Ezekiel 28:11 - Meaning and Application

As the ruin of Tyre was foretold in chapter 26 and then mourned over in chapter 27, so the ruin of the king of Tyre is now foretold and then lamented. This is usually understood to refer to the prince who was ruling Tyre at that time, the one spoken to in Ezekiel 28:2. His name was probably Ethbaal, or Ithobalus, as Diodorus Siculus calls him, the king of Tyre when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city. By every outward sign he seems to have been a gifted and famous man, but his sin brought him down.

Many interpreters think this lament has a deeper meaning as well. They see in it a picture of the fall of the angels who sinned and ruined themselves through pride. In passages like this, some lines seem to fit the king of Tyre first, while others seem to point to angels, such as the line about being in the holy mountain of God. But if there is a deeper, symbolic meaning here, it may also point to the fall of Adam, which seems to be hinted at in Ezekiel 28:13, "You have been in Eden, the garden of God," and again, "in the day you were created."

Some think the king of Tyre stands for the whole royal house, including earlier kings and reaching back to Hiram, king of Tyre. The ruler in Ezekiel 28:2 is called a prince, but the one mourned here is called a king. The royal court of Tyre had been famous for many years, but sin ruined it. We can notice two things here, his greatness and his fall.

First, we see the king of Tyre in the height of his splendor. In Ezekiel 28:12-15, he is described as a man of great rank and power, one who made a strong impression in his day. He stood above ordinary men. Hiram and other kings of Tyre had been remarkable in their time, and this ruler may not have been less impressive than any of them. The phrase, "You seal up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty," means that he seemed to reach the highest point human ability and earthly success could give. In him, wisdom and outward prosperity seemed to be at their fullest. He looked like a complete man, perfect in his kind.

He also seemed as wise and happy as Adam before the fall, as Ezekiel 28:13 says: "You have been in Eden, the garden of God." He lived as if he were in paradise, with every good thing around him and with full rule over what was near him, just as Adam had. One sign of his magnificence was his wealth in jewels. He had more precious stones than other princes, because those who trade far and wide often gather the most of such riches. "Every precious stone was your covering." These stones were so many that they were not only in his treasury and on his crown, but also trimmed his clothing. They seemed to cover him.

In Ezekiel 28:14, he is said to walk among "the stones of fire," that is, these bright precious stones, which flashed like flames. His rooms were almost ringed with jewels, so that he walked among them as if he were surrounded by glory. He may have imagined himself as splendid as God, surrounded by angels, who are compared to flames of fire. If he loved precious stones enough to think they shone like angels, it is no surprise that he also loved himself enough to think he was as great as God.

Nine kinds of precious stones are named here, and they were also found in the high priest's ephod, the special vest worn in worship. Perhaps they are listed because the king, in his pride, liked to talk about them one by one, showing off their value and supposed power. Gold is mentioned last, as less valuable than the stones, and he likely spoke of it in the same proud way. Another thing that made his palace seem like paradise was the beautiful music he had, with tabrets and pipes, stringed instruments and wind instruments. They were made with great skill and prepared especially for him. The phrase "prepared in you" uses a feminine form, likely referring to Tyre itself, or else showing the king’s soft and self-indulgent delight in such pleasures. They were ready for him on the day he was created, meaning either the day he was born or the day he became king. He took great pride in them and wanted everyone who visited his palace to notice them.

He also looked like an angel in human form, as Ezekiel 28:14 says: "You are the anointed cherub that covers." That is, he saw himself as a guarding angel over his people, bright, strong, and faithful in the office he held. Kings who are truly anointed by God should be to their people like cherubim, covering and protecting them with their power. When they do that well, God approves their rule. Their rise came from him, because he says, "I have set you so." Some think the mention of Eden points to the cherub placed at the east of Eden to guard it (Genesis 3:24). In that case, the king imagined himself able to protect his city from enemies as fully as that angel protected its charge. Others think it points to the cherubim in the most holy place, whose wings covered the ark. Then the idea is that he thought himself as bright and glorious as one of them.

He also appeared as splendid as the high priest when he was dressed in his garments "for glory and beauty." He seemed to stand on the holy mountain of God, as if he were the chief figure in the temple built on that holy mountain. He looked as great, and with as much majesty and authority, as the high priest did when he walked in the temple, which was adorned with precious stones (2 Chronicles 3:6) and wore garments set with stones on the breast and shoulders. In that setting, he seemed to walk among the stones of fire. This is how glorious the king of Tyre appeared, or at least how glorious he imagined himself to be.

Now we come to his ruin, the thing that stained all his glory and brought his honor to dust, as Ezekiel 28:15 says. "You were perfect in your ways," meaning he prospered in all his affairs and everything seemed to go well with him. He had not only a good name, but a shining one, from the day he was created, that is, from the day he came to the throne, until iniquity was found in him. That was the turning point, and it ruined everything. This may also glance at the sad fall of the angels and of our first parents, both of whom were perfect in their ways until iniquity was found in them.

When sin was first found in him, it kept growing. He grew worse and worse, as Ezekiel 28:18 shows: “You have defiled your sanctuaries. You have lost the good you thought was sacred, the place where you hoped to be safe. You have made them unclean by the many sins you have committed.” Now notice, first, what sin ruined the king of Tyre.

The main sin was the sin of his trade, as Ezekiel 28:18 calls it. This included both his own wrongdoing and his people’s, because their sin is laid at his door. He allowed it and set a bad example, as Ezekiel 28:16 says: “By your many goods, they filled your midst with violence, and you sinned.” He was so absorbed in commerce, and so fixed on profit, that he did not care to do justice. He did not protect the weak, nor did he correct wrongs done to them.

In the rush of business, wrong was done to many through carelessness. In his dealings, he also used his power to take away the rights of others. Those who have a great deal to manage in this world are in real danger of doing much wrong. It is hard to deal with many people without hurting some of them. Trades are often called mysteries, but too many turn them into mysteries of sin.

His other great sin was pride and self-importance, as Ezekiel 28:17 says: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty.” He was in love with himself and with his own image. “And you have corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor,” meaning that the brightness and display of his life blinded him. He stared so much at his own greatness that he could no longer see clearly. He looked so inflated with pride that he lost both his wisdom and the respect that came with it. He truly became a fool by boasting.

People make a bad trade when they give up wisdom just to feed their vanity. To satisfy a shallow desire, they lose a real and precious good. That is a costly exchange.

Now notice, second, what ruin this sin brought on him. He was cast out of his rank and driven from his palace, which he treated like both a paradise and a temple. Ezekiel 28:16 says, “I will throw you out, as one who is profane, from the mountain of God.” His royal power was like a mountain, high above others. It was called a mountain of God, because all authority is appointed by God and has something sacred about it. But since he abused that power, he was counted as profane, and so he was removed.

He had dishonored the crown he wore, and by doing so he lost it. He would be destroyed from the midst of the stones of fire, the precious stones that decorated his palace like a temple. Those stones would not protect him.

He was also brought into contempt and disgrace, and trampled by his neighbors. “I will cast you to the ground,” says Ezekiel 28:17. “I will cast you among the pavement stones, from the midst of the precious stones.” He would become a sad warning to kings, so they might look at him and learn not to be proud and harsh.

He was also completely consumed, both he and his city. “I will bring fire from your midst,” says Ezekiel 28:18. The conquerors, after stripping the city of its wealth, would set it on fire in the center of it, especially the palace, and burn it to ashes. Or this may mean, more generally, the fire of God’s judgments, which would destroy both ruler and people and bring their glory to ashes on the ground. That fire would come from within you. God’s judgments on sinners often rise from their own sins. They are burned up by a fire they helped start.

In this way he became a terrible example of God’s judgment. Ezekiel 28:18 says that all who know him will be astonished. They will wonder how someone who stood so high could fall so low. The king of Tyre’s palace, like the temple at Jerusalem, would become a shocking sight and something people hiss at, as in 2 Chronicles 7:20-21. So the king of Tyre fell.