Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 28:18

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 28:18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries — Irony continued. As God, as the angels, as the cherubim, thou must have had thy sanctuaries; but thou hast defiled them: and as Adam, thou hast polluted thy Eden, and hast been expelled from Paradise.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Judgment on the king of Tyre (28:1-19)

The king of Tyre, as representative of the whole nation, is now condemned on account of the pride for which Tyre was famous. Because of the wealth and strength that the country gained through clever trading, Tyre saw itself as all-powerful, answerable to no one. It considered itself to be a god among the nations of the commercial world (28:1-5).
Yahweh, the only true God, will tolerate Tyre’s arrogance no longer. The day of Tyre’s judgment has come (6-7). The city in both its island and mainland sections will become rubble and will be thrown into the sea. The king who thought he was a god will be killed by the foreigners whom he despised, and his body thrown into the sea (8-10).
Tyre, still represented in its king, thought of itself as one who lived in paradise - wealthy, wise, happy, in need of nothing (11-13). Not satisfied with the security it enjoyed and the dominion it exercised over God’s earth, Tyre fell into the sin of wanting to be like God. Just as those who lived in the original paradise were driven out for their arrogance and rebellion, so proud Tyre will be shamefully removed from its place of honour and power (14-17). By the selfish greed and arrogant ambition of its trading activity, Tyre has corrupted itself. It will therefore come to a humiliating end by being smashed and burnt before the gaze of the nations through whom it has made itself rich (18-19).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee; it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee into ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All them that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee: thou art become a terror, and shall never more have any being."

"A fire from the midst of thee" Significantly, it was fire from within the king of Tyre himself that devoured him. This is the way it is with the vast majority of sinful men; it is the fires of ambition, pride, and lust from within themselves which eventually issues forth in their destruction.

Thus, we find that the narrative here is not merely founded upon the Genesis account of Satan's having been in Eden, but it anticipates portions of Revelation 12 in the fact of a cherub having cast Satan out of heaven. In Revelation, the name of that cherub was revealed as that of the archangel himself, namely, Michael! Thus, as F. F. Bruce noted, "This passage in Ezekiel has contributed some details to the picture of the fall of Satan."F. F. Bruce in the New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 886.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The dirge of the prince of Tyre, answering to the dirge of the state. The passage is ironical; its main purpose is to depict all the glory, real or assumed, of “the prince of Tyrus,” in order to show how deplorable should be his ruin.

Ezekiel 28:12

To “seal the sum” is to make up the whole measure of perfection. Compare the Septuagint

Ezekiel 28:13

Thou hast been in Eden - “Thou” wast etc. The prince of Tyrus is ironically described as the first of creation; but at the same time the parallel is to be maintained in his fall from glory. Like Adam in the enjoyment of paradise, he shall be like Adam in his fall.

Every precious stone - All the stones here named are found in the High priest’s breastplate Exodus 28:17-20, but their order is different, and three stones named in Exodus (the third row) are wanting. The prophet may purposely have varied the description because the number twelve (that of the tribes of Israel) had nothing to do with the prince of Tyrus, and he wished to portray, not a high priest, but a king, having in view a figure which was to a Jew, especially to a priest, the very type of magnificence.

Tabrets - (or, drums) and “pipes” were a common expression for festivity and triumph.

Ezekiel 28:14

Thou art - Better,” Thou” wert. “the anointed cherub that covereth” In the temple the cherubim and all holy things were consecrated and anointed with oil (Exodus 30:26 ff). The prince of Tyre was also anointed as a sovereign priest - covering or protecting the minor states, like the cherubim with outstretched wings covering the mercy-Seat.

Thou wast upon the holy mountain - As the cherub was in the temple on the holy mountain, so the prince of Tyre was presiding over the island-city, rising like a mountain from the deep.

Stones of fire - i. e., bright and shining. Decked with bright jewels, the prince walked among jewels in gorgeous splendor.

Ezekiel 28:15

The “perfection” was false, unsuspected until the “iniquity” which lay beneath was found out.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 28

Now as we get into chapter 28, the attention now is directed against the king of Tyre. Chapter 26 against the city of Tyre, chapter 27 against the merchandising of Tyre, chapter 28 now is directed against the king or the prince of Tyre. And as we get into this, suddenly there is a transition and he begins to address himself unto Satan, the power behind the earthly kingdom. Now the Bible says that Satan is the prince of this world. And unless a nation is really dedicated to God and its leaders dedicated to God, then Satan is controlling and seeks to control the leadership of the world. Hitler was a man who was controlled by the white masters, these men who after the fall of the Third Reich moved down into Peru, and still many of them are living in Peru today. Men who are into all kinds of spiritism. They controlled Hitler during the period of the Third Reich. And he was a man who was controlled by these demonic forces, guided by these men who were high in the area of white magic.

