Ezekiel 27
1 “The
word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Now,
thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;”
Take up a
lamentation for Tyrus. The dirge over the merchant-city that follows,
the
doom sic transit gloria mundi
(thus passes the glory of the
world), worked
out
with a fullness of detail which reminds us of the Homeric catalogue of
ships (‘Iliad,’ 2:484-770), is almost, if not altogether,
without a parallel in
the
history of literature. It can scarcely have rested on anything but
personal knowledge. Ezekiel, we must believe, had, at some time or
other
in
his life, trod the sinful streets of the great city, and noted the mingled
crowd of many nations and in many costumes that he met there,
just as we
infer from Dante’s vivid description of the dockyards of
21:7-15) that he had visited that city. Apart from its
poetic or prophetic
interest, it is for us almost the locus classicus (a
classic case or example)
as to the geography and commerce of that old world of which
some sense the center.
We may compare it, from that point of view, with the
ethnological statements in Genesis 10.; just as, from the
standpoint of prophecy,
it has to be compared with Isaiah’s “burden” against
and with John’s representation of
Apocalypse (Revelation 18.).
3 “And say
unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of
the sea,
which art a merchant of the people for many
isles, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; O Tyrus,
thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.”
We begin with the picture of the city, situate at the entry
(Hebrew, entries), or harbors of the sea. Of
these
northern, known as the Sidonian;
the southern, as the Egyptian. There she
dwelt, a merchant
of the peoples, that came, in
the wider sense of the
word (see ch. 26:15), from the isles of the
perfect in beauty. The boast here put
into the mouth of the city appears
afterwards as the utterance of its ruler, or as applied to
him (ch.28:2, 15-17).
We are reminded of
Aestheticism as a Religion (v. 3)
“Thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.” The craze for aestheticism has
been exalted into the creed of a new religion. It is well to see once for
all
what this means, and how hollow,
foolish, and fatal are its pretensions.
Ø
It is more than the enjoyment
of beauty, which is innocent and even
helpful to a right appreciation of God’s wonderful works. Beauty
implies harmony and refinement; it excludes everything harsh and
coarse. So far it is good.
Ø
AEstheticism is more than the effort to produce beauty. This aim
of
art is good.
Ø
It is more also than
the consecration of beauty to the service of religion.
This is right; we should bring
our best to God; religion should be
Honored with
the homage rendered to it by art.
Ø
But aestheticism as a
religion makes an idol of the sacrifice, by
putting the beauty, which should be enlisted in the service of
God, in
the place of God Himself. It is
bowing the knee to
beauty. It sees nothing higher than the perfection of grace and
color and melody. (I cite the works of Robert Maplethorpe in
its desecrations, the excesses of
carnal Hip-Hop – CY – 2014)
This is as much idolatry as the
Hottentot’s
adoration of a hideous fetish.
GREATEST ERRORS.
The beautiful is not always the true. There are
lovely lies and there are ugly truths. By exalting the idea of
the beautiful
above all else, we sacrifice truth wherever the two do not
agree. Thus the
sterner facts of life are ignored and its less attractive duties
left out of
account.
satisfied with something lower than the
beauty of holiness. If it rose to the
celestial beauty, it could not afford to discard goodness, for all
beauty that
admits evil is corrupted with MORAL UGLINESS; but this is not
perceived
by the proponents of
aestheticism. Therefore there is a degradation of
the
very idea of beauty. Too often this is in danger of falling even lower,
till
Beauty becomes a tempter
to sin.
SOUL.
A man cannot live on the perpetual contemplation of a
lily. Too
much beauty satiates. The soul needs the sustenance of solid truth. It
requires INWARD SPIRITUAL GRACE!
In the hour of temptation
and in the season of great sorrow the
religion of beauty utterly fails.
It may charm the sentimental; it
has no spell for the suffering; it cannot
save the fallen; it has no evangel.
was proud of her beauty and confident in it. But this was only
a piece of
senseless self-deception.
Her imposing palaces did not keep back the
invader; they rather invited his ruthless armies. She found no
security in the
vain boast, “I am of perfect
beauty.” There is NO REDEMPTION in
aestheticism. The sinner will
not find here any refuge from the doom of his
guilt. It would be a poor diet for unfallen
angels; for fallen men it is
assuredly no healing balm. Beauty
has been brought down to SHAME and
SUFFERING. NO
CULTURE OF ART OR LITERATURE will lift
the refined mind out of the danger that threatens “the common herd” of
sinners. Cultured and rough people
must come through the same strait
gate of penitence and walk the same narrow way of the footsteps
of Christ
if they would hope for salvation. (Matthew 7:13-14)
4 “Thy
borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have
perfected thy beauty.” In the midst of the seas; literally, in the heart (Revised
Version). The words were true of the island-city, but Ezekiel
has already
present to his thoughts the idealized picture of the city
under the figure of
its stateliest ship. The builders are ship-builders, and in
the verses that
follow we have a picture of the Bucentaur
of the
world.
5 “They have made all thy ship boards of fir
trees of Senir: they have
taken cedars from
The name appears in Deuteronomy 3:9 and Song of
Solomon 4:8 as Shenir;
in I Chronicles 5:23 it is spelled as here. From Deuteronomy 3:9 we learn that
it was the Amorite name for Hermon, as Sirion was the Sidonian name. In
I Kings 5:10 Hiram King of
cedar timber mentioned here for the erection of his palace, the house of
the
the cedar for houses (Virgil, ‘Georg.,’
2:444). The Hebrew for “boards” is
unique in its form as a plural with a dual form superadded
to indicate that
each plank had its counterpart on the other side of the
ship.
6 Of the
oaks of
the Ashurites
have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the
isles of Chittim.” The high
plateau of Bashan, the region east of the sea of
Galilee and the
now, for its oak forests and its wild cattle (Psalm 22:12). The company of
the Ashurites, etc.; better, with
the Revised Version, they have made thy
benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood. The Authorized Version follows the
present Hebrew text, but the name of the nation there is
not the same as
that of the Assyrians, and corresponds with the Ashurites of II Samuel
2:9 — an obscure tribe of Canaanites, possibly identical
with the
Geshurites. A difference of punctuation or spelling (Bithasshurim for
Bathasshu-rim) gives the
meaning which the Revised Version follows;
thasshur being used in Isaiah
41:19 and 60:13 for the box tree, or perhaps
cypress, or larch, as forming part of the glory of
in ship or house building seems to have been one of the
arts for which
was famous. So we have the ivory
Sidonian queen (I Kings 22:39) and those of the monarch who had
married a Tyrian princess in
Psalm 45:8 (see also Amos 3:15). For
the use of such inlaid wood in later times, see Virgil, ‘AEneid,’ 10:137.
Either the ivory or the wood is said to come from the isles of Chittim.
The word was about as wide in its use as the “
retains a memorial of it in Citium.
The Vulgate, as in Numbers 24:24,
identifies it here with
Chittim” as trieres et Romani, while in I Maccabees
1:1, it is used of
including
from Javan, i.e. are
classed as Greeks or Ionians. The ivory which the
Tyrians used probably came from
supplied through
have come also from
with which the Phoenicians carried on a trade with
work, sometimes in wood, sometimes with enamel, is found
both in
Egyptian and Assyrian remains (‘Dict.
Bible,’ s.v. “Ivory”).
7 “Fine
linen with broidered work from
forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from
the isles of Elishah was that which
covered thee.” For the fine linen
of Egypt, the byssus famous in its
commerce, see Genesis 41:42; Exodus 26:36. This, which took
the
place of the coarse canvas of the common ships, was
made more
magnificent by being embroidered with purple or crimson,
with gold
borders. The ship of
swelled out with the wind, served as a banner. The ancient
ships had no
flags or pennons. So the Revised Version renders, of
fine linen, was thy
sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign. The word for “sail”
in the
Authorized Version is rendered “banner” in Psalm 60:4; Isaiah 13:2, and
“ensign” in Ibid.ch. 11:12. The
isles of Elishah. The name
appears in Genesis 10:4 as one of the sons of Javan. It has been
identified, on the ground chiefly of similarity of sound,
with
supplied the purple dye. The Targum
gives
conjectured. The murex is common all over the
Mediterranean, but
and
in the case of “Chittim,” the
word was used with considerable latitude. The
latter clause of the verse describes the awning over the
deck of the queenly
ship. Was Ezekiel describing what he had actually seen in
the state-ship of
8 “The
inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad
were thy mariners: thy wise
men, O Tyrus,
that were in thee, were thy pilots.”
The two cities are named as tributaries of
drew her sailors, the Tyrians
themselves acting as captains and pilots.
Zidon (now Saida) is named in Genesis 10:15 as the firstborn of
Canaan, and was older than
identified with the Greek Aradus,
the modern Ruad, an island about two
miles from the coast, about two miles north of the mouth of
the river
Eleutheros (Nahr-el-Kebir). It is
scarcely a mile in circumference, but was
prominent enough to be named here and in Genesis 10:18; I
Chronicles 1:16.
Opposite to it on the mainland was the town of
the Revised Version gives rowers.
9 “The
ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in
thee thy
calkers: all the ships of the sea with their
mariners were in thee to
occupy thy merchandise.” The ancients of Gebal. The word is used in
the
sense of “elders” or “senators,” the governing body. Gebal, for which the
Septuagint gives Biblii, is identified
with the Greek Byblus. The name appears in
Psalm 83:7 in connection, among other nations, with
as allied with them against
Hermon; in I Kings 5:18 (margin Revised Version) as among the
stonemasons who worked with Hiram’s builders. Byblus was situated on
an eminence overlooking the river Adonis between
modern name, Gebail, retains
the old Semitic form, and its ruins abound in
marble and granite columns of Phoenician and Egyptian
workmanship. The
work of the caulkers
was to stop the chinks of the ship, and the men of
Gebal appear to have been especially skillful in this. We note
that the
metaphor of the ship falls into the background in the
latter clause of the
verse, and does not appear again.
10 “They
of
of war: they hanged the shield and helmet
in thee; they set forth thy
comeliness.”
before the exile,
Ezekiel wrote that the Persians were becoming conspicuous
through their
alliance with the Medes. So we find it again in ch. 38:5; Daniel 5:28;
8:20; II Chronicles 36:20, 22; Ezra 1:1; 4:5; Esther 1:3.
Here they are named
as mercenaries in the Tyrian
army. Lud. The Septuagint and the
Vulgate, led by the similarity of sound, give Lydians. In Genesis 10:13
the Ludim appear as descendants
of Mizraim, while Lud in
Ibid. v. 22 is
joined with
with “Phut” (i.e.
to an African nation (compare also ch.30:5; Isaiah 66:19). Phut. Both the
Septuagint and the Vulgate give Libyans. In Genesis
10:6 the name is joined
with Cash and Mizraim. The Lubim Libyans) are named as forming part of
Shishak’s army in II Chronicles 12:3; 16:8, and in Nahum 3:9 and
Jeremiah 46:9
as closely allied with the Egyptians. Ezekiel names Phut again as sharing in the
fall of
Mr. R. S. Peele is inclined to
identify them with the Nubians.
11 “The
men of Arvad with thine
army were upon thy walls round
about, and the Gammadims
were in thy towers: they hanged their
shields upon thy walls round about; they
have made thy beauty
perfect.” (For
Arvad, see v. 8.) Gammadim. The Septuagint translates
“guards” (φύλακες - phulakes); the Vulgate, Pygmies, probably as
connecting the name with Gamad (equivalent
to “a cubit”). The Targum gives
“watchmen;” Gesenius, “warriors:”
Hitzig, “deserters.” The name probably
indicates that they were the flower of the Tyrian army — the life-guards
(like the “Immortals” of the Persians) of the
merchant-city. On the whole,
we must leave the problem as one that we have no data for
solving. The
grouping with Arvad, however,
suggests a Syrian or Phoenician tribe.
They hanged their
shields. The custom seems to
have been specially
Phoenician. Solomon introduced it at
The sight of the walls thus decorated, the shields being
sometimes gilt
or painted, must have been sufficiently striking to warrant
Ezekiel’s phrase
that thus the beauty of the city was “made perfect” by it. The custom
reappears in I Maccabees 4:57.
12 “Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all
kind of
riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead,
they traded in thy fairs.”
Tarashish. The description of the city is followed by a
catalogue raisonnee of the countries with which she traded. Here we are
on more certain ground, there being a general consensus
that Tarshish, the
Greek Tartessus, indicates the
coast of
the ancient world for the metals named (Jeremiah 10:9). The
ships of
Tarshish (I Kings 22:48; Isaiah 2:16) were the larger merchant
vessels
that were made for this distant traffic. Like all such
names, it was
probably used with considerable latitude, and it is worth
noting that both
the Septuagint and the Vulgate give Carthaginians.
Probably the chief
Phoenician colonies in
offshoots from
Kirjath (equivalent to
“city”). Traded in thy fairs; better, with the
Revised Version, traded for thy wares; i.e. they
bartered their mineral
treasures for the goods brought by the Tyrian
merchants. The same
Hebrew word appears in vs. 14,16,19, 22-23, but is not
found
elsewhere in the Old Testament, and may have been a
technical word in
Tyrian commerce. The Septuagint gives ἀγορά – agora – market
- the
Vulgate, nundinae, which
seems to have
suggested the Revised Version.
13 “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded
the persons of men and vessels of brass in
thy market.”
Javan (father of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim, and
son of Japheth, Genesis 10:2, 4) stands generically for
probably represents
Ibid. v. 2, and are always grouped together, except in
Psalm 120:5,
where Meshech appears alone, and
in Isaiah 66:19, where Tubal
is named, but not Meshech. In
ch.32:26 they are associated with
two names probably represented the tribes on the southeast
coast of the
buying them in exchange for their manufactured goods, and
selling them to
the cities of
appear as Tibaroni and Moschi (Herod., 3:94; Xenophon, ‘Anab.,’ 5:5. 2,
etal.). In Joel 3:6 Tyrians are
represented as selling Israelites as slaves in
Greek cities (Hebrew “sons of Javan”).
times the chief countries from which
of brass. Here, as throughout
the Old Testament, we should read
“copper,” the mixed metal which we know as “brass” not
Being known to
ancient metallurgy. Copper-mines were found near the
The Slave Trade (v. 13)
Among the wares that the Phoenicians imported into
slaves. “With the persons of men… did they trade for
thy wares” from
Javan and elsewhere. Thus early have we a picture of that hideous traffic in
human flesh which is desolating the continent of
(This was written two to three centuries back – CY – 2014)
EXTENT. This is
no small evil. Every traveler into the interior of
writes of its wide prevalence; Whole provinces, vast regions as
big as
European kingdoms,
are completely wrecked and depopulated. We are
here face to face with
one of the most gigantic evils of the human race.
in the very seizing of innocent human beings, depriving them
of their
liberty, tearing them from their families, driving them from their
native
villages, and exporting them to foreign countries, there to live in
perpetual
bondage. But, the manner in which this process is carried out
aggravates
the cruelty of it immensely. No proper provision is made for
the transport
of great companies of men, women, and children through vast
regions of
African forest
to the coast, and thence by sea to their destination. By far
the larger portion of the stolen victims perish on the way,
after suffering
piteously.
slaves are our fellow-men. The Greek slaves of antiquity were
higher in
race than their captors. But we have no reason to believe that
they were
treated so cruelly as the African slaves are treated by the Arabs.
