Ezechiele 28:21 Commento

In this chapter we have, I. A prediction of the fall and ruin of the king of Tyre, who, in the destruction of that city, is particularly set up as a mark for God's arrows (Eze 28:1-10). II. A lamentation for the king of Tyre, when he has thus fallen, though he falls by his own iniquity (Eze 28:11-19). III. A prophecy of the destruction of Zidon, which as in the neighbourhood of Tyre and had a dependence upon it (Eze 28:20-23). IV. A promise of the restoration of the Israel of God, though in the day of their calamity they were insulted over by their neighbours (Eze 28:24-26).

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 28 This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of the prince of Tyre; a lamentation for the king of Tyre; a denunciation of judgments on Zidon, and a promise of peace and safety to Israel. The order given the prophet to prophesy of the ruin of the prince of Tyre, Eze 28:1, the cause of his ruin, his pride on account of his wisdom and riches, which rose to such a pitch, as to make himself God, Eze 28:2, the manner in which his destruction shall be accomplished, Eze 28:7, the lamentation for the king of Tyre begins Eze 28:11, setting forth his former grandeur and dignity, Eze 28:13, his fall, and the cause of it, injustice and violence in merchandise, pride because of beauty and wisdom, and profanation of sanctuaries, Eze 28:16, next follow the judgments on Zidon, Eze 28:20, and the chapter is concluded with a promise of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and of great tranquillity and safety in it, Eze 28:24.

Son of man, set thy face against Zidon,.... An ancient city, near to Tyre, and in confederacy with it, greatly given to idolatry and superstition; and may design all the antichristian states in the communion of the church of Rome: and prophesy against it; the prophet is bid to look towards this place with a stern countenance, as before against Tyre; threatening it with ruin, and prophesying of it, in the following manner.

(Verse 20 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face against Sidon and prophesy against it, and say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Sidon, and I will be glorified in you. And they shall know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in her and am sanctified in her. And I will send pestilence upon her and blood in her streets, and the slain shall fall in her midst, by the sword all around, and they shall know that I am the Lord. And there will no longer be a stumbling block of bitterness and a thorn inflicting pain in every direction for the house of Israel (or those who have insulted them). And they will know that I am the Lord their God. Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples (or from the nations) among whom they are scattered, I will be sanctified in them before the nations. And they will dwell in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob, and they will dwell there securely (or in hope). And they will build houses and plant vineyards, and they will dwell confidently (or in hope) when I execute judgments on all who oppose them (or have insulted them) on every side. And they will know that I am the Lord their God. And what follows, according to the Septuagint: And you, the God of their fathers, is not found in Hebrew. Furthermore, after Tyre, the speech turns to Sidon; for both cities are part of the same province. And in the Gospel, Tyre and Sidon are mentioned together: If the miracles which were done in you were done in Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 11:21). Therefore, even the Canaanite woman, whose daughter was possessed by a demon, because she came from the region of Tyre and Sidon, obtained what she had asked for (ibid., 15). But the divine word predicts that it will be taken captive by the Babylonians, and it will know the weight of its evils, that He Himself is the Lord: when He has judged it, and has been sanctified in it, and has consumed it with hunger and pestilence, and with the sword: so that it falls in its streets, and no longer becomes a stumbling block to the people of God, nor does it frequently attack them. But when this has been done, the people of Israel, whom He had dispersed into various nations, will return to their own land, and they will be sanctified in them, not for evil, as in Sidon, but for good, when He has shown mercy to them, and they will dwell in the land which He gave to their father Jacob, and they will dwell securely, and in the Lord they will trust, and they will build houses, and plant vineyards, when He has fulfilled His promises to them: and then they will know that He Himself is the Lord, whose promises are most firm. Many refer to the time of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, when the people of Israel returned and lived in the land of Judah. Others, however, hope for its fulfillment in the last time and in a thousand years. Moreover, according to spiritual understanding, this seems to have a symbolic meaning for us. Sidonians are interpreted as hunters, about whom it is also written in the Psalms: Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the snare of the hunters (Psalm 124:7). And in Proverbs: The eye of a harlot is the snare of a sinner (Prov. XXIII, 27). But there are also hunters on the good side, of whom Jeremiah writes: Behold, I will send fishermen and hunters, who will hunt you down from every hill and mountain (Jerem. XVI, 16): whom the Lord also sends to fish, and makes them fishers of men (Matth. IV). Hence the village of Peter and Andrew is called by this name: For Bethsaida in our language means 'the house of hunters'. Against these wretched hunters, the word of God is directed, and the prophet is commanded to set his face against Sidon and not waver in the wind of doctrine, but stand firm in the truth and destroy his hunters. So what is it that the Lord threatens against Sidon? Behold, I myself will come to you and be glorified in you when I destroy you, and all who live will know that I am the Lord when I repay you according to what you deserve. And I will send pestilence and blood into your streets. And rightly are they called streets of Sidon: for it is a wide and spacious road that leads to death (Matt. 7). And the slain will fall, those who stood evilly by the sword in a circle: by that sword which the Lord came to send upon the earth, so that He may separate what is improperly joined, and so that those who remain may know that He Himself is the Lord. And when they have ceased, there will no longer be any stumbling block of bitterness, nor a thorn that pierces and wounds the people of God. But all these things are said against the opposing powers, that they may be destroyed in the end time, and there may be eternal security when the Lord gathers the house of Israel, those who perceive God with understanding. And he will be sanctified in them, and that which is written will be fulfilled: Be holy, for I am holy (Leviticus 19:2). And they will dwell in their own land, as we read elsewhere: I believe in seeing the good things of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 16:13). What Jacob gave, who had supplanted his brother earlier, and earned the primacy for himself. And they will dwell in it securely, either in hope, and they will build houses, plant vineyards, and dwell confidently in hope, according to what is read in Isaiah: Those who have been weaned from milk, those who have been taken away from the breast, expect tribulation upon tribulation, and hope upon hope (Isa. 60). But they will build houses, as also built in the Gospel, who established foundations not on sand, but on rock (Matt. 7). Of which it is written: Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it (Ps. 127:1). And in Exodus, according to the Septuagint: Because the midwives feared the Lord, they built houses for themselves (Exod. 1:21), and many such things. But when the Lord executes judgment against those who oppose or inflict insults on Israel, all creatures will know that He is the Lord, whose judgments are true and justified in themselves.

