Ezekiel 27:7

Ezekiel 27:7 says, Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.  God said that the sails of the ships of Tyrus had been made of fine linen and were brightly colored.  This showed how prosperous they were, but it was all temporary wealth. We may adorn ourselves in the finest clothes, live in mansions, and drive fancy cars, but these things are all temporary and one day will be done away with, if not in this lifetime, then when we face God in judgment.  This is especially true for those who have gained these things while denying God, but it also applies to the things of this world that Christians have amassed.   

Verse eight adds, The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. God said that the people of Tyrus had the inhabitants of Zidon as their mariners and that the wise men of Tyrus had been their pilots.  Zidon was a sister city to Tyrus, and the people there were important to the success of Tyrus.  God also said it was good that the people of Tyrus could provide their own pilots.  We may have someone lead us to knowledge of God and even lead us to do the right thing, but until we accept His gift of salvation for ourselves, we will not be saved. 

Verse nine continues, 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.  God then points out other people who helped in the ship building, all doing what they were best at.  We need each other as Christians today, and we need to do what we are best at, which should also be what God has called us to do.  

Verse ten states, They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.  God said the people of Tyrus looked to other nations to protect them militarily, and even if we as a nation believe that we can stand alone to protect ourselves, if we are not basing this on our obedience to God, it will never be true.  

Verse eleven continues, 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.  God continued to remind them of those other people that they depended on for their protection.  Ultimately, we depend on God for our protection, but He may help us find this protection through our alliances with other nations or other people, but especially other Christians.

Ezekiel 27:1

Ezekiel 27:1 says, The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,                

Verse two adds, Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; When God’s word came to Ezekiel again, having pronounced His judgment of the four nations in the preceding chapter, He now had a message for the people of Tyrus, or Tyre as it is usually referred to today, but I will use Tyrus.  Matthew Henry points out that the other four nations were decreasing in power already, but Tyrus was still a major hub of commerce.  Three chapters are spent dealing with the lamentations pronounced on the city of Tyrus. Some cities or nations may be very important in world commerce today, but if they deny God and follow other gods, they will one day fall.  

Verse three continues, 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.  God said that the people of Tyrus thought that they were located perfectly to be a merchant to many other countries and that this made them a great power, but they were going to find out that they were not so powerful that they could ignore God.  No matter how important or powerful a country may think itself to be today, if it considers itself to be more powerful than God and refuses to acknowledge Him, it will one day fall.  

Verse four states, Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.  God said that the borders of Tyrus were in the sea, or that she was an important seaport in other words.  Because Tyrus saw itself as important, the builders had built her in beauty.  Not only was Tyrus important because of its location, she was also made to look beautiful to be even more appealing.  Some places in the world today go out of their way to make themselves beautiful in the eyes of the world even as they deny God and His power, but they will one day fall.  

Verse five adds, They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.  The boards that they had used to build ships, the fir trees and cedar trees would no longer be imported to build them, because Tyrus would no longer exist.  They were dependent on other nations for some of their building materials, and no nation can stand alone today.  Whatever we have brought into our lives in this lifetime that is outside the will of God will one day be completely destroyed, and in this lifetime, we can never think that we don’t need other nations to help us.  

Verse six continues, Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.  This is a continuation of listing the things that would no longer be found in Tyrus.  As stated, nothing that we have put our faith in in world outside of God is ever going to last.

Ezekiel 26:15

Ezekiel 26:15 says, Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?  God asked if the isles would not shake when Tyrus fell, since it had been such a large and powerful city.  I believe that the shaking would come from disbelief that this could happen.  When a nation that considers itself to be so powerful that other nations cower before it falls, people will be left shaking in utter disbelief.  If large and powerful nations can fall, where is the hope for smaller, less powerful ones.  The answer is that whether great or small, their hope can only come from acknowledging God and accepting His gift of salvation.  

Verse sixteen adds, Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.  God said that the rulers of the nations around them would come down off their thrones and put off their fine garments and sit in fear and astonishment at what had happened to Tyrus.  As just stated in the last verse, if a great nation falls, those who live in a less powerful nation may fear what may happen to them.  

Verse seventeen continues, And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!   After stripping themselves and sitting in fear, the other nations will ask how this could have happened to such a powerful nation. No matter how big and powerful a nation may be, if God pronounces His judgment on it, it will fall.  One day, when Jesus Christ returns in judgment, all those who have not accepted Him as their Savior and Lord will be sent away to everlasting destruction, and even if people were not powerful, they will also be sent away if they haven't accepted Him.  They may marvel at the fall of the powerful, but that will not save them.  No one, no matter how powerful or how weak, will be exempt from God’s judgment.  

Verse eighteen concludes, Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.  God said the islands in the sea would tremble at the fall of Tyrus.  Of course, lamenting their fall without acknowledging God would do them no good.  People may lament the fall of a great nation today, especially if they had engaged in commerce with them, but that does not spare them from suffering the same fate if they have not put their faith in God.  

Verse nineteen states, For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;  God said that He was the One who was going to cause the fall of Tyrus, and that He was going to do it by covering them with great waters.  The seas had been their source of power, and now they were to be the source of their destruction.  Anything that we put our faith in while refusing to accept God’s gift of salvation will one day be the source of our everlasting fall.  

Verse twenty-one adds, When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;  God said that the people of Tyrus would be taken down into the pit with the people of old that had not put their faith in Him.  The souls of these people of old were in the pit, or hell, and the people of Tyrus would be joining them there.  The soul will never die, and if we don’t put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will one day join all those who have been sent away to everlasting punishment.  God then said that He would glory in the land of the living.  I believe this means those who were spiritually alive because they believed in God’s gift of salvation.  

Verse twenty-one continues, I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.  God said that He would make their fall a terror to other nations, and that they would seek Tyrus, but she would no longer be found.  We may seek the powerful who have fallen today, but if they have been judged and condemned by God, we will never find them, because they will have been sent out of His presence forever.