The
modern slaves are lower in civilization than their captors — they
cannot Be
lower in morals. But it is the more shameful that a powerful
people should
oppress these children of nature. They are human, and God “hath made of
one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17:26). Mankind is insulted
in the
person of the slaves and degraded to the level of devilry in that
of their
hunters.
HEAVEN. The
notion that the Arabs are civilizing
preparing for Christianity by leading the native people out of their
heathen
darkness to the belief in one God and the higher life of
Mohammedanism,
is not encouraged by the reports of those who have witnessed
what is
happening on the spot. On the contrary, the enforced conversion of
whole
tribes who are terrorized by the slave-hunters cannot mean any
real
advance in religion, while the awful wickedness of the trade
carried on by
these Mohammedan missionaries is one of the greatest sins in the
sight of
God.
more needed or more blessed in its result than one that was
wisely directed
for the suppression of this curse of
philanthropy. Christ infuses an enthusiasm of humanity in His true
followers. Christians should not rest till they have done all that
in them lies
to suppress the vile, cruel slave-trade.
14
“They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy
fairs with horses and
horsemen and mules.” Togarmah. The name appears in
ch.38:6 as an ally of
Gog, in Genesis 10:3 as a son of Gomer. Jerome
identifies it with
Phrygia, others with
5. 34; Strabo, 11:14. 9; Herod.,
1:194).
15 “The
men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the
merchandise of thine
hand: they brought thee for a present horns of
ivory and ebony.” The men of Dedan. The name occurs again in v. 20, and
has already met us in ch.25:13 (where see note). Here the
words
probably refer to the many isles of the Persian Gulf or the
ships of Solomon and Hiram — ships of Tarshish
(name used generically
for merchant-vessels) — brought ivory among their other
imports, starting
from Ezion-Geber (I Kings 9:26; 10:22).
Ebony came from
and
produced it (‘Georg.,’ 2:115).
of supply. The Septuagint curiously enough gives Rhodians, the Hebrew letters
for d and r being easily mistaken by copyists.
16 “
thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with
emeralds, purple, and
broidered work, and fine linen, and coral,
and agate.”
seems to have read Adam (equivalent to “man”), another
instance of the fact
just referred to. And this has led many commentators (Michaelis,
Ewald, Hitzig, Furst)
to conjecture, following the Peshito Version, that
know too little of the commerce of
in its exports, and the fact that the broidered work of
famous from of old (Joshua 7:21), and that it was also the
oldest
emporium for precious stones, may be urged in favor of the
present
reading, and of taking
On the other hand, the mention of onyx, sapphire, coral,
pearls, topaz, in
Job 28:16-19, the local coloring of which is essentially Idumaean,
supports the conjectural emendation. Emeralds (compare Exodus 28:18).
Some writers identify it with the carbuncle. It meets us
again in ch.28:13.
The fine linen (butz) is
different from that of v. 7 (shesh) and
appears only in the later books of the Old Testament (I
Chronicles 4:21;
II Chronicles 3:14; Esther 1:6, etal.).
It was probably the
byssus of the Greeks, made of cotton, while the Egyptian fabric
was of
flax. Coral. The Hebrew (ramoth)
occurs only here and in Job 28:18.
“Coral” is the traditional Jewish interpretation, but
the Septuagint
transliterates, and the Vulgate gives secure. Agate is found here and in
Isaiah 54:12, and has been identified with the ruby or
carbuncle. In
Exodus 28:19 and 39:12 the English represents a different
Hebrew word.
17 “
in thy market wheat of Minnith,
and Pannag, and honey, and oil,
and balm.”
occupied by the Phoenicians was unable to supply its
crowded population.
It was dependent on
Solomon (I Kings 5:9-11) and continued to be so to those of
Herod
Agrippa (Acts 12:20). Minnith appears in
Judges 11:33 as a city of
the Ammonites near Heshbon, and
the region of Ammon was famous for
its wheat (II Chronicles 27:5). Minnith
wheat probably fetched the
highest price in the Tyrian
markets. Pannag is found here only. The
versions, Targum, Septuagint, give (μύροι – muroi - ointments), Vulgate,
balsam. Most modern commentators take it as meaning
sweetmeats, the syrup
of grape-juice,
possibly something like the modern rahat-la-koum of
Turkish
commerce. Possibly, like Minnith,
it may have been a proper name the
significance of which is lost to us. Honey was at all times one of the
famous products of
Exodus 33:3).
18 “
making, for the multitude of all riches; in
the wine of Helbon, and
white wool.”
the wine of Helbon. The name
occurs only here in the Old Testament. The
Septuagint gives Chel-ben;
the Vulgate, as if it described the quality of the
wine, vinum pingue. It has been identified with
but both of these places are too remote from
Porter (‘Dict. Bible,’ s.v.) finds it in a place a few miles from
still bearing the name, and famous as producing the finest
grapes in
Strabo (Ezekiel 15. p. 735) names the wine of Chalybon
as the favorite
drink of the Persian kings, and Athenaeus
(1:22) says the same of the wine
of
with Kedes, as a Hittite city,
and Brugsch (‘Geogr. AEgypt.,’ 2:45) agrees
with Porter as to its position. White wool. The adjective has been taken as
a proper name (Smend) “wool of Zachar,’ the region being identified with
Nabatheaea, which was famous for its sheep. The Septuagint gives “wool
of
19 “Dan
also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy
fairs: bright
iron, cassia, and calamus,
were in thy market.” Dan also; Hebrew, Vedan.
