Ezekiel 28:1–10

Read the passage.

The prince of Tyre at this time was a man named Ethbaal. The prophecy Ezekiel gives us reveals to us the great pride he had in himself. He fancied himself the god over the seas, which many cultures considered a symbol of chaos and death in their cosmologies. The Lord actually affirms the prince’s great wisdom, greater than that of Danel (an Ugaritic king of legend, not the prophet Daniel), and by this wisdom he has amassed wealth through trade. The Lord affirms this because they are the source of his pride, and his pride is the reason for his downfall.

Instead of praising the God who made him, Ethbaal considers the things he has accomplished as something he has done all on his own. For not giving the Lord the glory He is due, the sentence is death and all the things that he took pride in will be plundered and destroyed. Neither did Ethbaal build them up, nor can he keep them safe.

The prince of Tyre is mocked in verse 9, asked if he will continue to claim divinity even as he is slain. It’s a familiar-sounding scene, as if from a movie. An evil tyrant is overthrown, all while shouting, “No, you can’t do this! I am a god!” Whether Ethbaal actually said or thought such a thing at the time is unknown, but the end result is the same, and Tyre fell to the Babylonians.

You are jealous of Your glory and You deserve all praise and honor.