The rebuke of the king of Tyre in chapter 28:

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the throne of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thy heart as the heart of God ( Ezekiel 28:1-2 ):

Now immediately this causes us to think of Second Thessalonians, chapter 2, where it declares that the antichrist is going to come and stand in the temple of God and declare that he is God and demand to be worshipped as God in the last days. So the prince of Tyrus becomes an interesting type of the antichrist, declaring himself to be God and setting himself up as a god. Now this indeed did happen. The king of Tyrus assumed the god role and proclaimed himself to be God and began to demand the worship of the people.

Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel ( Ezekiel 28:3 );

That is what he was saying of himself, that he was wiser than Daniel. Of course, it is interesting that again Daniel is mentioned who was a contemporary to Ezekiel. And already Daniel's fame was no doubt being spread abroad, and probably because of his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. That probably brought Daniel to instant fame and recognition, because after he had interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar made him one of the chief counselors for the Babylonian kingdom. And so Daniel's fame, especially, of course, among the children of Israel, had spread abroad.

So Ezekiel, who was a contemporary to Daniel, lived at the same time in Babylonian captivity, makes mention of Daniel, not only here but in other passages. And here the wisdom of Daniel is referred to.

With thy wisdom and with thy understanding you have gotten riches, you've gotten gold and silver into your treasury: And by thy great wisdom and by your trafficking [that is, the merchandising] you have increased your riches and your heart is lifted up because of your riches ( Ezekiel 28:4-5 ):

The Bible tells us that it's hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Then it qualifies it and says, "How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of heaven." Jesus said, "It's easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 19:24 ). The Bible says that they that will be rich will fall into divers temptations or lust which drown men's souls in perdition. But again the Bible says, "If riches increase, just don't set your heart upon them."

Now that was the problem with the king of Tyrus, his heart was set upon his riches. He was increased with riches and his heart was lifted up because of his riches.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because you have set your heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, and the awesome of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am a god? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 28:6-10 ).

And so his destruction is predicted. And though he declares himself to be God, when the enemy comes over the wall, you're not going to move him to thinking that you are God. You'll die like a man.

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 28:11-12 );

Now, at this point there is a switch and we go behind the scenes and God is now addressing Himself unto Satan. And this is probably one of the most graphic descriptions of Satan that exists in the Bible. And he isn't, contrary to popular notion, wearing a red suit, holding a pitchfork and having a forked tail. And some evil sinister-looking creature with pointed ears and a goatee.

Thou sealest up the sum ( Ezekiel 28:12 ),

It means you are the sum total. You've got it altogether. You are the sum total.

you are full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You have been in Eden the garden of God ( Ezekiel 28:12-13 );

Yes, he was there and was talking to Eve and tempting her to eat of that fruit that God had forbidden.

every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, emerald, carbuncle, gold: and the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that you were created ( Ezekiel 28:13 ).

So here is a description of Satan prior to his... of course, prior to his fall, after his fall, he had been in Eden, but every precious stone is covering and all.

And there are some who say that Satan is the author of music because of "the workmanship of your tabrets and of your pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." And so that Satan is the author of music. I think that that is just stretching the point beyond breaking. I can't stand that type of biblical exposition that takes a verse like this and then builds an entire case from it. And how that music is evil because Satan was the originator of music because he was the one with the tabrets and pipes and so forth. And so that music is satanic in its origin and all and that he is the master over music. That's stretching scripture; it's taking it out of context. It is taking one verse and just blowing it beyond its intent and beyond what it declares. And yet, there are those foolish and ignorant men who will take some kind of a passage like this and try to make a big discourse out of it and a big theory and come down on all kinds of musical instruments and everything else. Of course, some book has been written lately against rock music and saying it's of Satan and this is the scripture that proves it. If they can find proof of that in this scripture then they have done phenomenal bit of scriptural jugglery.

