Ezekiel 28 Study Notes: The Fall of Tyre’s Proud King
God condemns the ruler of Tyre, whose wealth and cleverness led him to think himself divine, and promises a violent end to show he is only mortal. A lament pictures the king as a splendid figure in Eden cast down for pride and dishonest trade, then Sidon is judged and Israel is promised a safe return home.
General
What does the LORD promise Israel at the end of Ezekiel 28?
Answer: He would gather them to live safely in their land
After the judgments on Tyre and Sidon, God turns to a promise for His own people. He will bring Israel back from the countries where they had been scattered and show Himself holy among them while the nations watch (28:25). They will live in the land He gave to His servant Jacob. They will live safely there, building homes and planting vines, because God will judge the scornful nations around them (28:26). And they will recognize Him as the LORD their God (28:26). God had already promised to gather His people and show His holiness through them (Ezekiel 20:41). Jeremiah records the same promise to gather the scattered and settle them safely (Jeremiah 32:37), and Ezekiel repeats it later (Ezekiel 34:28).
- Ezekiel 28:25-26 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they have been scattered, I will show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will dwell in their own land, which I have given to My servant Jacob. And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’””God promises to gather Israel, show His holiness among them before the nations, and let them live securely in their own land.
- Ezekiel 20:41 (BSB)“When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.”God had already promised to gather His people and show His holiness through them in the sight of the nations.
- Jeremiah 32:37 (BSB)“I will surely gather My people from all the lands to which I have banished them in My furious anger and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them dwell in safety.”Jeremiah records the same promise that God will gather His scattered people and make them dwell in safety.
- Ezekiel 34:28 (BSB)“They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.”Later Ezekiel repeats that God’s people will dwell securely with no one to frighten them.
Theological
What promise to Israel closes the oracles of Ezekiel 28?
Answer: He would gather them to live safely in their land
The judgments on Tyre and Sidon serve a covenant purpose. The LORD will regather Israel from its dispersion and manifest His holiness in them before the watching nations (28:25). Their home will be the land given to His servant Jacob, living securely, building homes and planting vines, once He has judged the scornful neighbors (28:26). The goal is relational: they will acknowledge Him as the LORD their God (28:26). The promise echoes earlier assurance that God would gather His people and sanctify Himself through them in the nations’ sight (Ezekiel 20:41), parallels Jeremiah’s promise of safe dwelling (Jeremiah 32:37), and anticipates its fuller restatement in the shepherd chapter (Ezekiel 34:28). God’s faithfulness to His people stands beside His judgment of their enemies.
- Ezekiel 28:25-26 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they have been scattered, I will show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will dwell in their own land, which I have given to My servant Jacob. And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’””God promises to gather Israel, show His holiness among them before the nations, and let them live securely in their own land.
- Ezekiel 20:41 (BSB)“When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.”God had already promised to gather His people and show His holiness through them in the sight of the nations.
- Jeremiah 32:37 (BSB)“I will surely gather My people from all the lands to which I have banished them in My furious anger and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them dwell in safety.”Jeremiah records the same promise that God will gather His scattered people and make them dwell in safety.
- Ezekiel 34:28 (BSB)“They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.”Later Ezekiel repeats that God’s people will dwell securely with no one to frighten them.
General
In the lament, what led God to drive Tyre’s king from His mountain and cast him to the earth (Ezekiel 28:16-19)?
Answer: Violent trading and pride in his own beauty
The lament names two sins. First, his huge volume of trade filled the king with violence and he sinned (28:16), and his dealings were crooked (28:18). Second, his beauty made his heart proud, and he spoiled his wisdom for the sake of his splendor (28:17). So God expelled him in shame from His mountain and sent him away from the stones of fire (28:16). He threw him down to the ground and put him on display before kings (28:17). God brought fire out from inside him that burned him up and left him as ashes, and the nations who knew him were horrified (28:18-19). God detests cheating (Proverbs 11:1). He resists the proud and shows favor to the humble (James 4:6), and He can bring the arrogant low (Daniel 4:37).
- Ezekiel 28:16-17 (BSB)“By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.”Trade filled the king with violence, and pride in his beauty corrupted his wisdom, so God cast him down.