The Authorized Version, following the Vulgate,
takes the first syllable as the
common conjunction “and;”
but no
other verse in the chapter begins in this way,
and the Revised Version is probably right in giving the Hebrew word
as its stands.
Dan, it may be
added, was hardly likely to have been singled out
of all the tribes
after the mention of
ten tribes. Smend identifies it
with Waddan, between
or with
identified conjecturally with an Arabian city. The words,
going to and fro,
have been rendered “from Uzal”
(Genesis 10:27), the ancient name of
the capital of
The bright iron
describes the steel used for sword-blades, for which
(Exodus
30:23; Song of Solomon 4:14) both belong to the class of perfumes for
which
of Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah
6:20.
20 “Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.”
Dedan (see v. 15). Here probably we have another portion
of the same race. The precious clothes for riding (Revised Version) were
probably of the nature of the carpets used then as now as
saddle-cloths —
the ephippia of the
Greeks — in
“ye that sit on
rich carpets,” in Judges 5:10 (Revised
Version). So the
Vulgate, tapetibus ad sedendum. The Septuagint gives κτήνη ἔκλετα –
ktaenae eklekta – precious clothes - as though it referred to horses.
21 “
lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were
they thy merchants.”
sense which attaches to it in the Old Testament (II
Chronicles 9:14; Isaiah 21:13;
Jeremiah 25:24) for the tribes of what in Greek and Roman
geography were
known as Arabia Deserts. Kedar.
The name (equivalent to “black-skinned”)
appears as that of the second son of Ishmael (Genesis
25:13). The black tents
of Kedar (Psalm
120:5; Song of Solomon 1:5) indicate a nomadic tribe of the
Bedouin type, famous, as in Isaiah 60:7 and Jeremiah
49:28-29, for their
flocks of sheep and camels. They appear, also, as having
cities and villages
in Isaiah 42:11. The name is used in later rabbinic
writings for all the
inhabitants of
22 “The
merchants of
they occupied in thy fairs with chief of
all spices, and with all precious
stones, and gold.”
Genesis 10:7 and I Chronicles 1:9, to a grandson of
And I Chronicles 1:22, to a son of Joktan;
and in Genesis 25:3 and
I Chronicles 1:32, to a grandson of Abraham.
Geographically, in
Ezekiel’s time it probably included the South-Arabian
region, that of
Raamah. Named in Genesis 10:7 as father of the Cushite
Sheba,
and probably, therefore, connected with it ethnologically
and
geographically. The chief
of all spices had probably a technical name, like
the “principal
spices” of Exodus 30:23 and Song of Solomon 4:14
for the genuine balsam, the product of the Amyris opobalsamum, which
is
found between
rubies, agates, and cornelians
found in the mountains of Hadramant, and
the jaspers and crystals of
Strabo as a Sabaean tribe (16:782), we
have, perhaps, a survival of the old
name.
23 “
and Chilmad, were
thy merchants.”
pass to
Romans, situated at the point where the old military and
commercial roads
bifurcated towards
direction, and
29:4 as the city of
“
below
famous in Roman history for the defeat of Crassus by the Parthians.
Canneh. The eastern of the two roads just mentioned ran on to Calneh (of
which Canneh is a variant), named
in Genesis 10:10 as one of the cities
built by Nimrod. It is probably represented by the modern Niffer, about
sixty miles southeast of
connection with
conquered by the Assyrians. It has been conjecturally identified
by the
Targum and other ancient writers with
differently in the Hebrew from the
identical with the
II Kings 19:12, where, as here, it is connected with
Assyrian conquests. Its site has not been determined, and
it has been placed
by some geographers in the hill-country above the Upper
Mesopotamian
plains; by others near the confluence of the Tigris and
position of the Eden of Amos 1:5, near
of the same name. The
merchants of
after the full mention of the people in v. 22 arises
probably from the fact
that they were the carriers in the commerce between the
Mesopotamian
cities just named and
commonly does, for
names of cities has led some geographers to identify with a
city Sum (Essurieh)
on the west bank of the
4:24), and on the caravan route which runs from
II Chronicles 8:4) to
The Septuagint gives Charman, a
town near the
Xenophon, ‘Anab.,’ 1:5. 10, as Charmande. It can scarcely have been a
place of much
general note, but may have had some special reputation
which made it prominent in Tyrian
commerce.