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth ( Ezekiel 28:14 );

Now he was an anointed cherub. A cherub, of course, is an angel. Cherub is singular; cherubim is plural. Now we find in the scriptures that there are the four cherubim that are about the throne of God, plural, of cherubs. Satan once, no doubt, dwelt there near God in the heavenly scene. In fact, he would seem to have had a very high standing at one time. So high that when Michael was contending against, having respect for the position that Satan once held in high authority in the heavenly scene, Michael did not bring any railing accusation against him when they were disputing over the body of Moses, but Michael just said, "The Lord rebuke you." Satan did have an extremely high position prior to his fall in the heavenly kingdom. "The anointed cherub that covereth."

I have set thee so: you were upon the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. And you were perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee ( Ezekiel 28:14-15 ).

Now, here is what makes Satan not the opposite of God. "You were perfect in all of your ways from the day that you were created." But Satan was a created being. God is self-existent. He has always been. Satan was created. So that it is wrong for us in our minds to think of Satan as the opposite of God. He opposes God, but he in no wise is the opposite of God. And we ascribe to Satan much more power and much more than what he actually is if you think of him as the opposite of God. And thus, we should never consider or think of Satan in the terms of the opposite of God. God stands alone in the universe. The infinite, eternal God. There is nothing to compare with in likenesses or opposites. He is alone. The eternal God.

Satan was a created being, an anointed cherub. If he is the opposite, or to be thought of as the opposite, it might be of Michael or of Gabriel, these two angels that seem to have much authority and power in heaven, who remain true unto God. But never think of Satan as the opposite of God. You're ascribing much more to him than what actually is. And that is dangerous.

He was perfect until the day that iniquity was found in him. What is the iniquity that was found in him? If you turn back to Isaiah chapter 14, Isaiah gives us a little insight into this iniquity that was found in Satan. Verse Ezekiel 28:12 , chapter 14 Isaiah, "How art thou fallen from heaven O Lucifer, son of the morning. How art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations. For thou hast said in thy heart," here is the iniquity, "In your heart you said, 'I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.'"

The five "I wills." And that is the exercise of my will against the authority of God. "I will exalt myself. I will sit in the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the stars. I will be like the Most High." In one of Shakespeare's plays there is that phrase, "Flee ambition, for by this sin the angels fell." Satan's ambitious plans against God's authority, "I will, I will."

So up until that point, he had been a model, perfect in all of his ways. "Until iniquity was found in thee."

And by the multitude 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 mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. For thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before the kings, that they may behold thee ( Ezekiel 28:16-17 ).

Now going back again to Isaiah 14 , it's an interesting thing that when we look upon Satan, and one day you will have a chance to look at him, and when you do, you'll be astonished. Verse Ezekiel 28:15 of chapter 14 Isaiah, "Yet," you said I'm going to be like the Most High, "yet, thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit and they that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee saying, 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble and did shake kingdoms?'" Wow, is that the one that gave me such a bad time? Wow! "So I will lay thee before kings that they may behold thee." It's gonna be an awesome experience, an awesome sight when that day comes.

Now the question, of course, does remain: when did God create Satan? And when did Satan fall? Now his fall, no doubt, came before his coming into the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve. Therefore, I would have to conclude that his fall came before Genesis chapter 1, verse Ezekiel 28:3 , which speaks of God beginning the re-creative processes saying, "Let there be light." And the fact that darkness covered the face of the deep. God is light; in Him is no darkness at all. That darkness that enshrouded the world must have been satanic in its origin, as he is the prince of darkness.

Now, there is what is known as a gap theory. Of late there has been an endeavor to more or less discredit the gap theory. But I still hold it open in my own mind as a very viable option. One of the chief verses that they use to destroy the gap theory is when God gave the law. He said, "For six days shalt thou do thy labor and the seventh day thou shalt rest. For in six days God created the heaven and the earth, and all that is in them, and on the seventh day God rested." And taking that in a very literal, narrow sense, it would mean that the creation days did take place somewhere around six thousand years ago or six to ten thousand years ago. And thus, the whole universe is only six to ten thousand years old, and we can't really prove that this position is wrong. It is quite possible it is.

