Reflections on Ezekiel 27

Ezekiel 27 (Contemporary English Version)
1. The LORD said:
   
2. Ezekiel, son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre,
   
3. the city that is built along the sea and that trades with nations along the coast. Tell the people of Tyre that the following message is from me: Tyre, you brag about your perfect beauty,
   
4. and your control of the sea. You are a ship built to perfection.
   
5. Builders used cypress trees from Mount Hermon to make your planks and a cedar tree from Lebanon for your tall mast.
   
6. Oak trees from Bashan were shaped into oars; pine trees from Cyprus were cut for your deck, which was then decorated with strips of ivory.
   
7. The builders used fancy linen from Egypt for your sails, so everyone could see you. Blue and purple cloth from Cyprus was used to shade your deck.
   
8. Men from Sidon and Arvad did the rowing, and your own skilled workers were the captains.
   
9. Experienced men from Byblos repaired any damages. Sailors from all over shopped at the stores in your port.
   
10. Brave soldiers from Persia, Lydia, and Libya served in your navy, protecting you with shields and helmets, and making you famous.
    
11. Your guards came from Arvad and Cilicia, and men from Gamad stood watch in your towers. With their weapons hung on your walls, your beauty was complete.
    
12. Merchants from southern Spain traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products.
    
13. The people of Greece, Tubal, and Meshech traded slaves and things made of bronze,
    
14. and those from Beth-Togarmah traded work horses, war horses, and mules.
    
15. You also did business with people from Rhodes, and people from nations along the coast gave you ivory and ebony in exchange for your goods.
    
16. Edom traded emeralds, purple cloth, embroidery, fine linen, coral, and rubies.
    
17. Judah and Israel gave you their finest wheat, fancy figs, honey, olive oil, and spices in exchange for your merchandise.
    
18. The people of Damascus saw what you had to offer and brought you wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.
    
19. Vedan and Javan near Uzal traded you iron and spices.
    
20. The people of Dedan supplied you with saddle blankets,
    
21. while people from Arabia and the rulers of Kedar traded lambs, sheep, and goats.
    
22. Merchants from Sheba and Raamah gave you excellent spices, precious stones, and gold in exchange for your products.
    
23. You also did business with merchants from the cities of Haran, Canneh, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad,
    
24. and they gave you expensive clothing, purple and embroidered cloth, brightly colored rugs, and strong rope.
    
25. Large, seagoing ships carried your goods wherever they needed to go. You were like a ship loaded with heavy cargo
    
26. and sailing across the sea, but you were wrecked by strong eastern winds.
    
27. Everything on board was lost-- your valuable cargo, your sailors and carpenters, merchants and soldiers.
    
28. The shouts of your drowning crew were heard on the shore.
    
29. Every ship is deserted; rowers and sailors and captains all stand on shore,
    
30. mourning for you. They show their sorrow by putting dust on their heads and rolling in ashes;
    
31. they shave their heads and dress in sackcloth as they cry in despair.
    
32. In their grief they sing a funeral song for you: "Tyre, you were greater than all other cities. But now you lie in silence at the bottom of the sea.
    
33. "Nations that received your merchandise were always pleased; kings everywhere got rich from your costly goods.
    
34. But now you are wrecked in the deep sea, with your cargo and crew scattered everywhere.
    
35. People living along the coast are shocked at the news. Their rulers are horrified, and terror is written across their faces.
    
36. The merchants of the world can't believe what happened. Your death was gruesome, and you are gone forever."
    
    

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    Ezekiel continues his pronouncement of judgment against Tyre that began in the previous chapter. As stated there, Tyre's sin was that of gloating over Judah's destruction, primarily because her demise opened up more trade for Tyre. But to gloat over the fall of Judah was to gloat over the destruction of God's chosen people. Furthermore, it was, in the minds of the people of Tyre, a gloating over the failure of the God of Judah.
    
    The worldview of most nations at that time did not envision there being one God who was creator of the universe, but rather of territorial gods, with a different god or gods for each nation. Thus, the fall of Judah signaled in the minds of other nations, including Tyre, that Judah's God was inferior and could not protect her from the superiority of other nations and their gods. What Tyre and the other nations upon whom God was bringing judgment did not grasp was that the God of Judah, who is also the one and only God, was the one who brought on Judah's fall. This one and only God orchestrated Judah's fall as judgment for her sins. And through His judgment on Tyre and these other nations, this God would also show Himself to all the nations. Through their fall, their imagined gods would also fall.
    
    Such is the backdrop behind what we read in this chapter of Ezekiel. Ezekiel portrays poetically the fall of Tyre who is fittingly described as a ship. The sources of materials that makeup the ship of Tyre indicate the various nations with whom Tyre did business. Tyre was a commercial center of trade with over two-dozen nations. Her fall had a huge impact in worldwide trade. In this poetic portrayal, Tyre's destruction is described as a shipwreck caused by high winds from the east, which would be the nation of Babylon from the east of Tyre who destroyed Tyre. Tyre's end is described in the last verses of the chapter: "Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your goods and the people within you have gone down. All the inhabitants of the coasts and islands are appalled at you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted. Those who trade among the peoples hiss at you; you have become an object of horror and will never exist again." (27:34-36)