on Tyre by Babylon lasted for 13 years - until around 573 B.C. The result of this siege is not universally agreed upon; some maintain that Nebuchadnezzar was successful and that the King of Tyre was permitted to stay, but as a vassal King of the Babylonian Empire. Nebuchadnezzar himself, it is said, personally supervised the siege for the entire duration. Others have maintained that this particular campaign was not successful, but a later one was. The wording of Ezekiel 29:18 seems to indicate that Nebuchadnezzar defeated Tyre, but that the spoils of battle were less than expected - a disappointing end to a long siege.
The problem with this chapter is that verses 11-19 sound...well...like Ezekiel might be talking about Satan. Hello! Satan! Are you there? The big difficulty with that notion is that he's definitely prophesying about the King of Tyre, a real city with a real king. One possibility may be that Ezekiel is likening the King of Tyre to Satan in the garden with his pride, success, riches, etc. Satan simply cannot be found in this entire prophecy against Tyre and its king. However, verses 13-16, if taken literally and not figuratively, could not be a description, per se, of a human being. So, it is understandable that some have conjectured that Ezekiel may very well be describing Satan himself, comparing those superiority attitudes of Satan leading up to his fall from God's favor to those of the King of Tyre leading up to the fall of his literal kingdom on earth. On the other hand, as several commentators have pointed out, the language of verses 13-16 could have been meaningful, colorful figures of speech used in that day to describe that level of lavishness. The bottom line is this: At the end of the discussion, I don't feel comfortable, myself, concluding that Satan or a doctrine of Satan is included in this prophecy by Ezekiel.
The controversy isn't in the Bible.... the controversy is in the commentary. One person sees one thing and another sees quite another. I am just an old woman with an online Bible and some online commentary. I read several commentaries before I make up my mind..... sometimes the people doing the commentary have differing opinions about what I am reading. This is one of those times.
Here's how I see it..... it's only my opinion.....
Sure this could be about Satan.... and it could be about the king of Tyre. It's my opinion that it doesn't matter at this point who it's about.... there's a point for writing this chapter.... and the writer..... spent a lot of time describing the demise of Tyre. The reason Tyre met such a horrible end..... was pride..... the king thought he was a god. The people were so rich and happy that they thought they were blessed beyond measure.
As I write this, thousands and thousands of moms are cleaning up after the holiday. There are legos and crayons all over the house. There are doll clothes and accessories on every tabletop. The majority of those moms will be heading to church where the preacher will be happy to tell them that all is right with the world.... the preachers will tell them that they are blessed beyond measure because Jesus came to earth..... after all we just celebrated His birth.... sort of....
For several years I have been limiting my shopping during the holiday season to stores where at least one of the employees will say the words "Merry Christmas". I don't settle for Happy Holidays.... it has to be "Merry Christmas". [Thankfully.... the cashier at Walmart loves Christmas! ] There's a difference between being blessed beyond measure and being greedy and proud.
IMHO.... when humans are blessed beyond measure..... as in the Garden of Eden..... they get proud.... they think they deserve it..... and when the preachers see how the world "deserve" puffs humans.... they see the way to secure that paycheck and free housing..... so the preachers butter up the "deserving".... and that's what happened in this chapter.
The people started to think they "deserved" to be thought of as god..... they thought they were as smart as God.
