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Ezekiel 28 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
This chapter raises a lot of questions. From where did Ezekiel derive his imagery used in this chapter? Was it from Genesis? Furthermore, who is the king of Tyre being compared to? It seems in the first oracle (verses 1-10) it is Adam. However, in the second oracle (verses 11-19) it could be Satan. It is also interesting to note that there were many familiar mythological traditions that would have resonated with the readers from Canaan at that time. It would not be out of the question for an oracle against a pagan nation like Tyre to include references to ancient mythological traditions.
Though it reads eerily familiar to Genesis by our standards, scholars who have focused on the history and context tend to reject this theory. The primary context is a judgment against a human king. It was rare for an OT prophet or writer to draw a connection to the demonic realm in order to explain the origin of something. I actually stumbled across a Neo-Babylonian mythical text in my study of this chapter with remarkable similarities to Ezekiel’s writing, but I won’t bore you with the details!
The reason I find all of this so fascinating is that most today associate this passage with Satan and draw conclusions about pride, beauty, status, and power. This is because Ezekiel seems to be comparing the king of Tyre to a divine being who rebelled against God. In other words, the motivating force behind the actions of the king was a rebellious divine being (such as Satan).
Pride comes before the fall. The Lord is over all people and all history. Those points are obvious. However, what struck me today was the abstract creativity of Ezekiel to use common and familiar mythological accounts in order to draw people to truth. The writing in this chapter is stunning. A creative and influential communicator can use all things necessary to draw people on the fringe toward The Lord in all His glory. This should be our heart’s desire as well.