24 “These
were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and
broidered work, and in chests of rich
apparel, bound with cords,
and made of cedar, among thy
merchandise.” In all sorts of
things; better,
with the Revised Version, in choice
wares. Hebrew, articles of beauty; or,
as in
margin of the
Authorized Version, “excellent things.” The words
have been
variously interpreted:
The description in detail that follows is so vivid as to
give the impression that
Ezekiel had seen the merchants of
out their treasures as they arrived at
as in the Revised
Version) were the purple robes of
all over the world. The words that follow are somewhat
obscure, but are
probably rightly translated “embroidered of twisted yarn, inwound,
and strong cords
for thy wares.” The yarn may have been
used for
the cordage of the Tyrian ships.
The words, made of cedar, are in this
rendering taken as an adjective, equivalent to “firm” or
“strong”.
25 “The
ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and
thou wast
replenished, and made very glorious in the
midst of the seas.” The verse
begins a new section, and glides back into the original
metaphor of the ship,
as in vs. 4-9. The ships of Tarshish
are used generically for merchant-ships.
The catalogue of the commerce ends with v. 24,
and the more poetic imagery
reappears. It was, as centering in herself all that they brought to her
that the
merchant-city was very glorious in the midst of the
waters. For sing of thee,
read,
the ships of Tarshish
were thy caravans (Revised Version). The
word has also the
sense of “wall,”
as in Jeremiah 5:10 and Job 24:11; and this, describing the ships
as the “wooden walls”
of
26 “Thy
rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath
broken thee in the midst of the seas. 27 “Thy
riches, and thy fairs, thy
merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots,
thy calkers, and the occupiers
of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war,
that are in thee, and in all thy
company which is in the midst of thee,
shall fall into the midst of the seas in
the day of thy ruin.” Thy rowers have
brought thee. The metaphor goes on
its
course. The state-ship is in the open sea, and the east
wind, the Euroclydon
of the
destruction (compare Psalm 48:7). In that destruction all
who contributed
to her prosperity were involved. The picture reminds us of
the description
of the ship of Tarshish in Jonah
1:4-5. The city shall be left, in that terrible
day, in the heart of the
seas (Revised Version).
The troubles that are to overtake Tyro in the Chaldean invasion are
compared by the prophet to a sea of great waters into which the
rowers
have brought the ship — an image that would come home to a maritime
people. Souls may have to
encounter great waters of affliction. Too
often men bring
themselves into their greatest troubles. “Thy rowers have
brought thee into great waters.” Instead of keeping to the sheltered course in
the
lea of the cliffs, the heedless rowers have pulled out into a reach of water
where the sea is running high. Men rush headlong into trouble by
folly and sin.
GOD IS THE ONE
REFUGE FROM THE GREAT WATERS OF
AFFLICTION. He may still the waters. As Christ quieted the
storm on
Gennesaret (Mark 4:35-41), so
will He still tumults of trouble in our lives.
Our course is to pray for help, and trust Him where we can
do nothing for
ourselves. It may not be possible
to alter circumstances nor to escape from them.
Then we may be strengthened to withstand them, as Paul’s
ship was strengthened
when the sailors undergirded it (Acts 27).
“With
Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm.”
National Shipwreck (vs. 26-27)
The metaphor employed in this passage by the poet-prophet
is peculiarly
appropriate. What so fitted to represent the maritime city
ship? In figurative language Ezekiel pictures the stateliness and
prosperity,
followed by the wreck and destruction, of the famous mistress of
the seas.
·
LADEN GALLEY.
Commerce and wealth, maritime and military
greatness, are characteristic of the famous Phoenician port; and
these are
represented as the freight of the vessel as she skims the surface of
the
smooth waters beneath the sunny skies.
·
BY A SUDDEN AND VIOLENT TEMPEST. The vessel is built for calm
weather, and is ill fitted to contend with storms. When war was
waged
against
power of “the queen of the seas” was put to the proof. Not that
succumbed at once; the resistance offered was long and stubborn; the
city
was fighting for its life. (Many liberal cities of the
the teaching of Proverbs 7:22-23, in living out their carnal
agenda “He goeth
after her straightway, as an ox goeth
to the slaughter, or as a fool to the
correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a
bird
hasteneth to the snare, and knoweth not IT IS FOR HIS LIFE!” -
CY – 2014) It was not like a
great and populous nation occupying an
extensive territory, which may be vanquished, but cannot be
exterminated. If the city upon the rock was captured and destroyed,
was annihilated as well as conquered. Hence the severity of the
struggle,
which was a struggle, not for wealth and power merely, BUT FOR
EXISTENCE!
·
GALLEY WHICH, WITH ALL ITS CARGO, SINKS IN THE MIDST
OF THE SEAS.
The great waters and the east wind work their will. The
rowers are powerless; skill and strength are of no avail. The
richly laden
vessel goes down with all her costly freight and gallant crew. Riches and
magnificence, valor and experience, are powerless to save when the decree
has gone forth that:
Ø
opportunities have
been neglected,
Ø
privileges have been
abused,
Ø
that moral laws have
been violated, and
Ø
that the God of nations has been defied.
The lessons of history have been studied to
little purpose if
they have not taught us;
Ø
that “the Lord reigneth” (Psalm 97:1),
Ø
that He “doeth according to his will among the inhabitants of
the earth” (Daniel 4:35),
Ø
that He “brings down
the lofty from their seat.” (Isaiah 26:5)
The multitude of the host and much strength
are a
vain refuge from the justice and the power of “the Lord of
lords.”
