365 Reflections

Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 1:20, "Where is the wise man?" referring to his age and acknowledging that Christ Jesus and the simple Gospel message have superseded human wisdom beyond our rational thought. Who would have thought that to save the world, God would enter it, not in prominence but in poverty, and who would have thought that to save the world, God would die on a cross and rise instead of killing His enemies?  The wisdom of every age is eventually undone by the truth of God's Word. This is the case for Tyre's king, who, perhaps at the time of Ezekiel's writing, was the wisest, noblest man on Earth. But his pride brought him down. Ezekiel 28:1–2 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god— Thi...

Ezekiel 27 is a funeral dirge of prophecy against Tyre, a coastal city that had become the linchpin of ancient commerce. Every nation imaginable, including Judah and Israel, did business with this city. So the dirge opens with poetic language referring to Tyre as a ship.  Ezekiel 27:6–9 (ESV) Of oaks of Bashan they made your oars; they made your deck of pines from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory. 7 Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your banner; blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was your awning. 8 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you; they were your pilots. 9 The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you, caulking your seams; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to barter for your wares. Then, the prophet enumerates all the nations with whom Tyre did business.  Ezekiel 27:12–16 (ESV) “Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every ...

The nation of Israel had a complicated relationship with the ancient people of Tyre, or at least their kings. David and Hiram, the king of Tyre, cooperated at one time.  2 Samuel 5:11 (ESV) And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. But Tyre, as an ancient people, was interested in its own glory far above anything else. Bible historians point out that Tyre was a political mastermind, playing Assyria and Egypt off each other to enrich itself, becoming one of the great merchant marine nations of ancient times.  Ezekiel spends a lot of time addressing this nation. Later, he will refer to the king of Tyre in satanic imagery in Eden, which elevates the content of his prophecy against this people even more.  Ezekiel 26:1–3 (ESV) In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is brok...

The turn in Ezekiel's prophesy seems to come in chapter 24 with the death of the prophet's wife. He symbolizes for the nation that their precious possession, the Temple, will be lost, and they would be unable to grieve in captivity to Babylon for fear of seeming seditious. Now, in chapter 25, the message from the Lord to the prophet is against those nations that scoffed, laughed at, or helped in the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.  Ezekiel 25:1–4 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your m...

Some of the things the Lord asked the prophets were difficult to understand. Perhaps at the top of the list is what the Lord asks of Ezekiel in chapter 24.  Ezekiel 24:15–18 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded. The NLT has it described in even more striking detail.  Ezekiel 24:16 (NLT) “Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. Now, the people are understandably confused by all this. But Ezekiel tells them his life is a sign for them....

Ezekiel 23 introduces us to the parable of two sisters who played the whore and were handed over to what they desired. Oholah, who stands for Samaria, and Oholibah, who stands for Jerusalem, the respective capitals of the northern and southern kingdoms.  The names have definitions. Oholah means "her tent," which commentators suggest refers to the many tent shrines scattered on "every hill" in the Northern tribes that sought after God and false gods according to their own imagination. Oholibah means, "My tent is in her" referring to the sacred tabernacle in which God dwelt that He chose to do in Jerusalem.  These two nations committed spiritual adultery on the Lord, seeking the praise and prominence of the nations around them.  The Northern tribes lusted after Assyria.  Ezekiel 23:5–6 (ESV) “Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors 6 clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable...