The Strand Study Bible

EZEKIEL 28:3

EZEKIEL 28:14

1287

3 Behold, 1 thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: 4 7 With thy wisdom and with thine under- standing thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: 5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; The promise of Tyre’s fall to Babylon; and eventually to Greece (Fulfilled - 572 & 332 BC) 7 Behold, therefore 2 I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. P 8 2 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. P 9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slay- eth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a

man, and no God, 2 in the hand of him that slayeth thee. P 10 2 Thou shalt die the deaths of the un- circumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. P SATAN - The real power behind the King of Tyre 11 Moreover the 4 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; 8 THOU sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 8 THOU hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy cov- ering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sap- phire, 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.

1. that is, “you think that you are wiser than Daniel” 7. Zech 9:1-3 8. or, “Satan” - Gen 2:8 & 3:1 9. or, “angel” 10. that is, “the leading angel” Note - There are three angels which were created greater than all the other angels: * Lucifer (Isa 14:12- 15), renamed Satan (adversary) and Devil (slanderer) after his fall ( Job 1:6 ) * Michael, the prince 10:13,21 & 12:1, Jude 9 and Rev 12:7) * Gabriel (Dan 8:16 & 9:21 and Lk 1:19,26) Of the three, Lucifer was anointed the leader –“ Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: ” and protector of Israel (Dan

14 THOU art the anointed 9 cherub that 10 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. 28:3 Daniel , who was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC, was so famed for his wisdom in Babylon (Dan 1:3-6,17-20) that the report had already reached Tyre and Zidon. 28:7 The “ strangers ” here were the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar. 28:12 T here are two schools of thought concerning this passage (vs 11-19). Some feel it is speaking of the king of Tyre himself since many of the characteristics given about [the king] can be explained in light of the cultural and religious context of that day. The other school of thought believes that the change of addressee from prince of Tyre (vs 2) to king of Tyre (vs 12) indicates that someone other than the earthly ruler is in view. Lawrence O Richards in Bible Reader’s Companion notes: It seems most natural to take this poem as a repetition, for emphasis, of Ezekiel’s critique of the fall of earthly Tyre and its human rulers. Yet many see the passage as addressed indirectly to Satan. Why? (1) The description “model of perfection,” and “blameless … from the day I created you” seems an inappropriate description of any human ruler. (2) “Eden, the garden of God” is described as the gem-filled center of earthly rule, and is taken as the province of Satan before Adam’s creation. (3) “A guardian cherub” again is hardly an appropriate description of a pagan king. But it would fit Satan’s pre-fall role as an important angelic being. (4) “Till wickedness was found in you” does not fit the doctrine of human depravity, but seems to indicate a specific act of sin which corrupted the being described. (5) “I expelled you … I threw you to earth” seems to fit Christ’s words about Satan’s expulsion from heaven, as recorded in Luke 10:18. While these same verses admit metaphorical and poetic interpretation references to the human rulers of Tyre, those who see Satan in this passage believe they are more appropriately rooted to him. 1 Indeed, the lamentation here is addressed to Satan, for Satan (the king of Tyre) is the real power behind the prince of Tyre. The Liberty Bible Commentary notes:

The king of Tyrus in this section has caused considerable consternation on the part of biblical scholars formany years. Who is actually being referred to? Is it the historical king?Or is it the evil personage behind him, such as Satan? Among conservative scholars, there are those who say that in this passage the king of Tyre is still the actual king described in Oriental poetic imagery. Overstatement was a commonway of speakingwhen special attentionwas needed. However, we find a number of statements that go beyond the context of these three chapters on Tyre and her prince. The sum total of wisdom and beauty could not rightfully be stated of any earthly monarch…The events described go back to the time when this individual was created . He is spoken of as an anointed cherub … It appears that at least a number of statements in this passage have reference to the motivating power, Satan himself, behind the earthly king of Tyre. Satan’s judgment, announced in these verses (16-19), will not be consummated until he is cast forever into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). 2