- Ezekiel 28:18-19 (BSB)“By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you. All the nations who know you are appalled over you. You have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’””Dishonest trade profaned his sanctuaries, and God brought fire from within that consumed him.
- Proverbs 11:1 (BSB)“Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.”The LORD hates false weights and delights in honest ones.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””God sets Himself against the proud and shows grace to the lowly.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar confessed that heaven’s King has power to bring down the arrogant.
Theological
What sins does the lament give as the reason for Tyre’s king being expelled and destroyed (Ezekiel 28:16-19)?
Answer: Violent trading and pride in his own beauty
Two sins converge. Commercial greed bred violence (28:16) and crooked dealing that profaned his sanctuaries (28:18); and pride in his beauty corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his splendor (28:17). The judgment answers both: expulsion in shame from God’s mountain and away from the stones of fire (28:16), being hurled to the ground and exposed before kings (28:17), and fire brought forth from within that burned him to ashes, horrifying the nations (28:18-19). The sin carries its own destruction within it. Scripture is consistent on both counts: the LORD detests false weights (Proverbs 11:1), God resists the proud while favoring the humble (James 4:6), and the King of heaven can bring the arrogant low (Daniel 4:37).
- Ezekiel 28:16-17 (BSB)“By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.”Trade filled the king with violence, and pride in his beauty corrupted his wisdom, so God cast him down.
- Ezekiel 28:18-19 (BSB)“By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you. All the nations who know you are appalled over you. You have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’””Dishonest trade profaned his sanctuaries, and God brought fire from within that consumed him.
- Proverbs 11:1 (BSB)“Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.”The LORD hates false weights and delights in honest ones.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””God sets Himself against the proud and shows grace to the lowly.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar confessed that heaven’s King has power to bring down the arrogant.
General
In the funeral song over Tyre’s king, how does God describe the king’s condition before his fall (Ezekiel 28:12-15)?
Answer: As without fault from his creation until sin arose
God told Ezekiel to sing a lament, a funeral song, over Tyre’s king. It uses rich picture language. The king overflowed with wisdom and was flawless in beauty (28:12). He was in Eden, God’s garden, covered in precious stones (28:13). He was anointed to serve as a cherub standing guard, a mighty angelic guardian, on God’s holy mountain (28:14). From the day he was made he was faultless in his conduct, until evil was discovered in him (28:15). The imagery recalls Eden, from which the LORD banished the man and where He set cherubim on guard (Genesis 3:23-24). Readers understand this passage in different ways: many take it as poetic language for the king’s pride, while some see the fall of Satan behind it. The lament traces a fall from glory through pride (Proverbs 16:18), much like Isaiah’s taunt against the proud king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:13-15).
- Ezekiel 28:12-14 (BSB)““Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.”The lament pictures the king as perfect in beauty, placed in Eden, and anointed as a guardian cherub on God’s holy mountain.
- Ezekiel 28:15 (BSB)“From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways—until wickedness was found in you.”He was blameless from the day of his creation until wickedness was found in him.
- Genesis 3:23-24 (BSB)“Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.”The lament’s imagery recalls Eden, where the LORD drove out the man and stationed cherubim to guard the way.
- Isaiah 14:13-15 (BSB)“You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”Isaiah’s taunt against the king of Babylon uses similar imagery of a proud ruler who aimed at heaven and was brought down.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Pride goes before destruction, the pattern the lament traces.
Theological
How does the lament over Tyre’s king characterize the king before his fall (Ezekiel 28:12-15)?
Answer: As without fault from his creation until sin arose
The dirge clothes the king in exalted imagery: the very pattern of perfection, overflowing with wisdom and flawless in beauty (28:12); present in Eden, God’s garden, adorned with precious stones (28:13); anointed as a cherub standing guard on God’s holy mountain (28:14). Its moral center is 28:15: faultless in conduct from the day he was made until evil was discovered in him. The Edenic setting echoes Genesis 3:23-24, where the LORD expelled the man and set cherubim on guard at the garden. Readings of the passage differ: many take it as poetic imagery describing the king’s pride in terms drawn from Eden, while some see the fall of Satan behind it. The passage traces the movement from glory through pride to ruin (Proverbs 16:18), as does Isaiah’s taunt against the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:13-15).
- Ezekiel 28:12-14 (BSB)““Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.”The lament pictures the king as perfect in beauty, placed in Eden, and anointed as a guardian cherub on God’s holy mountain.
- Ezekiel 28:15 (BSB)“From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways—until wickedness was found in you.”He was blameless from the day of his creation until wickedness was found in him.
- Genesis 3:23-24 (BSB)“Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.”The lament’s imagery recalls Eden, where the LORD drove out the man and stationed cherubim to guard the way.
- Isaiah 14:13-15 (BSB)“You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”Isaiah’s taunt against the king of Babylon uses similar imagery of a proud ruler who aimed at heaven and was brought down.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Pride goes before destruction, the pattern the lament traces.
General
What did the ruler of Tyre claim about himself, and how did the LORD answer (Ezekiel 28:1-10)?
Answer: He claimed to be divine, but God said he was merely human
The ruler of Tyre’s heart was proud. He said he was a god, enthroned like a deity out in the middle of the sea (28:2). God’s answer came in the same breath: he was only human, not divine, even though he thought of his heart as godlike (28:2). God would prove it. Foreign armies would come, and standing before the men who killed him, he would no longer be able to call himself a god; he would be shown to be merely mortal (28:9). A psalm says that even rulers given high titles die like ordinary people (Psalm 82:6-7). In the New Testament, when a crowd hailed Herod as a god, he did not give God the glory, and he was struck down at once (Acts 12:21-23). Isaiah says the same about Egypt: its people are mortals, not God (Isaiah 31:3). No human being can take God’s place.
- Ezekiel 28:2 (BSB)““Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.”The ruler of Tyre’s boast of divinity and enthronement in the sea, answered by God’s verdict that he is a man.
- Ezekiel 28:9 (BSB)“Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.”Facing his killers, the ruler will be shown to be only a man.
- Psalm 82:6-7 (BSB)“I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But like mortals you will die, and like rulers you will fall.””Rulers addressed with exalted titles will still die as ordinary men do and fall.
- Acts 12:21-23 (BSB)“On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”When the crowd hailed Herod as a god, he did not give God the glory and was struck down.
- Isaiah 31:3 (BSB)“But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.”Isaiah makes the same contrast about Egypt: its people are human and not divine.
Theological
What did the ruler of Tyre claim, and what is the LORD’s verdict on that claim (Ezekiel 28:1-10)?
Answer: He claimed to be divine, but God said he was merely human
The oracle exposes self-deification. The ruler’s proud heart claimed divinity and a divine throne amid the seas, and the LORD’s verdict stands in the same verse: he is human, not God, however he regards his own heart (28:2). The coming judgment demonstrates the verdict. Before those who slay him, the claim collapses, and he is shown to be mortal (28:9). This is the root sin of the creature, wanting to be as God, and Scripture repeatedly answers it by mortality. Psalm 82:6-7 reminds exalted rulers that they will die like anyone else; Herod, hailed by the crowd as a god and withholding from God the glory due Him, was struck down at once (Acts 12:21-23); and Isaiah sets the same contrast over Egypt, whose people are mortal and not divine (Isaiah 31:3). The Creator-creature distinction is not negotiable.
- Ezekiel 28:2 (BSB)““Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.”The ruler of Tyre’s boast of divinity and enthronement in the sea, answered by God’s verdict that he is a man.
- Ezekiel 28:9 (BSB)“Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.”Facing his killers, the ruler will be shown to be only a man.
- Psalm 82:6-7 (BSB)“I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But like mortals you will die, and like rulers you will fall.””Rulers addressed with exalted titles will still die as ordinary men do and fall.
- Acts 12:21-23 (BSB)“On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”When the crowd hailed Herod as a god, he did not give God the glory and was struck down.
- Isaiah 31:3 (BSB)“But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.”Isaiah makes the same contrast about Egypt: its people are human and not divine.
General
True or False: The LORD says He would be glorified in Sidon and would show His holiness when He carried out judgments against her (Ezekiel 28:22).