28
“The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.”
The suburbs. The word is so
translated in ch. 45:2, and 48:17, and is used of the
pasture-lands round the cities of refuge in Numbers 35:2.
Here it is probably used
in a wider sense for the coastlands of
“waves” that washed the shores of the island-city. The Vulgate
gives classes
(equivalent to “fleets”).
29 “And all
that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the
sea, shall come down from their ships, they
shall stand upon the
land;
30 And shall cause their voice to be
heard against thee, and shall cry
bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their
heads, they shall wallow
themselves in the ashes: 31 And they
shall make themselves utterly bald for
thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and
they shall weep for thee with
bitterness of heart and bitter
wailing.” And all that handle
the oar, etc. The
picture is, perhaps, figurative. As
ships may stand for the other Phoenician cities that beheld her
downfall. Looking
to the picture itself, it presents the rowers and others as
feeling that, if the
great ship had been wrecked, there was little hope of
safety for them, and
so they leave their ships and stand on the coast wailing.
(For casting dust,
as a sign of mourning, see Joshua 7:6; I Samuel 4:12; Job
2:12, et al.;
for “wallowing in the ashes,” Jeremiah 6:26; 25:34; Micah 1:10-16. For the
“baldness” and “sackcloth”
of v. 31, see ch. 7:18.)
32 “And in
their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and
lament over thee, saying, What city is like
Tyrus, like the destroyed
in the midst of the sea?” 33 “When thy
wares went forth out of the seas,
thou filledst
many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with
the multitude of thy riches and of thy
merchandise. 34 In the time when
thou shalt be
broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise
and all thy company in the midst of thee
shall fall. 35
All the inhabitants of
the isles shall be astonished at thee, and
their kings shall be sore afraid, they
shall be troubled in their
countenance. 36
The merchants among the people
shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt
be any more.”
As in other instances of extreme sorrow, the inarticulate
signs of grief pass
after a time into spoken words. What city is like Tyrus, etc.?
What parallel can
be found in the world’s history, either for her
magnificence or her fall? The
shipwreck of her fortunes (we are still in the region of
the prophet’s metaphors)
would be utter and irretrievable.
All men do not sin equally, and all will not be punished to
the same extent —
Some with few stripes, others with many
stripes. (Luke 12:47-48)
grievously, therefore
thinks himself the lightest sinner who will certainly be let off
with the smallest
amount of punishment. We are not to be our own judges and the
assessors
of
our own guilt. There will be many great surprises in the day
of judgment.
The heaviest doom will be for those who knew the right way
and yet did
not walk in it (Ibid.). Therefore
there will be heavier penalties
even than those earned by
Phoenician cities had not the opportunities that were
afforded to the Galilaean
towns in which Christ had labored (Ibid. ch.
10:13). If
Angeles or
A Great Surprise (v. 35)
All the neighboring inhabitants are astonished at the
terrible and unexpected fate of
strong, proud
region round about. This great surprise is instructive.
promise of His coming? For
since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (II
Peter 3:4)
The intellect is
conservative. Novelty is unlooked for. We believe that the
future will be like the past for no other reason than that, on
the whole, things
seem to be stable and the course of the world uniform. But every now and
then the unexpected happens, as though to warn us that things
may not
continue forever in their present quiet state. The antediluvians were too
much
accustomed to the regular rotation of the seasons than to believe Noah’s
preaching. Vesuvius had
slumbered for unknown years before the great
eruption overthrew
that its foot was covered with buildings. People have but faint
apprehensions of Divine judgment because life runs on at present in its
old
groove.
SECURITY.
had never anticipated her downfall. There is no surprise at
the destruction
of poor little pastoral kingdoms like Ammon
and
that is in the foremost rank of the world’s progress is
smitten down, men
are simply confounded. Thus the destruction of
neighbors, as the sack of
of
strength, and that prosperity is not its own security. (This should be
a great warning to
instituted gods of MATERIALISM in His place.
ESTIMATE.
perfect beauty” (v. 3).
She prided herself in her strong sea-walls, and
until they were tested in battle none knew that they were not
strong
enough to withstand the shock of the northern invader. The Church
is
proud of her orthodoxy, her splendor, her strength, and thus she
may lead
simple minds to trust in her certain safety. But all such
boasting brings no
real strength. It goes down at a touch from hard realities.
Then the
deceived are dismayed. In the end the discovery brings shame on the
head
of the boasters.
but we fail to comprehend their meaning; and even when our own language
is translated into fact we are surprised at seeing what it
really meant. There
is a tendency to water down the strong language of Scripture. (Following
the influence of Satan when he asks “Hath God said?” – Genesis 3:1 -CY –
2014) No doubt this is largely due to a reaction against the
coarse literalism
of earlier ages. A
revolt from descriptions of future punishment which quiet,
thinking people could not believe to be true of their own familiar
acquaintances,
has landed us in a region of MILD
THEOLOGY! But there are stern
and
terrible realities in God’s judgments on that horrible thing SIN! When these
are witnessed assuredly they will give a great surprise to
complacent people
who are now content to imbibe the thinnest dilutions of
Scripture doctrines
of coming judgment.