You say, "Well, how do you explain then the fossils? And the dating processes that show that the earth is millions of years, or whatever." And of course, there is, number one, the challenging of the dating methods, which is a legitimate challenge, because a part of that lava flow from Kilauea in Hawaii that big flow in 1973 was taken to three different laboratories that have their specialty of dating processes through the carbon argon and so forth. And the three laboratories taking these samples from the 1973 flow of Kilauea came up with age dates of anywhere from 180 million years to 250 million years old. And yet, it was chipped right out of the flow of 1973. So there is reason to question and challenge the accuracy of the dating methods, because in dating, you have to assume that there was so much argon in the beginning. And this assumption is made, and so much lead in the beginning an all, and those are assumptions that we really don't know.

The second argument is how old was Adam the day God created him? You say, "Well, he was a day old." Well, then did he have teeth? How big was he? So that when God created Adam, there were, no doubt, what we would call age-dating factors built in. So that if you looked at Adam the day that God created him, you'd probably say, "Well, he must be thirty years old at least. Look at the skeleton development, the muscular development, look at the teeth and all. Well, he must be thirty years old." So that God created him not as an infant, but as a man with age-dating factors. Now, of course, we know God could do anything, so that God could have created the earth with fossils already in its structure. With age-dating factors there, if He so chose to do so. Now, the problem that I see with this using... for in six days, God created the heaven and the earth and all that is in them, the problem I see with that is that that would have to then include Satan and when did God then create Satan in this six-day creation period, you see. And then when did Satan fall? And how is it that he got into the Garden of Eden so early.

Now, the gap theory, which I do feel has a great deal of credence and is probably best set out by Pember in his book Earth's Earliest Ages. Take Genesis 1:0 as an account of original creation. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." In the beginning, whenever that was. How many billion years ago, there is no date. No estimate. And that the earth perhaps was a part of Satan's kingdom as the anointed cherub that covered. And in a beautiful mineral kingdom upon the earth, until the day that iniquity was found in him and he was destroyed and cast out. And at that time, the earth became wasted and desolate and darkness covered the face of the deep. And that what you have then in Genesis from verse Ezekiel 28:3 on is the re-creation of the earth, in order that man might inhabit it in his present form. But what types of animals, creatures that are all there in the fossil record could have existed in the billions of years prior to Genesis verse Ezekiel 28:3 , chapter 1. And thus, all of the ages would be all accounted for, because we don't know when the original creation took place. And there are viable arguments, and of course, the fact that Satan came along so early; he had already fallen to tempt Eve, and that there was darkness over the face of the deep and all. All tend to give credence to this gap theory and that the earth was somehow disheveled and destroyed at Satan's rebellion in sin against God.

And a literal reading of verse Ezekiel 28:2 can read, "but the earth became wasted and desolate." And it is not consistent with God's creative acts to create something wasted and desolate. When God creates it, He creates it perfect. God saw the light that it was good. God saw the land that it was good. God saw the animals; they were good. It isn't consistent with God to create something wasted and desolate, without form and void. So there are some arguments, very powerful arguments for the gap theory, and I have not in my own mind totally set it aside as not worthy of consideration. I think that it has some very worthy points, and thus I have no firm set in my own mind as far as creation is concerned. It's still an open chapter, an open file, and I await further information.

I know that God could have created the whole thing just ten thousand years ago, six thousand; I have no problem with that. But I also realize it could have been billions of years ago, and that between Genesis 1:0 and 2 you have a long gap, at which time somewhere in there Satan was created and Satan fell and rebelled against God, and the whole system was brought into a chaotic state. The earth became wasted and desolate, with form and void and all. So, you can't be dogmatic in my mind on these things, though I know many people are dogmatic on it.

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of the traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee ( Ezekiel 28:18 ).

Satan will ultimately be cast into the lake that is burning with fire, and this is the reference to it here. Right now Satan has great liberties. God has allowed him these liberties. They are liberties within boundaries. Satan works within prescribed boundaries that God has placed upon him.

When he came to God concerning Job, he said, "You've put a hedge around him. I can't touch him." God put the boundaries upon Satan, the perimeters in which he can work. As far as I'm concerned, he still has too much liberty. When Jesus comes again and establishes the kingdom of God upon the earth, Satan will at that point be bound and placed into the abusso, the bottomless pit, where he will stay for almost a thousand years. Right out towards the end of that thousand-year period, he'll be released again for a short season to deceive people and to create a rebellion against the Lord, that the Lord might be righteous when He makes the final judgment. For there will be those who will have been born during the Kingdom Age or those who have lived into the Kingdom Age who have never really made a real commitment of the their lives to Jesus Christ, will have to live righteously by force during the Kingdom Age. But towards the end, they'll be given their opportunity to express what has been in their heart the whole time--the rebellion against God that is there. And then at the culmination of this final rebellion, Satan will be cast into the Gehenna, the lake burning with fire, and there the final judgment of God upon him as is expressed here.