The first part of this chapter relates to a King of Tyre, probably the same who is called in the Phoenician annals Ithobalus. He seems to have been a vain man, who affected Divine honors. The prophet treats his foolish pretensions with severe irony, and predicts his doom, Eze 28:1-10. He then takes up a funeral dirge and lamentation over him, in which his former pomp and splendor are finely contrasted with his fall, in terms that seem frequently to allude to the fall of Lucifer from heaven, (Isaiah 14), Eze 28:11-19. The overthrow of Sidon, the mother city of Tyre, is next announced, Eze 28:20-23; and the chapter concludes with a promise to the Jews of deliverance from all their enemies, and particularly of their restoration from the Babylonish captivity, Eze 28:24-26.

PROPHETICAL DIRGE ON THE KING OF TYRE, AS THE CULMINATION AND EMBODIMENT OF THE SPIRIT OF CARNAL PRIDE AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF THE WHOLE STATE. THE FALL OF ZIDON, THE MOTHER CITY. THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL IN CONTRAST WITH TYRE AND ZIDON. (Eze. 28:1-26) Because, &c.--repeated resumptively in Eze 28:6. The apodosis begins at Eze 28:7. "The prince of Tyrus" at the time was Ithobal, or Ithbaal II; the name implying his close connection with Baal, the Phœnician supreme god, whose representative he was. I am a god, I sit in . . . seat of God . . . the seas--As God sits enthroned in His heavenly citadel exempt from all injury, so I sit secure in my impregnable stronghold amidst the stormiest elements, able to control them at will, and make them subserve my interests. The language, though primarily here applied to the king of Tyre, as similar language is to the king of Babylon (Isa 14:13-14), yet has an ulterior and fuller accomplishment in Satan and his embodiment in Antichrist (Dan 7:25; Dan 11:36-37; Th2 2:4; Rev 13:6). This feeling of superhuman elevation in the king of Tyre was fostered by the fact that the island on which Tyre stood was called "the holy island" [SANCONIATHON], being sacred to Hercules, so much so that the colonies looked up to Tyre as the mother city of their religion, as well as of their political existence. The Hebrew for "God" is El, that is, "the Mighty One." yet, &c.--keen irony. set thine heart as . . . heart of God--Thou thinkest of thyself as if thou wert God.

Zidon--famous for its fishery (from a root, Zud, "to fish"); and afterwards for its wide extended commerce; its artistic elegance was proverbial. Founded by Canaan's first-born (Gen 10:15). Tyre was an offshoot from it, so that it was involved in the same overthrow by the Chaldeans as Tyre. It is mentioned separately, because its idolatry (Ashtaroth, Tammuz, or Adonis) infected Israel more than that of Tyre did (Eze 8:14; Jdg 10:6; Kg1 11:33). The notorious Jezebel was a daughter of the Zidonian king.