Wreck of a Stately Ship (vs. 1-36)
There is a striking resemblance between a gallant ship and
an empire. Many
persons and orders are united in a state under one governor or
captain.
There is a unity amid diversity. A state, like a ship, has
interchange of
interests with other nations. Upon the skill and prudence of the
pilot
depends the prosperity of empire or ship. The whole life of
poured into the channel of commerce. Hence the figure would be readily
appreciated.
WORLD-WIDE. The
timber was supplied from one country, iron from
another, cordage from a third, sails from a fourth. Evidently God intended
that nations should be linked
together in interdependence. The
commodities essential for civilization are wisely distributed through
many
lands, so that friendly intercommunion may be mutual advantage.
National
exclusiveness is substantial loss. No country is prosperous in the
highest
measure that is not willing to import learning and legislation,
scientific
inventions and natural products, from other lands.
and her prosperity to a large and generous commerce. She was
willing to
receive from the most obscure or most distant people. The ripest
sage can
learn from a little child.
thy pilots.” Sailors,
helmsmen, and defenders were chosen of those most
skilful for their particular work. Such a course is the only
reasonable one;
and yet, in the direction
of political affairs, this course is often
abandoned.
Men are allowed to rule, or are
chosen to rule, either in supreme or
subordinate places, because of their pedigree, or their titles, or
their wealth,
or their arrogance. The
interests of the state are imperiled, the safety of the
state is jeopardized,
by partiality or by partisanship. The only qualification
for office is personal fitness. No one would entrust his life
in a ship which
was not commanded by a skilful and experienced captain.
She has been constructed and
manned to convey passengers and
commodities from land to land. The surplus of material substance in
one
land may thus be conveyed to lands where lack is felt.
Interchange
promotes mutual advantage, mutual confidence, mutual good will. The
nation so employed is a blessing to the world. Knowledge is diffused,
healthy emulation is aroused, religious truth is
disseminated. (Jesus said,
“Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature!”
(Mark 16:15)
INTEREST IN THE MIND OF GOD. It is very noteworthy that God
should have made known to Ezekiel all these particulars in the
history and
commerce of
known them in no other way — unless, indeed, he had been there
before
the Captivity. Not an item
in the mercantile transactions of
received the cognizance of God. Every purchase,
every sale, obtained
either HIS SMILE or HIS FROWN! Nor,
if we reflect on the matter,
need we wonder. If God takes an interest in all our personal
affairs, so
must He also in our united interests and in our public
concerns. If He
stoops to count the hairs of our head (Luke 12:7), He is only
consistent
with Himself when He notes every legislative measure and every
international transaction. (And that does include “Roe v. Wade”
and all the other anti-religious laws or decisions made in
D.C., in our local towns, and in
our own hearts – CY – 2014)
hast said, I am of perfect beauty.” A well-built ship, well fitted and
complete, is a thing of beauty. It has a charm for the eye. But
herein lies a
danger. If the owner be taken up with the beauty of his ship, he is prone to
neglect her planks and bolts and cordage. The external brightness of a ship
is no security against inward rottenness. So is it with the
state politic.
There may be many outward signs
of prosperity — wealth, magnificence,
high reputation, prosperous commerce — and yet there may be a worm at
the root, a hidden leak that may founder the gallant ship. The only real
element of stability is RIGHTEOUSNESS! The only
true rampart of
defense is THE FAVOR OF JEHOVAH!
Instead of self-esteem,
there ought to be thankfulness.
Instead of self-boasting, there should
be trust in God. (And
to think that the National
Education Asssociation
is all for teaching self-esteem [but to what purpose] and all
against
God being allowed in the
classroom, even at Christmas! YOU FIGURE!
CY – 2014)
construction and furniture of a ship is a human contrivance to
harmonize
with the forces of God in nature, and to resist what is
perilous to life. Yet
human contrivances are, at the best, IMPERFECT! They cannot face, in
serious battle, the material forces of God. Some simple occurrence
in nature,
such as a waterspout, an electric spark, or an earthquake, may
shatter in a
moment the staunchest ship. Sooner or later every ship finishes
its career.
Scarcely ever has a ship endured
the natural period of a human life. If it has
braved a thousand storms, it yields to natural decay, and falls
to pieces in
the harbor. Apart from God,
THERE IS NOTHING DURABLE,
NOTHING PERFECT!
GRIEF. It is a
spectacle distressing to the eye to see a fine ship wrecked
upon a rocky coast. But as soon as the imagination takes in the
full
meaning of the event, the pain felt is greater. We think of the
crew — all
their privations and anxieties and final death. We think of
desolate widows
and orphaned children. We think of the loss of valuable
property, the
frustration of hopes, the impotence of human contrivances and
skill, the
blow to further enterprise, the sense
of hidden danger which surrounds us
all. Wider still and
deeper is the terror awakened in men’s minds when a
flourishing
empire succumbs to fierce invasion. Human hopes are crushed.
Security to life and property is
disturbed. A great panic spreads. Life in
every place seems imperiled. If Type falls, what empire, what
city, can be
safe? Things material
often receive rude disturbance, that we may find our
security in that kingdom “WHICH CANNOT BE SHAKEN!”
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