All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more ( Ezekiel 28:19 ).

No more freedom, liberty, anything else.

The judgment of Sidon now. He turns from Tyre, from the prince of Tyre, to this sister city of Sidon up the coast.

And again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified 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. For 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. And they shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 28:20-24 ).

Notice there is nothing said about ultimate destruction or complete destruction or never be rebuilt. Sidon still exists on the ancient site of the city of Sidon, and it's still a city there to the present day.

Verse Ezekiel 28:25 , God speaks now of the regathering of His people Israel.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel [speaking of the present day] from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen ( Ezekiel 28:25 ),

Now that is not yet come. That will take place when the invading Russian army is destroyed.

Then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God ( Ezekiel 28:25-26 ).

That's, of course, going on into the Kingdom Age when God has finally brought His judgment upon all of the nations for the treatment that they have given to the Jews. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

4. A funeral dirge for the king of Tyre 28:11-19

"This is one of the more difficult passages in the Book of Ezekiel-if not in the whole Bible! The reason for the difficulty lies mainly in the lack of sufficient data to reach precise conclusions. There are many terms and phrases that are only used in these verses in the OT. . . .

"Ancient mythology should be kept in mind, for it shows the Phoenicians’ religious thinking and provides cultural aid in interpreting the passage. However, to interpret the passage as a myth is unwarranted." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 882.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The king had also multiplied iniquities through the abundant trade he had pursued unjustly thus making what should have been clean common (cf. Ezekiel 28:16). Therefore, God would consume the king with His judgment that would arise from within his own sinful self. He would allow everyone on earth to witness his destruction.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities,.... Or, "thy palaces", as Kimchi; the palace of the king, and the palaces of the nobles, where much iniquity was committed, and which was the cause of their being defiled or destroyed by the Chaldeans; or it may design their sacred places, their temples, where their gods were worshipped, and idolatry committed. This may be applied to the places of religious worship among the Papists, their churches; which, instead of being adorned, are defiled with their images and image worship, and other acts of superstition and will worship:

by the iniquity of thy traffic; as by bringing in ill gotten goods into the sacred places of Tyre, as they were accounted, so by selling pardons; praying souls out of purgatory for money; by simony, or buying and selling ecclesiastical benefices; and such like spiritual merchandise in Roman churches:

therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee; sin, and the punishment of it, as Kimchi; which, for sin committed in the midst of them, should consume as fire; or some from among themselves, that should stir up and cause internal divisions, which should issue in their ruin; as the unclean spirit that shall go out of the mouth of the beast, dragon, and false prophet, to gather the antichristian kings to battle, will end in their ruin, Revelation 16:14. The Targum is,

"I will bring people who are strong as fire, because of the sins of thy pride they shall destroy thee.''

Alexander, when he took Tyre, ordered all the inhabitants to be slain, excepting those that fled to the temples, and the houses to be set on fire u; which literally fulfilled this prophecy; and which may also have respect to the destruction of Rome by fire, because of the sins committed in it, Revelation 18:8:

and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all them that behold thee; the kings and merchants of the earth, who shall stand and look on the city as it is burning, and when reduced to ashes; which denotes the utter destruction of it, Revelation 18:9. The Targum is,

"I will give thee as ashes on the earth, &c.'

and shall be no more accounted of.

u Curtius, Hist. l. 4. c. 4. p. 75.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,   12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.   13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.   14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.   15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.   16 By the multitude 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 mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.   17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.   18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.   19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

      As after the prediction of the ruin of Tyre (Ezekiel 26:1-21; Ezekiel 26:1-21) followed a pathetic lamentation for it (Ezekiel 27:1-36; Ezekiel 27:1-36), so after the ruin of the king of Tyre is foretold it is bewailed.

      I. This is commonly understood of the prince who then reigned over Tyre, spoken to, Ezekiel 28:2; Ezekiel 28:2. His name was Ethbaal, or Ithobalus, as Diodorus Siculus calls him that was king of Tyre when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. He was, it seems, upon all external accounts an accomplished man, very great and famous; but his iniquity was his ruin. Many expositors have suggested that besides the literal sense of this lamentation there is an allegory in it, and that it is an allusion to the fall of the angels that sinned, who undid themselves by their pride. And (as is usual in texts that have a mystical meaning) some passages here refer primarily to the king of Tyre, as that of his merchandises, others to the angels, as that of being in the holy mountain of God. But, if there be any thing mystical in it (as perhaps there may), I shall rather refer it to the fall of Adam, which seems to be glanced at, Ezekiel 28:13; Ezekiel 28:13. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God, and that in the day thou wast created.