Answer: True
This is true. God told Ezekiel to prophesy against Sidon. God said He opposed Sidon and would gain glory there; when He carried out His judgments, He would display His holiness, and people would recognize Him as the LORD (28:22). He would send disease and the sword (28:23). Holiness means God’s perfect purity and His being set apart from all that is sinful. His judgments display that holiness, just as He gained honor through His judgment on Pharaoh at the exodus (Exodus 14:4). These judgments also had a purpose for Israel: the scornful nations around them would stop being like painful briers and thorns to them (28:24). The LORD had warned through Moses that any peoples Israel failed to drive out of the land would become like thorns in their sides (Numbers 33:55).
- Ezekiel 28:22 (BSB)“And you are to declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will be glorified within you. They will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments against her and demonstrate My holiness through her.”God declares Himself against Sidon and says He will be glorified and show His holiness through His judgments there.
- Ezekiel 28:24 (BSB)“For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”Israel will no longer suffer its scornful neighbors like briers and thorns.
- Exodus 14:4 (BSB)“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.”At the exodus God gained honor through Pharaoh and his army, so that the Egyptians would know He is the LORD.
- Numbers 33:55 (BSB)“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.”Moses warned that any inhabitants Israel failed to drive out would become a painful, harassing presence in the land.
Theological
True or False: The LORD declares that He will be glorified in Sidon and will display His holiness when He executes judgments against her (Ezekiel 28:22).
Answer: True
This is true. The brief oracle against Sidon states its end explicitly: the LORD opposes her, will be glorified in her midst, and will manifest His holiness when He executes judgments, so that He is acknowledged as the LORD (28:22). Disease and sword are the instruments (28:23). Divine judgment is here a revelation of God’s holiness, as at the exodus, when the LORD gained glory over Pharaoh and his army (Exodus 14:4). It also serves His covenant people: the scornful neighbors will cease to be a stinging brier or painful thorn to Israel (28:24), language recalling the LORD’s warning through Moses that any peoples Israel failed to drive out would become thorns in their sides (Numbers 33:55). The nations’ judgment and Israel’s relief both display the LORD’s name.
- Ezekiel 28:22 (BSB)“And you are to declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will be glorified within you. They will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments against her and demonstrate My holiness through her.”God declares Himself against Sidon and says He will be glorified and show His holiness through His judgments there.
- Ezekiel 28:24 (BSB)“For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”Israel will no longer suffer its scornful neighbors like briers and thorns.
- Exodus 14:4 (BSB)“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.”At the exodus God gained honor through Pharaoh and his army, so that the Egyptians would know He is the LORD.
- Numbers 33:55 (BSB)“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.”Moses warned that any inhabitants Israel failed to drive out would become a painful, harassing presence in the land.
General
According to the LORD, what made the ruler of Tyre’s heart proud (Ezekiel 28:4-5)?
Answer: The riches his wisdom and trading had gained
God says the ruler of Tyre had used his wisdom and understanding to gather wealth, filling his storehouses with gold and silver (28:4). His great skill as a trader kept adding to his riches, and his heart swelled with pride over them (28:5). Wisdom and wealth are not evil in themselves, but in his case they became the ground of his pride. Moses warned Israel never to say that their own strength had made them rich, because the LORD is the one who gives the ability to gain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Through Jeremiah, God tells the wise and the rich not to boast in their wisdom or riches, but in knowing Him (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Paul asks what any of us has that was not given to us (1 Corinthians 4:7). The ruler forgot that everything he had was a gift.
- Ezekiel 28:4-5 (BSB)“By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.”The ruler’s wisdom and trade produced great wealth, and that wealth swelled his heart with pride.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (BSB)“You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.”Israel was warned against crediting its own strength for wealth, since the LORD gives the power to gain it.
- Jeremiah 9:23-24 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”The LORD forbids boasting in wisdom or riches and calls people to boast in knowing Him.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (BSB)“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”Paul asks what anyone has that was not received, which removes any ground for boasting.
Theological
What does the LORD identify as the occasion of the ruler of Tyre’s pride (Ezekiel 28:4-5)?
Answer: The riches his wisdom and trading had gained
The oracle traces a sequence: wisdom and understanding yielded wealth and filled the storehouses with gold and silver (28:4); commercial skill multiplied that wealth; and the wealth lifted up the heart (28:5). The gifts were real, but they became the ground of his pride rather than of thanks. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 anticipates exactly this temptation, insisting that the LORD gives the power to get wealth. Jeremiah 9:23-24 forbids boasting in wisdom or riches and redirects all boasting to the knowledge of the LORD. Paul’s question about what anyone possesses that was not first given (1 Corinthians 4:7) dismantles every ground of self-glory. Pride is ingratitude toward the Giver, and prosperity is often the soil in which it grows.
