Ezekiel 27:34, commentary and pictures

Ezekiel's lament portrays Tyre as a great wealthy trading city, enriched by worldwide commerce, finally broken by the seas in the depths of the waters with its merchandise and all its people falling and perishing with it. That word of utter destruction has come true, for old Tyre was scraped to a bare rock and wiped out of existence until the place where it stood became a spreading-place for nets, first besieged by Nebuchadnezzar and at last destroyed by Alexander. Its downfall stands as a warning of the judgment that falls upon proud and prosperous cities and peoples who forget and openly defy God, as set before New York, Chicago, San Francisco and others. No commercial power or seemingly secure place in the world can withstand that judgment, for when God humbles an exalted and corrupt city its trade, its wealth and its company fall together into desolation.

Context and Plain Meaning

Ezekiel 27:34 belongs to the lament over Tyre and the prophecy of its ruin and utter destruction. The chapter is part of the prophecies against foreign nations around Judah, and stands among the prophecies against other nations in Ezekiel 25 to 31 concerning Ammon, Moab, Tyre and Egypt. Its fulfillment is evident today.

Ezekiel 27 sets forth the extent of Tyre's commerce as the great commercial city of ancient times. It was a city of great wealth and worldwide trade, the London, Liverpool and New York of the Orient. Its merchandise had enriched kings.

The verse describes the time when Tyre is finally broken by the seas in the depths of the waters. Then its merchandise and all its company in the midst of it fall and perish with it in the sea. Merchant city, wealth, trading community, people associated with its trade, and all who were with the city are overwhelmed and lost together when the city is brought down.

Fulfillment in History

The fall of Tyre was foretold as a wiping utterly out of existence, with its trade and company falling when broken in the seas. The Lord declared that Tyre would be destroyed, scraped to a bare rock and made a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea. That word has come true where old Tyre stood, which is now a net-spreading place with the very stones of its buildings removed elsewhere.

Nebuchadnezzar would capture Tyre, and from Tyre would conquer Jerusalem. As the old city faced capture, its people carried their wealth away by ship to Carthage, while the later island city was ultimately destroyed by Alexander. When the city is overwhelmed, its merchandise and people are lost. The prophecy against Tyre stands as one of the prophecies against other nations in Ezekiel 25 to 31 concerning Ammon, Moab, Tyre, and Egypt, and its fulfillment is evident today.

Warning to Proud Cities

Ezekiel 27:34 stands as part of God's object lesson to Israel through the surrounding kingdoms to call them back to Himself, demonstrating how He casts down pride. It foretells the fall of Tyre, the great commercial city of the world, whose trade and company would fall when broken in the seas and be wiped utterly out of existence. Nebuchadnezzar would capture Tyre, and from Tyre would go on to conquer Jerusalem.

The downfall of Tyre portrayed here, with its merchandise and people lost when broken in the sea, is a warning of the judgment that falls upon places and people who forget and defy God. That warning is held forth as a lesson for New York and Chicago. It is likewise applied to San Francisco and to other cities and people who disregard warnings.

A proud, prosperous city that openly defies God may meet a disastrous fate in which the city itself, its trade, and its people are lost in the waters, as San Francisco was said to have done. Tyre's permanent fall, broken by the seas with its merchandise and people perishing with it, proves that commercial power and a seemingly secure place in the world cannot stand against God's judgment. The chapter lays bare Tyre's far-reaching trade and the humbling of a corrupt, exalted city, whose spirit of merchandise is likened to Babylon's commercialism that makes wealth and trade central and ends at last in desolation.