Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
The word of the Lord came to the prince of Tyrus because his heart was lifted up to say that he was God sitting in the seat of God in the midst of the seas, while he was only a man. The declaration that he is wiser than Daniel and that there is no secret they can hide from him is his prideful boast in setting his heart as the heart of God. It describes an extraordinary wisdom with no secret beyond his knowledge, yet that wisdom does not make him God, for he is a man and not God. By his wisdom and understanding he got gold and silver into his treasures, and by his great wisdom and by his trade he increased his riches, and his heart was lifted up because of his riches.
The verse stands inside a warning of judgment for that self-exaltation. Strangers and the terrible of the nations shall be brought against him to draw their swords against the beauty of his wisdom, to defile his brightness, to bring him down to the pit, and to expose him as a man and no God, dying the deaths of the slain and of the uncircumcised in the midst of the seas. Beyond the human ruler the chapter represents Lucifer, the fallen angel, for Satan was the actual king of Tyre because he fully controlled its government. The created wisdom given to Lucifer was corrupted through pride, and the ruler's prideful, extraordinary wisdom belongs to that picture of the fallen angel whose subtlety must be resisted.
The chapter also portrays a wider movement exalting itself against God that will appear among God's people and in the world. The history of Lucifer's self-exaltation influencing people to oppose God will be repeated in the experience of those who resist God's work. The unsanctified wisdom described is now at work watching every movement to divert minds from saving perishing souls to unessential details, jots and tittles. It works through strange spirits and disguised agency and angels expelled from heaven to get supposed faults and objectionable features and little differences of opinion magnified into disagreement, to bring confusion into the ranks and hinder the advancement of the work, triumphing and rejoicing if permitted even the least hold.
The warning therefore calls for careful study and faithful adherence to the light given, so as not to be deceived in the last days. In that situation silence is eloquence and wisdom. On a different reading, the verse addresses Ezekiel himself as wiser than Daniel with no secret hidden from him. Ezekiel was the older, experienced servant favored by God, while Daniel was gaining favor with kings and nobles and was about to take an important place, and Ezekiel was not jealous but gladly encouraged Daniel and his companions as a father encourages children to stand for God's honor.
The word of the Lord came to the prince of Tyrus because his heart was lifted up to say that he was God sitting in the seat of God in the midst of the seas, while he was only a man. The declaration that he is wiser than Daniel and that there is no secret they can hide from him is his prideful boast in setting his heart as the heart of God. It describes an extraordinary wisdom with no secret beyond his knowledge, yet that wisdom does not make him God, for he is a man and not God. By his wisdom and understanding he got gold and silver into his treasures, and by his great wisdom and by his trade he increased his riches, and his heart was lifted up because of his riches.
The verse stands inside a warning of judgment for that self-exaltation. Strangers and the terrible of the nations shall be brought against him to draw their swords against the beauty of his wisdom, to defile his brightness, to bring him down to the pit, and to expose him as a man and no God, dying the deaths of the slain and of the uncircumcised in the midst of the seas. Beyond the human ruler the chapter represents Lucifer, the fallen angel, for Satan was the actual king of Tyre because he fully controlled its government. The created wisdom given to Lucifer was corrupted through pride, and the ruler's prideful, extraordinary wisdom belongs to that picture of the fallen angel whose subtlety must be resisted.
The chapter also portrays a wider movement exalting itself against God that will appear among God's people and in the world. The history of Lucifer's self-exaltation influencing people to oppose God will be repeated in the experience of those who resist God's work. The unsanctified wisdom described is now at work watching every movement to divert minds from saving perishing souls to unessential details, jots and tittles. It works through strange spirits and disguised agency and angels expelled from heaven to get supposed faults and objectionable features and little differences of opinion magnified into disagreement, to bring confusion into the ranks and hinder the advancement of the work, triumphing and rejoicing if permitted even the least hold.
The warning therefore calls for careful study and faithful adherence to the light given, so as not to be deceived in the last days. In that situation silence is eloquence and wisdom. On a different reading, the verse addresses Ezekiel himself as wiser than Daniel with no secret hidden from him. Ezekiel was the older, experienced servant favored by God, while Daniel was gaining favor with kings and nobles and was about to take an important place, and Ezekiel was not jealous but gladly encouraged Daniel and his companions as a father encourages children to stand for God's honor.