- Ezekiel 28:4-5 (BSB)“By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.”The ruler’s wisdom and trade produced great wealth, and that wealth swelled his heart with pride.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (BSB)“You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.”Israel was warned against crediting its own strength for wealth, since the LORD gives the power to gain it.
- Jeremiah 9:23-24 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”The LORD forbids boasting in wisdom or riches and calls people to boast in knowing Him.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (BSB)“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”Paul asks what anyone has that was not received, which removes any ground for boasting.
General
True or False: The LORD says the ruler of Tyre’s great wisdom would protect him from the foreigners He was bringing against him (Ezekiel 28:3-10).
Answer: False
This is false. God admits, with a note of irony, that the ruler was wiser than Daniel and that no secret was hidden from him (28:3). But his wisdom would not save him. God would bring foreigners, the cruelest of all nations, who would turn their swords on his splendid wisdom and stain his glory (28:7). They would send him into the Pit, the grave, and he would die violently out in the midst of the sea (28:8). He would die like the uncircumcised, slain by foreigners (28:10), an expression Ezekiel uses for a dishonorable death, lying among the uncircumcised and the slain (Ezekiel 32:19-21). True wisdom begins with fearing the LORD, not with being wise in one’s own eyes (Proverbs 3:7). Kings are not rescued by their armies or their might (Psalm 33:16-17), and Nebuchadnezzar himself confessed that God can bring the proud low (Daniel 4:37).
- Ezekiel 28:3 (BSB)“Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!”God grants, with irony, that the ruler is wiser than Daniel and that no secret escapes him.
- Ezekiel 28:7-8 (BSB)“behold, I will bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and will defile your splendor. They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas.”Ruthless foreigners will turn their swords on the beauty of his wisdom and bring him down to the Pit.
- Ezekiel 32:19-21 (BSB)“Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised! They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes. Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’”Ezekiel pictures proud Egypt and its allies going down to the realm of the dead to rest beside the uncircumcised and those killed in battle.
- Proverbs 3:7 (BSB)“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.”Wisdom teaches people not to be wise in their own eyes but to fear the LORD.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”A great army cannot rescue a king, and great might cannot save a warrior.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar confessed that heaven’s King has power to bring down the arrogant.
Theological
True or False: The LORD declares that the ruler of Tyre’s wisdom would shield him from the foreign invaders He was sending (Ezekiel 28:3-10).
Answer: False
This is false. The concession of 28:3, wiser than Daniel, with no secret beyond his grasp, is ironic: the very wisdom in which the ruler trusted becomes the target of judgment. The LORD brings the cruelest of the nations, whose swords are turned on his splendid wisdom and who stain his glory (28:7). He goes down into the Pit and dies violently amid the seas (28:8), dying like the uncircumcised, killed by strangers (28:10), which elsewhere in Ezekiel marks a dishonorable end among the uncircumcised and the slain (Ezekiel 32:19-21). Wisdom detached from the fear of the LORD is self-deception (Proverbs 3:7); no ruler finds rescue in his army or might (Psalm 33:16-17); and Nebuchadnezzar’s confession stands over every proud ruler: the King of heaven can bring the arrogant low (Daniel 4:37).
- Ezekiel 28:3 (BSB)“Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!”God grants, with irony, that the ruler is wiser than Daniel and that no secret escapes him.
- Ezekiel 28:7-8 (BSB)“behold, I will bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and will defile your splendor. They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas.”Ruthless foreigners will turn their swords on the beauty of his wisdom and bring him down to the Pit.
- Ezekiel 32:19-21 (BSB)“Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised! They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes. Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’”Ezekiel pictures proud Egypt and its allies going down to the realm of the dead to rest beside the uncircumcised and those killed in battle.
- Proverbs 3:7 (BSB)“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.”Wisdom teaches people not to be wise in their own eyes but to fear the LORD.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”A great army cannot rescue a king, and great might cannot save a warrior.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar confessed that heaven’s King has power to bring down the arrogant.