We saw previously that Ezekiel 25–32 contain oracles from God against various enemies of Judah. We specifically considered chapter 25, where the Lord pronounced judgement against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. These were relatively brief oracles. The oracle against Tyre (chapters 26–28) and Egypt (chapters 29–32) are far more extended.
Ezekiel’s word for Tyre comes in three parts, each of which reiterate the same basic message but from a slightly different perspective. The first part (chapter 26) takes the form of a straightforward prophecy. The second part (chapter 27) reiterates the message but in the form of a lament. The third part (chapter 28) repeats the same message but by directing it toward Tyre’s king as representative of his people. (The Egyptian oracle, we will see, follows a similar pattern.) Each part ends with the same message: that Tyre will come to a horrible end and will be no more.
Similar to Yahweh’s condemnation of Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia (chapter 25), his rebuke of Tyre was motivated by their rejoicing at Judah’s downfall. Significantly, Tyre’s rejoicing seems to have been economically motivated. “Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste” (26:2). Jerusalem was ideally placed to form a central hub in ancient trade. Witnessing her destruction, Tyre believed that she could take Judah’s place. She rejoiced because Jerusalem’s destruction promised her great prosperity.
Ezekiel’s message was that Tyre must not rejoice because the God who brought judgement on Jerusalem and Judah would do the same to Tyre. Tyre would be reduced to a wasteland and her glory never regained (26:14). Lament (chapter 27) was a well-established literary form in the ancient world in which a people’s former prosperity was compared to its present (or future) desolation. Finally, Ezekiel turns his attention in 28:1–19 to the king of Tyre as representative of his people. These verses combine prophecy and lament against the king as a personification of the nation. Ezekiel 28:20–23 then contain a quick word against Tyre’s sister, Sidon, before 28:24–26 closes the chapter with a brief word of hope for God’s people.
Some interpreters have found in chapter 28 a reference to the devil before his fall, but there is little warrant to interpret Ezekiel’s words that way. However, we should observe, from a devotional perspective, that Tyre’s attitude toward Judah was, indeed, satanic.
Iain Duguid suggests that Satan typically employs a threefold strategy when he opposes people: persecution, seduction, and deception. He is clever enough to know which strategy will work best in any given situation. Evidently, the best strategy for turning Tyre against Yahweh was seduction. These chapters are filled with satanic promises of prosperity, by which the devil successfully deceived Tyre into opposing God’s people. Many of us display a similar weakness.
At the heart of seduction is the promise of prosperity. The devil knows that people idolise prosperity, comfort, and security and he promises prosperity to further his deception. He seduces some by “secular” promises of prosperity—whether by hard work, deceit, or get-rich-quick schemes—and others by a religious prosperity gospel. Regardless, his promise of prosperity strikes at the heart of our desires.
The problem with the devil’s promises is the shallowness of the “beauty” he holds before us. The prosperity with which he tempts us looks attractive in the moment, but it always conceals something more sinister. Satan promises us that we get what we see, but usually we find out that the cost is far greater than we imagined. The “beauty” of sexual “freedom” conceals the pain of broken relationships. The “beauty” of career advancement hides the pain of losing our children. The “beauty” of more possessions hides the crushing weight of debt and all the deep anxiety that attends it. There is always a greater cost than we can possibly imagine.
God sometimes acts decisively through affliction and loss to wean us from our infatuation with seduction. But the ultimate cure for seduction is an appreciation of the surpassing beauty of Christ. As the old favourite song says, when we turn our eyes upon Jesus and look full in his wonderful face, the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
As you meditate on Ezekiel 26–28 this morning, ask God for a more glorious vision of Christ so that his surpassing beauty will outshine every other seduction that the devil would bring before you.