      II. Some think that by the king of Tyre is meant the whole royal family, this including also the foregoing kings, and looking as far back as Hiram, king of Tyre. The then governor is called prince (Ezekiel 28:2; Ezekiel 28:2); but he that is here lamented is called king. The court of Tyre with its kings had for many ages been famous; but sin ruins it. Now we may observe two things here:--

      1. What was the renown of the king of Tyre. He is here spoken of as having lived in great splendour, Ezekiel 28:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-15. He as a man, but it is here owned that he was a very considerable man and one that made a mighty figure in his day. (1.) He far exceeded other men. Hiram and other kings of Tyre had done so in their time; and the reigning king perhaps had not come short of any of them: Thou sealest up the sum full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. But the powers of human nature and the prosperity of human life seemed in him to be at the highest pitch. He was looked upon to be as wise as the reason of men could make him, and as happy as the wealth of this world and the enjoyment of it could make him; in him you might see the utmost that both could do; and therefore seal up the sum, for nothing can be added; he is a complete man, perfect in suo genere--in his kind. (2.) He seemed to be as wise and happy as Adam in innocency (Ezekiel 28:13; Ezekiel 28:13): "Thou hast been in Eden, even in the garden of God; thou hast lived as it were in paradise all thy days, hast had a full enjoyment of every thing that is good for food or pleasant to the eyes, and an uncontroverted dominion over all about thee, as Adam had." One instance of the magnificence of the king of Tyre is, that he outdid all others princes in jewels, which those have the greatest plenty of that trade most abroad, as he did: Every precious stone was his covering. There is a great variety of precious stones; but he had of every sort and in such plenty that besides what were treasured up in his cabinet, and were the ornaments of his crown, he had his clothes trimmed with them; they were his covering. Nay (Ezekiel 28:14; Ezekiel 28:14), he walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, that is, these precious stones, which glittered and sparkled like fire. His rooms were in a manner set round with jewels, so that he walked in the midst of them, and then fancied himself as glorious as if, like God, he had been surrounded by so many angels, who are compared to a flame of fire. And, if he be such an admirer of precious stones as to think them as bright as angels, no wonder that he is such an admirer of himself as to think himself as great as God. Nine several sorts of previous stones are here named, which were all in the high priest's ephod. Perhaps they are particularly named because he, in his pride, used to speak particularly of them, and tell those about him, with a great deal of foolish pleasure, "This is such a precious stone, of such a value, and so and so are its virtues." Thus is he upbraided with his vanity. Gold is mentioned last, as far inferior in value to those precious stones; and he used to speak of it accordingly. Another thing that made him think his palace a paradise was the curious music he had, the tabrets and pipes, hand-instruments and wind-instruments. The workmanship of these was extraordinary, and they were prepared for him on purpose; prepared in thee, the pronoun is feminine--in thee, O Tyre! or it denotes that the king was effeminate in doting on such things. They were prepared in the day he was created, that is, either born, or created king; they were made on purpose to celebrate the joys either of his birth-day or of his coronation-day. These he prided himself much in, and would have all that came to see his palace take notice of them. (3.) He looked like an incarnate angel (Ezekiel 28:14; Ezekiel 28:14): Thou art the anointed cherub that covers or protects; that is, he looked upon himself as a guardian angel to his people, so bright, so strong, so faithful, appointed to this office and qualified for it. Anointed kings should be to their subjects as anointed cherubim, that cover them with the wings of their power; and, when they are such, God will own them. Their advancement was from him: I have set thee so. Some think, because mention was made of Eden, that it refers to the cherub set on the east of Eden to cover it, Genesis 3:24. He thought himself as able to guard his city from all invaders as that angel was for his charge. Or it may refer to the cherubim in the most holy place, whose wings covered the ark; he thought himself as bright as one of them. (4.) He appeared in as much splendour as the high priest when he was clothed with his garments for glory and beauty: "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God, as president of the temple built on that holy mountain; thou didst look as great, and with as much majesty and authority, as ever the high priest did when he walked in the temple, which was garnished with precious stones (2 Chronicles 3:6), and had his habit on, which had precious stones both in the breast and on the shoulders; in that he seemed to walk in the midst of the stones of fire." Thus glorious is the king of Tyre; at least he thinks himself so.

