Ezekiel 27:21
Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
Arabia and all the princes of Kedar served as merchants of Tyre, occupying its markets with lambs and rams and goats. Their livestock trade, together with goods such as bright iron, cassia and calamus from all nations in every kind of merchandise, shows the reach, variety and breadth of Tyre as a great merchant city and ancient commercial metropolis, like the holder of world's fairs 2,500 years ago. The verse belongs to the prophecy foretelling the overthrow and ruin of Tyre and Sidon, and of Tyre in particular, even to its becoming a place for the spreading of fishermen's nets, whose ruins today show its fulfillment. The chapter stands as a lesson and warning that pride, wickedness and corrupt commercialism in cities that forget and defy God bring judgment, for wealth and pride grew so great that God had to humble Tyre. In this warning San Francisco stands as a modern Tyre and center of extensive commerce before its destruction.
Tyre's Extensive Commerce
Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were merchants of Tyre who occupied its markets with lambs, rams, and goats. They traded that livestock in the fairs of Tyre, supplying those animals to its commerce.
That traffic illustrates the reach, variety, and breadth of Tyre's commerce, with merchants dealing in many goods including livestock. It builds the picture of Tyre as a great merchant city and an ancient commercial metropolis. Together with bright iron, cassia, and calamus, the trade in lambs, rams, and goats shows that all nations traded there in every kind of merchandise, so that Tyre held world's fairs 2,500 years ago.
Prophecy of Tyre's Overthrow
Ezekiel 27:21 belongs to the prophecy foretelling the overthrow and ruin of Tyre and Sidon. It is part of the prophecy concerning Tyre in particular. That prophecy is about Tyre as an ancient commercial metropolis and ancient world commercial metropolis. It foretold Tyre's ruin and its transformation into a place for the spreading of fishermen's nets.
The ruins of Tyre show the fulfillment of the prophecy. Its fulfillment is evident in the condition seen today.
Warning Against Proud Commercialism
Ezekiel 27 stands as a lesson and warning to cities that forget and defy God, that pride and wickedness bring judgment upon them. Tyre's widespread trade is a figure of corrupt commercialism, whose wealth and pride grew so great that God had to humble it. The traffic of Arabia and all the princes of Kedar in lambs and rams and goats shows the breadth of that commerce, with merchants dealing in many goods in its markets.
That picture of Tyre as a great trading city, enriched by far-reaching trade in livestock and every kind of merchandise, applies to San Francisco as a modern Tyre and a center of extensive commerce before its destruction. Arabia and the princes of Kedar belong to that picture, adding their trade in lambs and rams and goats to the wealth that made Tyre the type of the proud commercial city.