Follow the leader

It sounds simple, but a leader leads people in a certain direction or toward a specific outcome. Specifically, a ruler exercises dominion over a city or country. The people may have very little say in how their leader will manage affairs that affect their lives.

In Ezekiel 28, the Lord’s prophetic judgment against Tyre focused on the city’s ruler and the consequences the city experienced as a result of his actions.

Read Ezekiel 28:1-3.

  • Tyre’s ruler was arrogant and proud.
  • He claimed to be a god over the city and the sea.
  • The Lord reminded the king he was only a man and not a god.
  • The Lord emphasized He, not the king, is the Holy God and one true God.1
  • Tyre’s ruler thought he knew it all, but he actually lacked wisdom.
  • God pointed this out by comparing the king to the prophet Daniel. Was the king wiser or more experienced than Daniel? The prophet was instructed to seal up and keep secret wise prophecies too difficult for common man to solve.2

Why did Tyre’s king claim to be a god?

What stands out to you about the comparison between Tyre’s king, the Lord, and Daniel?

 Read Ezekiel 28:4-7.

  • The king used his human wisdom and insight to gain wealth and treasure.
  • He used his trading skills to increase his wealth. The word used here for wealth can also mean strength and army.3
  • His great wealth led to pride.
  • Tyre’s ruler trusted in his own wisdom.
  • Therefore, God would bring against the king and the city ruthless and violent opposition.
  • The nations would attack Tyre’s beauty, splendor, and
  • In verse 7, the nations would also attack Tyre’s reputation and the splendor that led to their pride and corruption.4
  • The attack was also against the king’s so-called wisdom and leadership.

How do wealth, beauty, splendor, and human wisdom lead to pride and corruption?

When and why do we choose to rely on our human wisdom and insight instead of God?

 Read Ezekiel 28:8-10

  • The attacking nations would slay Tyre’s ruler and bring him down.
  • He would die a violent death in the sea. It’s implied he would be cast into Sheol.5
  • God mocked the king’s claim he was a god.
  • When the nations killed him, it would be evident he was only a man, not a god.
  • In case there was any doubt as to the king’s mortality, Ezekiel used different words, translated “kill” and “slay.”
  • God spoke, and surely these things would happen.

Why do you think Ezekiel devoted several sentences to describe the death of Tyre’s king?

Why did God emphasize when He spoke, these things would happen?

Read Ezekiel 28:11-16

  • Not only did God ask Ezekiel to lament for Tyre, but in this chapter He asked the prophet to lament specifically for Tyre’s ruler.
  • Ezekiel’s lament acknowledged the king’s perfect splendor and wisdom.
  • The lament detailed the treasures the king had accumulated.
  • Commentators have differing interpretations of these verses.
  • More than one scholar believes the references to perfection, wisdom, beauty, Eden, the garden of God, anointed cherub, and holy mountain of God point to a description of Satan. Isaiah recorded Satan’s downfall from blameless righteousness to wickedness, and he could well have been the power behind the pagan king.6 Even if this passage doesn’t refer specifically to Satan, Scripture reminds us humans can be influenced by powers of darkness.
  • The precious stones mentioned more than once in these verses are the same as those in the high priest’s ephod and represent the outward splendor of the king, or Satan.

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit (Isaiah 14:12-15).

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:21-23).

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

  • Ezekiel used more than one word to describe this person’s total depravity.
  • Tyre’s ruler was full of iniquity, unrighteousness, violence, injustice, wrong doing, evil, sin, and he missed God’s standard completely.7

[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

  • God drove Tyre’s ruler away in disgrace and expelled him from the sanctuary.

What is the relationship between the king’s behavior and his consequences from God?

How do you interpret Satan’s role in these verses?

What can we take away from this section?

Read Ezekiel 28:17-19.

  • The king became completely corrupted by his pride, splendor, and earthly wisdom.
  • God made him a spectacle before the nations.
  • Tyre and its ruler desecrated God’s holy sanctuaries through their sins and dishonest trade.
  • God sent a literal fire to consume the king and his city.
  • All the nations beheld his downfall.
  • They were appalled and astonished at the fearful, threatening calamity from God.
  • The Lord brought Tyre’s king to a terrible end, he would perish and be completely destroyed.

What additional punishment did the Lord give Tyre’s king?

Why was his punishment so severe and final?

What consequences do we experience for willful, prideful behavior?

What have we learned from Ezekiel’s writing about changing a wrong trajectory in life?

 

  1. Warren Baker, D.R.E., Eugene Carpenter, Ph.D. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 51, 54
  2. Ibid., 792, 8489
  3. Ibid., 334
  4. Ibid., 461
  5. Ibid., 1125

6 Warren Baker, D.R.E., The Complete Word Study Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1994), 2034, William MacDonald (Ed. Art Farstad). Believer’s Bible Commentary. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1057-1058

  1. Baker, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament. 813, 351, 328

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.