      2. Let us now see what was the ruin of the king of Tyre, what it was that stained his glory and laid all this honour in the dust (Ezekiel 28:15; Ezekiel 28:15): "Thou wast perfect in thy ways; thou didst prosper in all thy affairs and every thing went well with thee; thou hadst not only a clear, but a bright reputation, from the day thou wast created, the day of thy accession to the throne, till iniquity was found in thee; and that spoiled all." This may perhaps allude to the deplorable case of the angels that fell, and of our first parents, both of whom were perfect in their ways till iniquity was found in them. And when iniquity was once found in him it increased; he grew worse and worse, as appears (Ezekiel 28:18; Ezekiel 28:18): "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries; thou hast lost the benefit of all that which thou thoughtest sacred, and in which, as in a sanctuary, thou thoughtest to take refuge; these thou hast defiled, and so exposed thyself by the multitude of thy iniquities." Now observe,

      (1.) What the iniquity was that was the ruin of the king of Tyre. [1.] The iniquity of his traffic (so it is called, Ezekiel 28:18; Ezekiel 28:18), both his and his people's, for their sin is charged upon him, because he connived at it and set them a bad example (Ezekiel 28:16; Ezekiel 28:16): By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thus thou hast sinned. The king had so much to do with his merchandise, and was so wholly intent upon the gains of that, that he took no care to do justice, to give redress to those that suffered wrong and to protect them from violence; nay, in the multiplicity of business, wrong was done to many by oversight; and in his dealings he made use of his power to invade the rights of those he dealt with. Note, Those that have much to do in the world are in great danger of doing much amiss; and it is hard to deal with many without violence to some. Trades are called mysteries; but too many make them mysteries of iniquity. [2.] His pride and vain-glory (Ezekiel 28:17; Ezekiel 28:17): "Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou wast in love with thyself, and thy own shadow. And thus thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of the brightness, the pomp and splendour, wherein thou livedst." He gazed so much upon this that it dazzled his eyes and prevented him from seeing his way. He appeared so puffed up with his greatness that it bereaved him both of his wisdom and of the reputation of it. He really became a fool in glorying. Those make a bad bargain for themselves that part with their wisdom for the gratifying of their gaiety, and, to please a vain humour, lose a real excellency.

      (2.) What the ruin was that this iniquity brought him to. [1.] He was thrown out of his dignity and dislodged from his palace, which he took to be his paradise and temple (Ezekiel 28:16; Ezekiel 28:16): I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God. His kingly power was high as a mountain, setting him above others; it was a mountain of God, for the powers that be are ordained of God, and have something in them that is sacred; but, having abused his power, he is reckoned profane, and is therefore deposed and expelled. He disgraces the crown he wears, and so has forfeited it, and shall be destroyed from the midst of the stones of fire, the precious stones with which his palace was garnished, as the temple was; and they shall be no protection to him. [2.] He was exposed to contempt and disgrace, and trampled upon by his neighbours: "I will cast thee to the ground (Ezekiel 28:17; Ezekiel 28:17), will cast thee among the pavement-stones, from the midst of the precious stones, and will lay thee a rueful spectacle before kings, that they may behold thee and take warning by thee not to be proud and oppressive." [3.] He was quite consumed, his city and he in it: I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee. The conquerors, when they have plundered the city, will kindle a fire in the heart of it, which shall lay it, and the palace particularly, in ashes. Or it may be taken more generally for the fire of God's judgments, which shall devour both prince and people, and bring all the glory of both to ashes upon the earth; and this fire shall be brought forth from the midst of thee. All God's judgments upon sinners take rise from themselves; they are devoured by a fire of their own kindling. [4.] He was hereby made a terrible example of divine vengeance. Thus he is reduced in the sight of all those that behold him (Ezekiel 28:18; Ezekiel 28:18): Those that know him shall be astonished at him, and shall wonder how one that stood so high could be brought so low. The king of Tyre's palace, like the temple at Jerusalem, when it is destroyed shall be an astonishment and a hissing,2 Chronicles 7:20; 2 Chronicles 7:21. So fell the king of Tyre.